Laptops, Privately-Owned, and other Self-Maintained Systems

CLASnet provides limited support for laptops, privately-owned computers, and other self-maintained systems. Such machines must be registered with the CLASnet DHCP system, and will receive IP services. The computer must use IMAPS for email and FTPS for file access.

Unfortunately, due to the wide range of hardware and software configurations on self-maintained systems, CLASnet cannot provide our traditional level of desktop support to these systems. We cannot support applications, direct file access, or networked printing to self-maintained systems. The user must ensure the system meets all network connection requirements.

Limitations of Support

• Due to the wide range of potential hardware and software on a self-maintained system, CLASnet personnel cannot provide traditional desktop troubleshooting or support. If the system does not function on the network, it is the user's responsibility to diagnose and repair the system.
• All applications must be locally installed. As many CLASnet applications have specific licensing restrictions, we cannot install the Novell Zenworks client.
• Files are accessed via the FTPS (FTP over SSL) protocol, using programs such as FileZilla or CoreFTP LE. The Netware client and direct drive mappings are not available.
• Network printing is not supported. Instead, documents may be copied to the CLASnet file server, and printed from a CLASnet-supported computer.

Requirements and Recommendations

Self-maintained computers must meet the following requirements.

1. Must be registered to obtain an IP address on CLASnet networks. To register your computer, please see your department's authorized computer contact. Your contact will need you to provide the following:

   • The Ethernet card's address.
   • Manufacturer's name, computer model number, and serial number.
   • Processor type, speed, and operating system.
   • Primary user's CLASnet (not Gatorlink) userid.
   • Building and room number the system will be used.

   If this computer replaces another, we'll need the Ethernet address for the old computer to remove it from the DHCP registry.

2. Must be configured to use DHCP protocol to obtain an IP address. Most computers are configured to use DHCP by default.

3. Must have a current operating system, with any/all security patches installed. If the vendor no longer provides security patches for the operating system, the system must be upgraded before it may be connected to the campus network.

   We recommend setting the Windows Automatic Update wizard to check for updates daily. We have some instructions on how to configure the Microsoft Windows 2000/XP Professional Automatic Update Wizard to check for updates.

4. Must have current anti-virus protection, with all DAT and/or engine updates applied. Network Associates McAfee Virusscan should be configured for automatic updates on a daily basis. UF maintains a site license for McAfee products for all students, faculty, and staff. This license allows for use on personally owned laptops and home computers. The software can be downloaded from the SODA shop at http://www.software.ufl.edu/mcafee/index.html.

5. Use a personal firewall to help insulate the system from network-based viruses and worms. However, computers on the campus network must respond to ping requests from the 128.227.148 network for the DHCP server to grant an IP address. Thus, you need to add an exception to the firewall to allow ICMP pings.

   For computers running Windows XP SP2 using the Microsoft firewall, we have instructions on how to add an exemption to the firewall to allow ping responses.

6. We recommend you disable dynamic DNS updates on Windows 2000 and/or XP computers. This setting causes your laptop to periodically send messages back to the DNS server announcing its address. This doesn't work on our system, and just causes additional network traffic.

7. If this computer travels to another network (ie, a home cable or DSL network), you may need to manually force the IP address to update. This will force a DHCP release and renew sequence.

   For Windows 95 and 98 computers
   • Go to Start, Run, and type in winipcfg
   • Click OK. Press the "Release All" button. Wait a few seconds until the addresses are all zeroes.
   • Press the Renew All button. Numbers should replace the zeroes.
   • Close the Winipcfg box.
   For Windows NT, 2000, and XP computers
   • Go to Start, then Run, and type in cmd and click OK. This will open a command prompt.
   • At the command prompt, type in ipconfig /release and press Enter.
   • When the prompt returns, type in ipconfig /renew and press Enter. You should see a summary screen listing the newly obtained IP address.
   • Type exit and press Enter to close the command prompt.

8. If you travel with your laptop, or use it with an ISP other than UF's Gatorlink dial-up, we recommend using UF's VPN software to create an encrypted connection to UF's network. The campus VPN is provided and supported by UF's Computer and Networking Services (CNS). Information about obtaining the VPN client is available at http://net-services.ufl.edu/provided_services/vpn/.

9. Support for UF Gatorlink Mail services and Dialup are provided by the UF Help Desk. Their telephone number is: 392-HELP (4394). You can also find additional information at the Gatorlink website at http://www.gatorlink.ufl.edu.

10. Wireless networking is provided by UF's Computer and Network Services (CNS). Due to limitations of the wireless technology, self-maintained wireless networks cannot be used on campus.

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Last updated: Oct 21, 2005 (02:52:33 PM EDT)
URL: http://www.clasnet.ufl.edu/computers/self-maintained/