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CAE - In My Office

How to set up your personal computer on the CAE network to use college computing resources.

This page assumes that you are hooking up a computer to become a CAE managed desktop. It will provide you with some basic information on how to connect, as well as relevant security information. Furthermore, a few performance tweaks are listed, as well as recommended hardware requirements. This page does not attempt to assist with operating system installation, and does not give troubleshooting advice.

Security

Security is of extreme importance in the age of high-speed connections. A responsible internet user should ALWAYS be running the latest anti-virus and firewall software regardless of platform. The UW allows students, faculty, and staff to download the latest firewall and virus protection for FREE. Personal Computer Firewall Software .

There are also a number of hints available to help you become a smarter web surfer ( Security Basics ) This page provides a few basic guidelines which should help you avoid identity theft as well as other helpful security tips. Additionally, you may find it useful to read the College's Security Policy .

Currently the CAE supports the following platforms: Windows XP, Macintosh, and Linux, (although a few programs are only available for XP) When using remote access, It is useful to check the program's availability as indicated on the specific software page.

Setting up your CAE desktop for Windows XP

Getting connected:

In order to become connected to the CAE you must first have an IP address. This is basically an internet identification address for you computer. Because of the College's firewalls (which are set up for your protection ) you must have an IP address which is recognized by the College. To register for an IP go here: Requesting an IP Address

Performance and Patches:

In order to get everything up and running smoothly, please work with your department IT support personnel to ensure that your computer is up to date with patches, has anti-virus software installed and active, and has current virus definitions.

Drive Letter Settings:

There are some "standards" used at the CAE as far as drive letter assignments are concerned. It would be advantageous to follow these recommended CAE drive letter assignments , because they have become the standard around the CAE. Drive letter assignments similarities are useful because you can walk between your office machine and CAE site machines and find the same drive letter assignment at both. Furthermore, if your CD-Rom drive is the F: drive you may wish to Change the Drive Letter of Your CD-ROM because when logging into the CAE network, the network automatically takes the F: drive (essentially making your CD-Rom drive disappear).

Adding a user account:

If for some reason you wish to create multiple user accounts for your newly set up computer, or wish to change user account privileges try consulting Creating user accounts with XP.

Macintosh

  • Installing the OS
  • System recommendations/requirements
  • Performance tuning
  • Standard drive letter assignments
  • Installing the Network Support
  • DHCP
  • Obtaining an IP Address
  • Security and Protecting User Data
  • Patching / System Update service
  • Personal Firewall from Microsoft
  • Norton Anti-Virus and Ad-Aware

Linux

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