Support Services

IT Services will directly maintain up to two computer systems and assist with one printer device per staff and faculty member.  The typical configuration is one mobile system, one desktop system, and one peripheral printer.  All directly maintained systems must meet IT Services’ standards requirements for computers and peripherals. Standards are reviewed and published regularly in the online IT Services content.

Support services are not mandatory for faculty.  They may, and often do in practice, maintain their own systems.  If direct support for a system is declined in favor of self-support, IT Services will provide self-support materials only and will not assume responsibility for the function or well-being of the device in question.

Students, as well as staff and faculty, may have the benefit of IT Services self-support materials, documentation, and other support resources.

Desktop Support Coverage

Common support coverage and limitations apply. 

Staff and faculty under paid support for their computer systems have the benefit of in-depth assistance with

• standard CMU software

• common department-specific software

• common engineering applications

• central print services

• hosted shared storage for staff

• hardware support for common CMU-approved vendors

• University-wide services

• purchasing recommendations

• consulting services

Setup and Location Moves

Local facilities management or coordinators are responsible for office setup, moves, and mounting of hardware. ITS can provide remote assistance with connectors, placement, or interfacing with Computing Services networking. All other services related to delivery, packing, and unpacking will be handled by local facilities staff, FMS, or a Campus supplier. Please view the Guide to Setup and Relocation for more information about available service options.

Storage and Backups

IT Services provides backup and restore services for managed desktop clients. This does not include clusters, labs, PC appliances, kiosks, or other single-purpose systems. The retention period for clients is 2 months. Backup services include CrashPlan Enterprise which permits self-service restoration.  By default, only desktop and document folders for client profiles will be backed up.  Clients may opt to backup additional folders using the self-service CrashPlan application. Requests for restoration assistance may be completed within two weeks of the request submission.

Data stored on hosted servers is secured, fault tolerant, and backed up. Institutional data is archived to tape for compliance and contractual obligations. It is the responsibility of the designated data steward, typically the primary investigator, to fulfill their own obligations for archival. Responsibilities include placing data in safe locations from which it can be retrieved if required to do so.

Network services

Service subscribers use Andrew network services with a few exceptions.  Regardless of the network provider, the client assumes responsibility for purchasing connectivity equipment related to their access. 

Extra-administrative Services

Purchasing recommendations are offered with approval from the client. Clients buy and own all equipment using client-provided Oracle Strings. The client department is responsible for purchase order generation, procurement, receiving, and delivery verification.

Support Rate Calculation

Rates and fees are published on the ECE ITS documentation site. See Service Bundles and Rates.

Individual coverage rates are published as shown on the table Service Bundles and Rates.

FTE-based fees will be negotiated based on an estimate of the academic unit’s covered membership and expected community support demand. The starting basis will be the total number of covered faculty and staff. For example

In the example above, an FTE factor of 0.3807883 would be applied to the published rate to derive the annual fee.

Fees will be billed directly to the academic unit on the first business day of each month for the services defined in this agreement.  Payment for services rendered outside of the framework of this agreement must be negotiated separately.

Coverage Term

For FTE-based agreements, coverage shall be 1 year in duration from the start time specified and renewed each fiscal year thereafter until a formal request to terminate is submitted. Agreements shall not be less than 1 year in duration.