Hardware & Software Support Policy

The Office of Technology services tries to support as much hardware and software as possible. The current supported and non-supported hardware and software are listed below and is updated frequently.

Hardware Support

Hardware support is divided into two different categories: fully supported and networked only.

Fully Supported

This refers to university-owned hardware purchased through or in consultation with the Office of Technology Services. Hardware in this category will be included in the University inventory and given the ability to connect to the University network.

CMU has chosen Dell to be the computing vendor of choice for all operating systems that function on Intel-based platforms. CMU also fully supports Apple/Macintosh models running OS 10.4 or higher.

Other University-owned laptops and desktops and older Macintosh systems will be supported as legacy systems until they are:

  • replaced, or
  • they pose a security risk due to an operating system that has reached "end of life", or
  • they no longer have the ability to run University supported software which includes anti-virus, or
  • upgrades are necessary and the cost to upgrade outweighs the benefit of keeping the system in service

Networked Only

This includes all non-college-owned hardware (which includes student-owned equipment).

Student owned equipment is directly supported only for the purpose of connecting it to the University network and general use questions. It is the student's responsibility to insure that the operating system software is functioning properly and that the computer is free of viruses, spyware, and malware. Additional computer services are available locally at the Office of Technology Services for a fee.

Faculty and staff personally owned equipment is discouraged and generally not allowed on the University faculty/staff network, but in certain instances, with the approval of the Vice-President for Technology and Planning, CMU will provide the ability for this hardware to be connected to the faculty/staff network. CMU cannot provide any other type of support for hardware or software issues associated with the equipment. Computer services are available locally at the Office of Technology Services for a fee.

Hardware in this category is not eligible for University-owned site-license software which includes the Microsoft Windows operating system, Microsoft Office and anti-virus software.

Software Support

Software support is broken into five categories; fully supported, partially supported, installation only, web-based and not supported. The first four categories apply only to fully supported hardware. This support is intended for software installed on University-owned computers.

Fully Supported

The software packages in this category are considered the University standard packages for each of the noted application types. Upgrades for these standard packages are done on a regular schedule dependent upon the needs of the University as a whole.

Although exceptions are possible, the packages are generally upgraded on the following schedule:

  • Tools - Categories will be upgraded at least every four to five years.
  • Operating System - Software will be kept up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates, as they are made available. Major operating system upgrades will be performed at least once every five to six years.
  • Utility Software - Category will be upgraded as necessary. Many of these packages get automatically upgraded as regular operating system updates are performed.

Exceptions must be approved by the Vice-President for Technology and Planning

CMU will install, troubleshoot, and help in the use of these applications. All of the software listed below comes installed, as appropriate to platform (Mac or PC), on newly installed desktops/laptops with noted exceptions.

Productivity Tools

Operating Systems

  • Macintosh Operating System: OS X (10.5/10.4)
  • Windows Operating System: 7 Professional

Utilities

versions will vary based on platform

  • Macromedia Flash/Shockwave Plugins (PC/Mac latest versions)
  • iTunes (PC/Mac latest version available through Apple automatic updates)
  • VLC Player (PC & Mac)
  • Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection (PC)
  • Turning Point Anywhere (PC and Mac)
  • WS FTP (PC)
  • Audacity (PC and Mac)
  • Internet Browsers:MS Internet Explorer (PC), Safari (Mac)
  • Media Players: Windows Media Player (PC), RealPlayer (PC and Mac)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader version 8.1 or greater (PC and Mac)
  • SSH Secure Shell Putty (PC) and iTerm (Mac)

Partially Supported

CMU will support these older packages, but will no longer install them. The newest versions mentioned above will be installed when systems are upgraded or replaced.

  • Macintosh Operating System: OS X (10.3)
  • Windows Operating System: XP Professional
  • MS Office 2013 (PC) and MS Office 2011 (Mac)
  • Browsers: Firefox 3.x, Safari 3.x, Internet Explorer 6.x/7.x, VLC .9x

Installation Only

CMU will install these products, but users must learn how to use them on their own.

  • Adobe Photoshop or Creative Suite (PC and Mac)
  • SPSS Statistical Package
  • EDExpress and EDConnect
  • OCLC Library Application Software
  • MS Access
  • MS Publisher
  • FileMaker Pro (Mac)

A special category of Installation only software is specialized software used by a few people because of its discipline or departmental related special purpose. In these cases CMU will work with the individuals to determine if the software will work on the current standard operating system installed on new computers. CMU will provide installation of this software on Fully Supported Hardware if the user does not feel capable of performing the installation. Support of this type of software will be the responsibility of the user.

Web-Based Software Packages

A number of web-based software packages are available for use by authenticated CMU users and in most cases are fully supported. The list below represents the most common packages.

  • Eagle Mail
  • myCMU
  • Turn-it-in.com
  • Activedata Calendar
  • Library Online Database Access
  • OUCampus CMS

Not Supported

CMU will not assist in installing, using or troubleshooting any products not covered in the list above.

CMU reserves the right to remove any unsupported software if it is suspected the software causes a recurring problem on a university-owned system that CMU supports.