Loyola University Chicago

Information Technology Services requires that faculty request the installation of teaching software in open-access computer labs several months prior to the beginning of the academic semester in which they wish the software to be available to their students (see the software installation request form for more detail). We have created the following document, "Installing Instructor Software on a Lab Network: Technical Support Statement," in order to explain what happens after we receive an installation request, and why some teaching software may not be compatible with the Loyola network environment.

How We Set up Academic Labs

There are three major steps involved in building a stable academic lab environment. In step one, we collect the requirements, the media, and the documentation. In step two, we install and test the software. Not only must we test the functions of the individual applications, but we must also test every individual application with all other applications (approximately 80) to assure all will co-exist and function properly. In step three, which occurs only when the first two steps are complete for all applications, we build individual images for approximately 25 different hardware types and then transfer these images to the labs. Image-building requires about 3 weeks; transferring the images to lab machines, because it requires that machines not be in use at the time, is scheduled during semester downtimes and can take from 2-3 weeks depending on how heavily the labs are scheduled for other uses during those times.

Not All Software Can Run on a Lab Network

Most software is written for use on a personal computer with a local hard drive and CD-ROM that will be used by one person. Because the computer belongs to one person, that person can make choices about what to install on the hard drive, what to run from diskettes or CD-Roms, and how to set up files and directories on their hard drive.

Although Loyola's lab computers begin life looking the same as typical home computers, we configure them specially to make them operate in a network environment wherein resources are distributed from a central location and shared by hundreds and hundreds of similarly configured and linked machines. -Because each machine is used by many different people with many different software needs, we need to make sure that the same software is always available in the same way from all machines. This means we cannot allow users to install their own software directly on each computer. In addition, to ensure the integrity of the software as well as the network itself, we have to restrict access to functions that customize the operation or delivery of software, or the appearance of the computer screen. This means no single person can change defaults within a software program, delete system files, alter the look or the desktop, or corrupt files with viruses. Most people do not consider these limitations restrictive, as their concern is only that the software they need is readily available from the network when they need it.

Because the network environment is so different, it is unlikely that software will work there UNLESS the author of the software has designed it explicitly for that environment. Even software that has been designed to be shared on a corporate network (one in which some pieces of the software are shared on a server, and other individualized pieces of the software are kept on local, personal hard drives for each employee) may not be flexible enough to be used in a situation such as ours where we cannot store individual information for each user on each lab workstation. Therefore, each new piece of software (and major upgrades to existing software) needs to be tested thoroughly before we can determine if it will run on our lab networks.

Data Storage Requirements

Because students cannot be permanently assigned their own computers and/or personal hard drive space in a lab, software that requires a lot of hard drive space to hold data that can be accessed and altered by individual users may be unusable, either in whole or in part, in the labs. Database applications that work in corporate network environments often do so because employees can be assigned additional IDs and passwords just for that application, allowing them to alter files and save data under their own IDs without permanently altering the program for other users. At Loyola, even though lab users students do log into the network using personal IDs and passwords, they are actually accessing software anonymously by means of a generic machine-based ID.

Because of these reasons -- an absence of personal hard drive space and the inability to access software with a unique ID -- students can only store the results of their work on their own diskettes. We do have LS120 superdisks in most of our labs, which allows greater amounts of data storage. In addition, several new companies have emerged who will provide no-cost, secure storage space, typically between 10 and 25 meg, on the Web.

Faculty storage needs, which can include making specific files available to all of their students, are unique, so space is available on our network for that purpose. Faculty should explain their data storage needs to the manager of Instructional Computing during their initial meeting.

Software Licensing:


Licensing Responsibility

The department that is requesting the software is responsible for buying sufficient licenses to assure that access in labs is in compliance with the vendor's stated licensing policies. Purchasing these licenses should occur only AFTER the testing has verified that the software will be usable in any of the labs at all. However, you should have investigated the licensing options and, if necessary, made arrangements to fund the purchase of the required licenses before requesting the installation. Information Services will comply with all software licensing strictures, which will include, but may not be limited to, NOT making multiple copies of software that has been licensed for only one person to use.

Vendors license their products in various ways. It is important to understand the options you have so you can pick the most cost-effective approach.

• Site licensing
  The vendor provides a license to cover all use at a particular site. A site might be defined as an individual campus or more typically as the entire university.
• Concurrent use licensing
  The vendor allows us to purchase only the number of licenses we believe will be in use at Loyola at any given time. We then use software-metering tools on our network servers to monitor the use of an application. If we consistently run out of available licenses, additional ones can be purchased to meet demand.
• Per seat licensing
  The vendor requires that a legal license of the software be purchased for every PC capable of accessing the software. This is typically not as cost-effective; for example, even if only 30 people are expected to ever use a product at one time in our labs, we would be required to purchase nearly 700 licenses to cover all lab seats.

Installing and Testing the Software:

Initiating the Process

First, complete the software installation request form, then schedule a meeting with the Manager of Desktop Services to discuss your needs and turn over the software. At the meeting, you should deliver a complete set of media and documentation for the product. Because we need to retain the media not only during the installation and testing processes, but for as long as it is on our network, you may wish to make a backup copy for your own use. You should also be prepared to discuss licensing arrangements for the software.

Often, normal installation instructions included with software do not fit the situation in our labs. The likelihood of delivering your software successfully in our labs is improved if the vendor has provided a technical contact to work with our staff in modifying installation routines.

Typically, there are many choices to be made regarding settings during an installation. We generally will accept the vendor defaults. If you have special needs or requirement in this area, please communicate those to the manager of Instructional Computing when you meet.

Staff in the Customer Support department will install the software in our environment and do basic testing for compatibility. They will attempt to do a preliminary evaluation of a piece of software as soon as they receive it. If they see problems then or if problems develop during the installation and preliminary testing, you will be notified as soon as possible so you can make other plans. Finally, questions frequently arise during the installation phase. Should this happen, you can expect to be contacted by one of our technical staff for consultation.

Our objective is to provide all applications to all lab desktops to the extent allowable by the licensing agreement and the hardware in our various labs. We wish to make access as consistent across all campuses as possible so students will be able to find locations to complete their course work. However, because our current environment includes two types of labs, full service and basic service, it is sometimes not possible to make all teaching software available on all machines. The difference between full and basic service labs is the amount of hard drive space available on the machines in that lab, and the full range of teacher-requested applications cannot run on some of the older machines with smaller hard drives. You will be informed if these restrictions limit the availability of your software.

Follow-up Steps for Faculty:


Your Testing

A critical piece of the testing process will rest with you as the person intending to use the application in a teaching environment. Once we have the application up and running we will contact you and ask that you plan some time to test the functions you intend to use. In this way, if problems arise, we are more likely to be able to resolve them prior to the time you and your students will need to use the software. If you let us know in advance when you plan to test, we can usually arrange for one of the technical staff to be available to you.

You may still need to buy licenses.

If problems develop as you use the software or if you wish anything changed in the installation, please contact the ITS Support Center to log a call so we can allocate staff to address your issues.

When the software is no longer required, please let us know. We will then remove it from the network and any machines on which it was loaded. If you will be using the software for several semesters, or for an undetermined amount of time, you can let us know that in the initial meeting with the manager of Instructional Computing.