Physics Computer Facility

By the PCF Staff

September 2009

The Physics Computer Facility provides computing and networking to the Department, its faculty, staff, and students. We do computing so you can do science.

1  Services

The PCF staff:

2  Frequently-asked questions

  1. Where do I get help?
    Send E-mail to action@mps.ohio-state.edu, telephone 614-292-4269, or visit room 1199 in the Physics Research Building.
  2. How do I get a computer account?
    Come to PRB 1199 and fill out a form to obtain accounts on our Windows and/or Unix systems. If you are a student, you'll need to be sponsored by a faculty or staff member.
  3. What are my options for E-mail?
  4. What are my wireless options?
  5. Where can I print?
    There are more than a dozen public printers in PRB and Smith Lab. They are named for the room where they sit. The five large color printers are the most popular (PRBX002, PRB2050, PRBM2020, PRBX301, and SMITH2097). The public printers can be easily added to a Windows or MacOS client; please see the PCF staff for assistance with Linux printing.
  6. Where do I find documentation?
    Go to the Physics Department web site www.physics.ohio-state.edu and select "Help". The Help page has links to "Physics Computing Help" and "Physics Department Faq-O-Matic". There is a great deal of online documentation within software packages such as Mathematica. The PCF staff will help you find any needed information.
  7. Where can I buy computer equipment and software for personal use?
    OSU runs two stores that sell these items at a discount: WiredOut in the Central Classroom Building (see wiredout.osu.edu) and the Apple store in the Wexner Center (store.wexnercenterstore.com/apple.html).
  8. Where can I obtain site-licensed software?
    softwaretogo.osu.edu contains an index of all campuswide software. The PCF staff can help you find other free or inexpensive packages.
  9. What am I required to do to protect my machines and data?
  10. Who are the PCF staff, and what are their specialities?
    Terry Bradley:
    instructional computing support; databases; Windows applications.
    Bryan Dunlap:
    Unix services; E-mail; physical environment for our computers.
    John Heimaster:
    Director of Scientific Computing; hardware and software architecture; VMS services.
    Brian Keller:
    Director of Information Technology; Windows infrastructure; security; acquisition of computing equipment.
    John Langkals:
    Audio/Visual services; multimedia preparation and distribution.
    Tim Randles:
    Research computing support; Linux services.
    J.D. Wear:
    Windows infrastructure and deployment; web services.



File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.85.
On 17 Sep 2009, 17:42.