FHL IT Computing Policies

The FHL IT computing policy has been developed to educate, protect, and provide improved access to computer resources in our facilities. The policy is divided into the following subsections; 1) personal computing, 2) server computing, 3) classroom, lab, and student computing.

1) Personal Computing

There is an expectation that individuals keep their workstations up to date and follow best practices for safe and secure computing. All computers should be password protected including password protected screen savers. Computer users should review Safe and Secure Computing provided by Information Technology at the University of Washington (https://itconnect.uw.edu/security/). This document includes topics such as anti-virus software, protecting your passwords, and data backup.

FHL IT provides support for networking, Wi-Fi, and printers. In addition, we may provide limited support for basic computing (Windows and Macintosh), purchase recommendations and initial system set-up. For any additional technical support, the rate is $125/hour.

2) Server Computing

UW server computing refers to the use of UW machines running operating systems such as Windows Server, Mac OS Server, or any Linux distribution. FHL IT can support these systems at a rate of $125/hour for IT time and a monthly charge of $15 for operational costs.

The managed server installation requires an initial charge of $1,000 to install and configure the operating system, hardware drivers, basic security, and OS/software updates. An additional $500 is required to install  and configure a custom database. Custom software installations are $131.28/hour an hour and hardware installations are $131.28/hour an hour per device or groups of devices (Hard Drives, Memory and Peripheral I/O cards).

The unmanaged server requires the Principal PI to be responsible for administration and maintenance. An initial charge of $100 for infrastructure improvements and a monthly charge of $10 for operational costs is required.

In order to ensure users are educated about the risks associated with server operation, the Principal PI is requested to give a brief presentation to the FHL-IT Computing Committee, prior to system acquisition. This presentation should characterize the system and include a management plan. The management plan should include a point of contact, schedule of security audits, and data recovery plan. The rationale for this request is that this planning upfront will decrease downtime and will help the FHL-IT Committee plan for infrastructure improvements.

3) Classroom and Student Computing

FHL (Friday Harbor Laboratories) and UW STF (University of Washington Student Technology Fee) funds and maintains two computer facilities, both of them primarily used for FHL course instruction: FHL-CL (Computer Lab) and FHL-FC (Fernald Classroom). FHL-CL provides walk-in computing access to any UW student.

Any required installation of computer software or other special needs for the computer facilities must be coordinated with FHL IT Services (fhlit@uw.edu) 30 days in advance. The facilities, funded by state funds and student fees, are not available to off-campus or commercial organizations. Applications for computer facility use by other University organizations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Last Edited: 8/19/22