Onboarding
INTRO
Welcome to JHU's Computer Science Department! Although both JHU and Whiting School have their own central IT teams, our Computer Science Department is fairly specialized (Computer Science and Information Technology go hand-in-hand), and so, our department has its own IT team!
We are the CS IT Support Group. We are available each week, Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 5pm. And we are easily reachable by email at support@cs.jhu.edu (the preferred method of reaching anyone on the CS IT Support Group team.) We are a friendly, customer-focused team and will be happy to assist you.
CS IT primarily focuses on computing services in three areas:
- 1) The educational mission of the department (computing resources for coursework, including its computer lab Linux systems.)
- 2) The day-to-day operations of the department (IT support for the CS Office's administrative computers.)
- 3) Providing CS infrastructure-based services (email, web space, networking, printing, etc.)
But, What About Research IT Needs?
You'll notice that "research" isn't mentioned in the three computing service areas above that the CS IT Support Group directly supports. While CS IT provides space, power, and networking in the CS Server Room for those hosting research servers, the CS IT Support Group does not offer the following services regarding computers used for research:
- CS IT does not administer research systems. Instead... CS research systems are either 1) self-maintained, or 2) you should reach out to the Whiting School of Engineering's WSE IT team. They will be able to assist you with administering your servers (even if you run your servers from our CS Server Room.) In general, for research computing, you should consider having WSE IT assist you, as they have lots of experience with research systems.
- CS IT does not purchase research equipment. Although CS IT might offer you some advice on the equipment you plan to purchase, in regards to how it relates to utilizing our server room resources, CS faculty and researchers either 1) spec out their own equipment, and then purchase it with assistance from the CS office, or 2) instead, have WSE IT help you spec out your servers. WSE IT is familiar with research systems solutions and is an excellent resource when planning out your research computer-related purchases.
Please visit our page on Research Computing at CS for further details.
Where to find information about our CS IT Services:
CS IT Support Wiki Documentation
One of the key features of services the CS IT team offers you is an online wiki-based documentation set, outlining all the technical services we offer... from user accounts, to email, from networking to setting up your own webpage, and so much more, the CS IT Support Wiki is the "one-stop shop" for how-to IT information at CS. Whether you're CS Faculty, a student, a researcher, or staff, the CS IT Support Wiki is a valuable resource. To access the CS IT Support Wiki, please visit:
- https://support.cs.jhu.edu (simply putting support.cs.jhu.edu in your browser bar should work too!)
Take a moment to browse the "support wiki" and become familiar with its layout. Check out the list of categories off the main page. The support wiki also has a search bar, in case you're unable to find what you're looking for within a category. If you've searched and you still cannot find quite what you're looking for, or you need further explanation, please do not hesitate to send us an email.
CS IT's Official Scope Of Services
With JHU, WSE, and CS offering so many varied types of IT services, how can you tell exactly which services the CS IT Support Group offers? We provide a comprehensive page describing our Scope of Services. Please visit:
Our Scope of Services page consists of details regarding our team and specifics on the IT services we offer. And, for those services we do not offer, we try to point you to alternative teams, etc, that may provide those services. Also note that most of the services the CS IT Support Group supports are located in Malone Hall. Other buildings may have their own systems administrators or might be administered by the WSE IT group or by JHU Central IT.
Common Questions Asked By Those New To The CS Dept (yes, here is our FAQ!)
Here are some common questions (and answers!) for those who are new to the CS Department, with links to our support wiki articles to help provide answers...
- What if I think a CS IT service appears to be down? First, check the CS IT Notices page for the current state of our systems, and if an outage isn't reported there, please email support@cs.jhu.edu with as much detail as possible.
- Does CS IT purchase equipment or supplies for me? No. CS IT can provide you with an Ethernet cable for a wallport connection. Otherwise, you will need to speak to someone in the CS main office (Malone Hall 160) regarding your purchasing needs. (If you're purchasing Dell equipment, they might refer you to Future Tech, JHU's preferred supplier of Dell equipment, to help you spec and purchase your equipment. Mac users might be referred to JHU's Technology Store)
- Will you support, administer, or maintain my own office or personal computer or smart phone? No, CS IT Support only administers and maintains its own infrastructure servers, student lab Linux systems, and the CS Dept's administrative computers. Please see Personal or Research Lab-owned Computer Issues for more info.
- Do you support Macs? No, CS IT Support does not support macs. For mac support, please contact WSE IT for advice. You might also be able to get support from our on-campus JHU's Technology Store (an Apple authorized service provider.)
- Does Whiting School of Engineering's IT Team have its own Onboarding document? Yes. You're currently reading the CS IT Support Group's Onboarding document, providing you information on CS IT services specifically for the Computer Science Department. Whiting School's IT group also has their own WSE IT Onboarding document which might provide you some additional info, should you be using resources that are specific to Whiting School.
- Who can resolve a problem with my JHED account, Hopkins (@jhu.edu) mail, SAP, JHU OneDrive, the JHU VPN, JHU MFA, or another JHU Enterprise-wide service that is not supported by or could not be resolved through CS IT or WSE IT? For these types of issues, you should reach out to JHU IT Central Support
And A Final Reminder...
For additional info about our CS IT services (including those not listed above), remember to head over to the CS IT Support Wiki at:
or email us at: