Desktop Computer Aquisitions
Revised March 2, 2007When purchasing a new desktop computer system, all purchases must be signed by a Systems Administrator (currently Tim Fredrick, Dan Packman, or Garth D'Attilo). Computer systems must be purchased in accordance the the computer hardware standards listed below. It is recognized that there may be exceptions to these standards, such as to support project requirements or laboratory systems. Such exceptions, however, must be approved by a Systems Administrator. Legacy systems (such as IBM AIX and Compaq Alpha platforms) are not supported and must be placed behind outbound-only firewall devices to be included on the ACD network.
Upon the approval of the senior Systems Administrator (currently Tim Fredrick), the following list may be updated as computing technologies change and as our own requirements change
Computer System Hardware Standards
- Desktop Computer Platforms (business-class models such as Latitude, Optiplex, Titanium Powerbook, Powermac preferred)
- Dell (Optiplex)
- Apple (Mac Pro)
- Notebooks
- Dell (Prefer Latitude, but Inspiron is acceptable)
- Lenovo (Thinkpad)
- Apple (Macbook Pro)
Peripherals
Peripherals and supplies are up to the group or individual to purchase and do not require approval by the systems staff. We do have several suggestions for divisional standards in this category however: Items here will receive higher-priority support than items that are not listed below.- Printers (networking is highly encouraged but not required)
- HP Inkjet (not WinPrinters) printers and multifunction (printer+fax+copier)
- HP Postscript Laser Printers (not WinPrinters)
- Backup/Archive/Data-Transfer Devices
- CD +/- R/RW drives
- DVD +/- RW drives (preferred since they can also read/write CD-R/RW media)
- Removable hard disk drives such as the Dataport, USB, or Firewire attached drives..
- USB "keychain" devices
- Disk Drives, Ultra ATA or SATA preferred for performance reasons. Firewire or USB can be used for external drives.
- Monitors (20-in or better, LCD preferred)
- LCD monitors should be a minimum of 1024x768 resolution for Microsoft Windows, but it would be preferable to go for at least 1280x768 resolution.
- We recommend at least 1280x768 for most Unix systems
- We would prefer the purchase of flat-panel monitors. If you have a technical requirement for a CRT monitor, please see your Systems Administrator for approval.
- Keyboards, Mice, and other input devices
- Bluetooth or wireless devices are not recommended and offer no advantage in most office situations. If you do need to use such a device, be sure to keep USB keyboards and mice on-hand for troubleshooting.
- Ergonomics are important to ACD -- if you have a special ergonomic or physical need, see your System Administrator or your UCAR safety officer for a recommendation.
Supplies
ACD stocks printer supplies for the public printers and from the following list for personal printers. ACD also stocks a few mice and keyboards for office use. Plus we keep some spare parts or other peripherals that we've inherited from decomissioned system.s If you need any of these supplies, please see the Computing Section head:- HP Ink Cartridges: HP #45, #78, #56, #57
- CD-R media
- DVD-R media
- USB-connected mice or keyboards
Servers
Servers are computers where more than one person routinely logs on and does work. Servers are acceptable, but must be approved by the ACD Systems Staff. Servers must follow these constraints:- All servers and their specific configuration must be approved by the ACD Systems Staff
- Servers must be rack-mountable in a standard computer equipment rack. Rack-mount hardware must be provided along with the purchase of the server.
- While we have deployed some servers in offices in the past, we are requiring that future servers be placed within the ACD computer room
- The Computing Systems group will provide UPS power for servers
- Multi-user servers may have additional security constraints -- for example Cryptocard instead of repeatable password access.