As SCS graduate students, you will likely need to know about all that follows on this page.
You can always ask for help from the consultants in the Math Faculty Help Centre. However it's quite likely that your supervisor has subscribed to research support, in which case you'll have a Point of Contact who will help you resolve problems with your computing environment. In general, CSCF uses a Point of Contact model which attempts to minimize the number of different people you'll have to go to for help. Because of how services are funded, you'll likely find yourself dealing with someone other than your research point of contact when dealing with the student computing environment. E.g. for help with computing problems related to course TA duties, use the Point of Contact for the course.
For new graduate students there is a Getting Started Guide as well.
To identify yourself to campus computing systems, you use your "userid" as recorded in the campus directory; WatIAM. This is automatically assigned based upon registration data. It is the same userid as is used with the Quest student information system.
To prove your identity, you need a password. Unlike your userid, you have multiple passwords, depending upon what service you're using.
In theory you should only need one for each level of security; so-called "single sign-on". Unfortunately we don't have that. In practice, there are several passwords to know.
Your "WatIAM" password is used for campus provided services, ranging in importance from your personal HR records or student records, to the password used to access the campus wireless network.
You can (re)set your WatIAM password at http://watiam.uwaterloo.ca. It is the same as the password used for the Quest student information system.
The workstations in the podiums found in most lecture rooms use Nexus, the Microsoft Active Directory used for many Windows workstations across campus. See the description of podium usage for details.
IST is working to merge Nexus and WatIAM, thereby reducing the number of passwords that students need to use. So your Nexus password can be set by changing your WatIAM password.
Your "cs-general" password, also referred to as your "general.cs" or "core.cs" password, is used to access the central CS server environment, e.g. where you can store files, and publish WWW pages. Undergraduate students don't generally have access to this. This password also provides access to the "standard" workstation supplied to most grad students.
Your initial password can be set by the consultants in the Help Centre. Be warned that you'll have to change it at least once for it to take effect everywhere. If you have a Point of Contact, they may help by setting your initial general password along with your workstation administrator password.
Your "cs-teaching" password, also referred to as your "student.cs" password, is used to access the central CS teaching environment. Students taking courses and those involved in instruction have access to this.
Your initial password can be set by the consultants in the Help Centre. Or you can use your WatIAM password to (re)set your "cs-teaching" password.
If your supervisor chooses to provide you with a "standard PC", you'll have administrator access (as well as access to your personal account). Your personal Windows account will use your cs-general password. Your Linux account password is available from your Point of Contact.
The administrator password is specific to the machine. The initial administrator password will be set for you by your Point of Contact should you request it.
Each of the main computing environments provides a fileserver, accessible directly by the machines in the environments, and remotely via the (Windows) SMB protocol.
Environment SMB Server Quota general.cs smb-files.cs.uwaterloo.ca 20 GB student.cs smb-files.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca 1 GB + special course needs
student.cs filespace is present only when you're taking courses, or when involved in instruction, e.g. as a TA/IA for a course.
The general fileserver is thoroughly backed up. Be warned that if you keep your files elsewhere, backups are your responsibility. E.g. you may choose to store your files on your personal workstation, and/or on servers in research labs with which you may be affiliated.
You automatically have access to the General Computing Environment. That will provide basic WWW, mail, and file storage. In addition, you may have access to computing resources in computing labs with which you are affiliated.
By default you will be provided a "thin client" to access the General Computing Environment. Or your supervisor may choose to provide a workstation for you, e.g. by subscribing to CSCF computing support, which results in provision of a school provided workstation or laptop. Students in the MHI and coursework MMath programs have access to the shared Mac workstations in DC3139 and DC3335.
The campus directory (WatIAM) provides automatic mail forwarding for mail addressed to your official student email address
YourUWuserid@uwaterloo.ca
Sometime after your acceptance as a student, you should have received an email message at the email address you initially provided. One of the things it mentioned is that future email will go to your official student email address above, and that that can be read using a mail server called
mailservices.uwaterloo.ca
That service should meet basic email needs, and has the important characteristic that confidential information sent to you (e.g. student marks) will remain on campus, and more importantly, in the country. Using it also makes it clear who you are, as your WatIAM userid is used for your email address.
You do have an alternative on-campus service available. It's called
ConnectIf you expect to be using the campus electronic calendar/booking system, and/or if you like to use Microsoft Outlook to process email, then Connect is the more appropriate choice, as it's implemented with Microsoft Exchange. You can switch by asking IST for an account by sending email to request@ist.uwaterloo.ca, stating that you are a Computer Science graduate student and would like to use Connect instead of Mailservices. If you have a significant amount of email on Mailservices, IST is willing to copy it to Connect for you, if you ask. Once you have a Connect account, you can specify that your mail be sent to connect.uwaterloo.ca by telling WatIAM.
You have an account in the General Computing Environment. By default, it will be created to forward email to @uwaterloo.ca as mentioned above. The same will be true for an account in the Student Computing Environment. Please don't change that forwarding.
In addition to using a specific mail client, your email may be accessed using a WWW based interface like myWaterloo or SquirrelMail for Mailservices, or Outlook Web Access for Connect.
You may discover that CS does run a mail server, called mail.cs.uwaterloo.ca. It exists only until everyone has moved to one of the above services. Please don't use it.
Each of the two major environments provides WWW service:
Environment WWW Server general.cs www.cs.uwaterloo.ca student.cs www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca
If you have an account on an environment, you can create your own WWW pages, and run your own WWW programs (CGI's), by placing your files in your public_html directory. If your UW userid is YourUWuserid then
Environment Your URL general.cs http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~YourUWuserid student.cs http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~YourUWuserid
There are details about printing available, the most important of which follows:
Graduate students are strongly encouraged to use lj_csgrad which is located in the grad mailroom in DC3316, and the print queue lj_cs is also available as a backup but you will need to get one of the secretaries to open the door to the print room to allow you to pick up your print job, and after business hours you'll have to wait till the next day. You also have the option of printing to the self-serve printers ljp_3016 located in MC3016 by setting up a XAS account. The School of Computer Science also operates several printers, as do some of the research groups. Quota on these printers must be requested by your supervisor on your behalf.
When a graduate student first registers, a free allocation will be assigned to their printing account as follows:
This is a one-time allocation valid for the duration of the particular graduate program, intended to cover the printing of a few drafts of the research paper or thesis. After this allocation runs out you need to have your supervisor sponsor any further printing need
David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
Tel: 519-888-4567 x33293
Fax: 519-885-1208
Contact | Feedback: webmaster@cscf.cs.uwaterloo.ca | David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science | Faculty of Mathematics
Last modified: Wednesday, 31-Aug-2011 16:27:02 EDT
