Operating System Information --> Mac OS X --> General Usage --> OIT Help Desk Support Services, Systems, And Policies -->

OIT Help Desk Support Services, Systems, And Policies

The mission of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Help Desk is to provide front-line support for OIT systems and services. This support is provided in the following manner:

  • The OIT Help Desk strives to respond to each call and each in-person visit in a timely fashion.
  • The OIT Help Desk records basic information about each caller and each problem so that calls can be logged and problems tracked to resolution.
  • The OIT Help Desk will attempt to resolve the issue during the initial call within a reasonable timeframe. Since the OIT Help Desk strives to respond to all its customers, the time spent on each individual contact is necessarily limited.
  • Certain problems may need to be researched or escalated to the next level of support in order to be resolved. The OIT Help Desk will assign such problems to the appropriate group or individual.

Below is a list of OIT services and systems supported by the OIT Help Desk.

The OIT Help Desk supports recent versions of listed operating systems and software that are compatible with OIT services and systems unless a particular version is specified in the list.

Any software, hardware, and technology not listed below is considered to be outside the scope of the OIT Help Desk support parameters. Please note that this does not necessarily mean other software, hardware, and technology is "banned" or "not recommended". This simply signifies that the OIT Help Desk cannot provide assistance with every technology.

OIT Service/System Remarks
OIT e-mail systems:
  • Glue / Deans
  • Mail@umd
  • WAM
Eventually everyone currently receiving mail on WAM and non-departmental Glue accounts will be migrated to the Mail@umd e-mail system.
Commonly-used e-mail clients:
  • Thunderbird
  • OS X Mail
  • Mail@umd web client
  • Outlook Express
  • Windows Mail in Vista
  • Pine
  • Outlook
  • Entourage
  • SeaMonkey
  • Glue web client
  • Eudora 6
The OIT Help Desk strives to support the newest versions of these e-mail clients as they come out. Please note that the support goal of the OIT Help Desk is to ensure that you can send and receive e-mail, not to fix the shortcomings of any particular e-mail client.
Wired UMCP Internet computer connectivity:
  • Glued RedHat Linux
  • Glued Solaris
  • Mac OS X 10.3 and above
  • Windows 2000
  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista
Wired UMCP Internet connectivity includes on campus ethernet connections to UMCP's network service.
Wireless UMCP Internet computer connectivity:
  • Mac OS X 10.3 and above
  • Windows 2000
  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista
The OIT Help Desk only supports those wireless network cards recommended by the Mobile at Maryland wireless networking project.
System Access:
  • Advise
  • ARES
  • Corporate Time
  • Data Warehouse
  • ELF
  • FRS
  • Glue
  • MVS (ARS, SIS, etc)
  • PHR / Timesheets
  • Testudo
  • UMEG
  • WAM
  • ELMS
The OIT Help Desk will help all individuals authorized to use these systems with any problems involving access to the systems. System usage questions may be referred to specific support staff for that system or on-line documentation.
Commonly-used web browsers:
  • Firefox
  • Safari
  • Internet Explorer
  • SeaMonkey
The OIT Help Desk strives to support the newest versions of these web browsers as they come out. Please note that the support goal of the OIT Help Desk is to ensure that you can access and use OIT services and systems with these browsers, not to fix the shortcomings of any particular web browser.
Commonly-used network utility software:
  • Cisco VPN 3000
  • Fetch
  • F-Secure SSH (FTP)
  • Fugu
  • Hummingbird (3270 client)
  • OS X Terminal
  • TeraTerm Pro Web - SSH
The Cisco VPN 3000 client, which provides access to a virtual private networking service maintained by the Networking and Telecommunication Services branch of OIT, is not guaranteed to work in every home or office networking environment.
OIT-supported calendaring software:
  • Oracle Calendar web client
  • Oracle Calendar
The OIT Help Desk will provide support for installing and using these software programs on PC and Macintosh systems.
OIT-supported anti-virus software:
  • McAfee VirusScan (Windows)
  • McAfee VirusScan (Mac Intel)
  • Virex (Mac PowerPC)
The OIT Help Desk will provide support for installing and using these anti-virus programs which are distributed by OIT. The OIT Help Desk will also attempt to help customers remove known computer viruses, worms, and malware from their systems through the use of the anti-virus software, published removal procedures, and specialized removal tools.
Microsoft Office application installation support:
  • Access
  • Excel
  • Outlook
  • PowerPoint
  • Word
The OIT Help Desk will assist customers who are experiencing errors when trying to install or run these standard Microsoft Office applications. The OIT Help Desk is not in a position to answer programming, development, or "how-to" questions regarding these applications: customers may wish to consult the Help files in these applications or take training courses in order to learn how to use these programs.
Operating system support:
  • Apple Mac OS X.3 and above
  • Glued RedHat Linux
  • Glued Solaris
  • Microsoft Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Windows XP
  • Microsoft Windows Vista
The OIT Help Desk strives to support the newest versions of these operating systems. Please note that the support goal of the OIT Help Desk is to ensure you can use the system normally, and to provide basic troubleshooting for usage errors and virus/spyware infection detection and removal.

How do I:
How are we doing? Comments on this page?
Office of Information Technology
Office of Information Technology Help Desk Web Site University of Maryland Web Site Office of Information Technology Web Site