Updates for Fall 2011  

Hey students!  Welcome, or welcome back!  For returning students, a lot has changed since the spring.  For new students, everything is new. Here's a rundown of what you need to know.

Undergraduate Students:

The change for you in the Smith School is the new Smith Apps system, which replaces MySmith at MyUM. Printing is still the same, as are lab logins. Instead of going to MyUM to access lab applications you should now go to http://smithapps.rhsmith.umd.edu. More instructions for Smith Apps can be found here, but the rest of this page won't relate to you.

Graduate Students:

For a complete overview, you might want to check out the Fall 2011 orientation packets.

The biggest change for returning students is that since spring we retired our Novell Netware infrastructure and replaced it with one based on Microsoft's Active Directory. What does this mean to you?

Changing Passwords:

Many students go away for the summer and forget their passwords by the time they get back. The password changing process was revised over the summer and is now simpler than ever before.

  • Returning only: The old password to get to your files (and the old MyUM Windows Applications) is no longer required, and in fact your accounts on the old system have been disabled (not deleted, just disabled). See below for the systems that have replaced file server (your "K" drive) and remote Windows applications access (MySmith on MyUM).
  • All: The new Active Directory-based file server uses your University Directory account information. To reset that password for file access (or for Blackboard, or Testudo) please go to https://directory.umd.edu/tools/password.cfm.
  • All: Passwords for @rhsmith.umd.edu mail accounts can be reset it at http://reset.rhsmith.umd.edu. If you're a Smith webmail user, you can use the Widget in the webmail client.
  • Detailed help for changing or resetting passwords is available at http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/smithit/accounts/passwords.aspx.

Files and Lab Logins, now via Active Directory:

  • Returning only: Your files on the old server were copied to the new file server at 7AM August 24. Your access to the old server was disabled but the files were left there in case of any questions or problems about this process. You no longer have or need a Novell Netware account.
  • All College Park / DC / Baltimore: When logging into lab PCs, you should use your University Directory username and password.
  • All: When logged in to a Smith system, your home directory for files is your "K" drive.
  • All: For security of the school's data, remote access to files is now available only through Citrix. You can work with files directly on network volumes using the Citrix applications (i.e.: open a Minitab file from K:), or can use the published copy of Windows Explorer to copy files to and from your remote computer. Log in to the NEW Citrix Smith Apps site at http://smithapps.rhsmith.umd.edu
  • All: Detailed help for accessing files remotely is at this page.

Remote Access, now via Smith Apps:

  • Returning only: We rebuilt the old Windows Applications system from MyUM (aka Citrix) over the summer to use Active Directory for logins, so you should use your University Directory username and password with that system.
  • Returning: The MyUM portal had availability and performance problems that Smith IT wasn't convinced were going to improve, so we made the decision to build the new system outside of the campus' portal. The old MyUM system is still online but is intended only for faculty and staff who still have their files on Novell -- we will migrate them also as soon as we can.
  • All: The URL for Smith Apps (Citrix) access is http://smithapps.rhsmith.umd.edu.
  • All: The rebuild made several big improvements possible:
    • Performance (especially on logins) should be much improved
    • Browser compatibility is no longer a problem (Safari, Chrome, and IE all work fine)
    • Access via mobile devices such as iPads / iPhones and Android devices is possible. Please see this page of instructions
    • It's also possible to skip the web interface entirely and use a native client straight on your Mac or PC. For these last two options, see the instructions for PC (still to be written) and Mac.  While we don't offer formal support for Linux, Citrix does work with Linux.  We have a report that this page helped one of our users get connected. (Thanks, Arun!)
  • All: Detailed help for accessing files remotely, which includes an overview of getting started with Smith Apps, is at this page.

New Printing Options:

  • All: Printing is the most site-specific of all of our technologies. College Park and DC have similar infrastructures, but Baltimore and Shady Grove are very different. Students and Baltimore and Shady Grove should ask their local tech support staff about the best way to use printing at those sites.
  • College Park/DC Returning only: The old Novell iPrint printing system was scrapped in favor of one based on Active Directory. This new web-based system provides much better tracking and feedback on your printer usage, encouraging you to use this resource an environmentally responsible manner.
    • The per-semester allocation remains 600 pages. Your remaining page balance will display in a popup on lab computers, or you can check your balance at http://print.rhsmith.umd.edu
    • The old iPrint client will no longer work for printing directly from laptops. Instead, you should submit jobs over the web at http://print.rhsmith.umd.edu to count against your per-semester allocation. You just upload your Office-type document to the website, and our server will print it on your behalf. iPrint (and any other Novell software you might have installed) should be uninstalled.
    • If you exceed your 600 page allocation you have the same options to purchase additional printing as last year – you can use the UMCP's Pharos system, or the WEPA kiosks located around Van Munching Hall.
    • For detailed information about printing, please see this document.

Push Email and Calendar Sync to iOS and Android, Bigger Disk Quotas, and Other Changes:

This information is of use for Masters students of all types:

  • Traveler, a tool we tested last spring that does "push" messaging for iPads, iPhones, and Android devices with our email and calendar system, is now available to everyone who uses one of these mobile devices. It has the dual benefit of faster message delivery and reduced battery consumption. See http://training.rhsmith.umd.edu
  • As a part of the file server move, disk quotas were bumped up from 1GB to 5GB – though please remember our guidelines on what is and is not appropriate to store on our machines
  • Don't forget about the Gartner Research Portal, available to all students at http://gartner.rhsmith.umd.edu. It has market research, case studies, statistics, updates on latest technologies, and information about technology companies. And of course VBIC (accessible through SmithApps) is still a great resource for research projects.
  • Updates on computer labs:
    • VMH 3505 (the Finance lab) will be available to students when classes are not in session. Schedules will be posted on the door and are of course subject to change
    • VMH 1311 and VMH 3522 (computer classrooms) have been upgraded with new machines
    • All computer labs at all sites have gotten fresh software updates over the summer 

Links for returning students from their checklist:

Students in orientation were given a checklist of things to work on before school started. Here are links that help complete that assignment. They might be generally useful for others, however.