Computer Classroom
The Computer Classroom (Room 1381 - DOW Instructional Facility) is used for teaching purposes only. There are 23 computers and a projector in the classroom. The computers have both Microsoft Windows and Linux installed.
Please Note: The Classroom is available during class times only; it is not a computer lab.
Hardware Configuration
There are 23 computers and a projector in the classroom.
- Processor: Pentium IV 2.6 GHz
- Memory: 1 GB
- Operating System: Dual Boot Red Hat Linux 8.0 and Windows XP
- Hard drive: 80 GB
Software
Classroom computers have both Microsoft Windows and Linux installed. Each partition has a basic workstation installation. The following software is available per operating system:
Windows
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0
- Microsoft Office XP
- Scifinder (Note: 7 total UW licenses)
- Chemdraw Std 10.0
- SHELXTL
- SecureCRT 5.1
- SecureFX 3.1
- Gepasi
- X-Win32 7.0
Linux
- Gaussian 03
- Gaussview 3.0
- NBOView
- Chem Tools (chemical structure drawing program)
- MacroModel 8.5 (Schrodinger - 23 total Chemistry licenses)
Usage Policies
The Computer Classroom (Gradlab) is used for teaching purposes only. It is not a computer lab.
Due to the complex configuration of each computer in this room, please make your software requests at least six weeks in advance if the software is to be used in the coming semester. (This usually means Mid-July for the Fall semester and Mid-November for the Spring semester; i.e., when the timetable is available.) This is particularly true for first-time installed software applications. The reason is that it is usually most time-consuming to purchase the software and their licenses, as well as to ensure the new software is compatible with current programs on the systems. After the configuration of the first test system, it is also rather involved and time-consuming to duplicate (clone) and configure every system to the network.
Contact Comphelp (comphelp at chem.wisc.edu) to get software installed. A request for software installation will not be granted if there is not enough time for installation and testing, or if the software is incompatible with current system configurations. Please contact us if you have questions or suggestions regarding any of these issues.
Access
Instructors who plan to use the classroom for their courses should contact Phill Bloedow, (phill at chem.wisc.edu). Scheduling is done on a first-come, first-served basis. Students taking courses in this classroom may only use the computers with the permissions of the course instructors. Remote access to this room is not possible.
To add users to the classroom, instructors need to email a spreadsheet with the students' names to classrosters at chem.wisc.edu at least two weeks in advance. Usernames and passwords will be generated and a copy of that information will be made available to the instructor.
- Each user will be given a user name and password along with a place on the file server where they may store their data (the Z: drive in windows and the home directory in Linux).
- Passwords are chosen with security in mind and cannot be changed.
- When distributing user names and passwords, it is extremely important to keep each user's password confidential.
- All users are responsible for the contents and use of their account.
General Notes on Usage
Switching Between Windows and Linux
Upon boot up, users will be prompted to choose an operating system. If no input is received for thirty seconds, the boot loader will select the default, Windows XP. Once you are in an operating system, the only way to change operating systems is to restart the machine and make a selection before it times out.
Storing Data on the File Server
For security and reliability reasons, the operating systems and software on the computers in the classroom will be reinstalled every night. Unfortunately, this means that no data can be reliably stored on the computers themselves. Therefore, users must store their data on the file server in one of the following ways:
- Under Windows: When a user logs into the Windows partition of a classroom computer, the Z: drive is mounted to their home directory on the file server. There will be a shortcut to the Z: drive on the desktop. Each user can safely store data there throughout the semester.
- Under Linux: When a user logs in to the Linux partition of a classroom computer, their home directory is a NFS mount from the file server. Data in a user's home directory will be stored throughout the semester. This directory is also available from Windows as z:\Linux
User names and passwords
- Each user will be given a user name and password along with a place on the file server where they may store their data (the Z: drive in windows and the home directory in Linux).
- Passwords are chosen with security in mind and cannot be changed. A copy of this information will be made available to the instructor.
- When distributing user names and passwords, it is extremely important to keep each user's password confidential.
- All users are responsible for the contents and use of their account.