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HelpHardware and Software Requirements
The following recommendations have been prepared by the Desktop and LAN Support team of the Office of Academic and Administrative Information Systems (OAAIS). Included are the hardware and software required to use the core administrative systems delivered by OAAIS. For additional information, please contact your departmental computer support coordinator. These guidelines are a step toward establishing a more common infrastructure to provide improved reliability, problem solving, and services.
Given the rate at which computer hardware and software is changing, we recommend that you develop a plan and budget for your department for upgrading or replacing one-third of your existing computers each year. A plan such as this should provide you with the appropriate level of computer technology to accommodate future UCSF computing needs and to avoid obsolescence.
IBM and Compatible Computers
General Recommendation for Entry Level or Administrative Staff
Dell Optiplex 745 Celeron Desktop
- Base Unit: OptiPlex 745 Desktop, Celeron 351/3.20GHz,256K,533FSB
- Monitor: Dell UltraSharp 1708FP flat panel with height-adjustable stand, 17.0 inch VIS
- Memory: 1.0GB, non-ECC, 533MHz DDR2 2x512
- Keyboard: Dell USB keyboard, no hot keys, English, black
- Video Card: Digital video adapter card, low-profile
- Hard Drive: 80GB SATA 3.0 Gb/s and 8 MB DataBurst cache
- Floppy Disk Drive: no floppy drive with optical enhanced filler panel
- Operating System: Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2, with media, English, factory Install
- Mouse: Dell USB premium optical 5-button Mouse, black
- TBU: RoHS compliant lead-free chassis and motherboard
- CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive: 48X32 CDRW/DVD SATA combo, black
- Speakers: Dell AS501 black sound bar for UltraSharp flat panel displays
General Recommendation for Analyst Level Staff and Above
Dell OptiPlex 745 Core 2 Duo Desktop
- Base Unit: OptiPlex 745 Desktop, Core 2 Duo E6400/2.13GHz, 2M, 1066 FSB
- Monitor: Dell UltraSharp 1908FP flat panel with height-adjustable stand, 19.0 inch VIS
- Memory: 2.0GB, non-ECC, 667MHz DDR2 4x512
- Keyboard: Dell USB keyboard, no hot keys, English, black
- Video Card: 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 PRO graphics card, dual monitor DVI or VGA (TV Out)
- Hard Drive: 160GB SATA 3.0Gb/s and 8MB DataBurst cache
- Floppy Disk Drive: no floppy drive with optical enhanced filler panel
- Operating System: Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2, with media, English, factory Install
- Mouse: Dell USB premium optical 5-button Mouse, black
- TBU: RoHS compliant lead-free chassis and motherboard
- CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW SATA, black, Roxio Creator Dell edition
- Speakers: Dell AS501 black sound bar for UltraSharp flat panel displays
Minimum Requirement for OLFS/OLPPS & LedgerLink
- 133 MHz Pentium
- 64 MB RAM
- 100 MB or larger free hard disk space
- 8X or faster CD-ROM (optional)
- Windows 98 or NT 4.0
Note: Windows 2000/ME are currently being evaluated.
Macintosh and Compatible Computers
For general recommendations for Macintosh computers, please consult with your computer support coordinator.
General Purpose Applications
- Word Processor and Spreadsheets: Microsoft Office 2003, 2007
- Email: Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007, Entourage (for the campus Exchange system)
- WWW Browser: Internet Explorer 6.0, Internet Explorer 7.0, Mozilla
- Sophos AntiVirus Software - see Sophos licensing page for downloading instructions
- Spysweeper Anti-Spyware - see Spysweeper licence page for downloading instructions
Email Attachments
- MIME is the current UCSF standard for binary attachment coding. Text or text-based items (like html) should be attached as text.
- Word 5.1 as the file exchange format for word processing and Excel 4 for spreadsheets.
- Documents for exchange be named with not more than eight characters, no imbedded spaces, and append ".doc" to the end of Word documents and ".xls" to the end of Excel documents.
- The Adobe Acrobat ® Reader allows anyone to view, navigate, and print documents in the Adobe ® Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF documents are especially useful to share electronic documents created by uncommonly used computer applications. Examples where PDF documents might be useful include organization charts and project plans. For information and to download the Download the free Adobe Acrobat ® Reader, see http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html.
- Email attachments and PDF files are handy methods to share electronic information. However, they are often used unnecessarily when text or HTML files can adequately convey the information.
- Re-evaluate recommendations at least every six months for changes in the technology used at UCSF.
- Note, these interexchange recommendations are to be used if people are seeking guidance and/or support. There is no prohibition against other means of interexchange for people known to be using similar software products.
Network
- 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet connection to the UCSF backbone network.
- DSL is recommended for users requiring remote connectivity to the UCSF network.
- Ethernet is the campus standard for networking. ENS strongly encourages users to migrate to 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet.
Please send comments, questions, and suggestions for updates to Kurt Glowienke.