[Nottingham] Running Ubuntu at Nottingham Uni

[ForkBombFluf]

On Thu, 24 May 2012, david at gbenet.com wrote:

> Afternoon Stef,

Hi David,

> I am quite surprised that there is no Linux support. That all your IT 
> staff are Microsoft Engineers - how on earth did they get their degrees?

Errm.... I'm pretty sure I said a "majority in IS" are hired for their 
Windows proficiency, not all, and then proceeded to use the IS Support 
person in Maths person as a prime example of one who isn't.

Chris Booth obviously won't have been hired to look after the HPC as a 
"Microsoft Engineer" either. ;-)

> As you point out the majority of science departments need Linux - space 
> research to archaeology - what happens when these departments have a 
> "problem?" I suspect that all their staff have an IT Degree and not one 
> given to them by Microsoft!

There are still those within the various departments and research groups 
who have expertise that can be drawn on in a lot of cases.  The MR Centre, 
for example, is heavily UNIX/Linux depedent but has very capable people 
in-house managing those systems.  Information Services still provides and 
looks after the network infrastructure that their kit plugs into though, 
as well as being responsible for most University wide services, and most 
PCs on desks.  The division of labor between IS and individual departments 
can be a bizarre battlefront at times too, as you might imagine.

> Anyway - for a uni not to support Linux is real short sighted!

I agree in pirinciple, but as I said before, the amount of support that 
John Q. Desktop user gets for linux (in reality) varies greatly depending 
on where in the University you are and who your job lands with in 
SupportWorks.

If you're in Maths/Physics/Astronomy for example, you're laughing.  If 
you're elsewhere and having trouble getting someone to let you put Linux 
on, your best bet is to inform your support bod about the CentOS PXE 
install available from Maths and Physics.  Proxies (amongst many other 
things) will already be configured, and the security of the system has 
been looked after (DenyHosts or equivalent already installed for example), 
so it's much less of a headache for everyone, including you.

Cheers,

-Stef