Welcome to the Department of Mathematics' Computing Help page.

Students enrolled in, or taking classes with the Math department, Math department staff, faculty and guests are entitled to a Math account on our server, pi (pi.math.drexel.edu). Usage of all computer resources must be in compliance with Drexel's Acceptable Use Policy.

Operating Systems

People in the department use Linux (Gentoo, Mandrake, Red Hat, Ubuntu), OS X, and Windows XP. The majority of support resources go to Linux and Windows systems.

E-mail

You can set up your e-mail using Drexel's server, or through the Math department's server, pi. In the latter case you have an address of the form user@math.drexel.edu.

To learn how to setup/view your Drexel e-mail account click here.
To learn how to setup/view your Math e-mail account click here.

You may check your e-mail using a supported e-mail client (see above links) or by using a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.

To view your Drexel e-mail using a web browser click here.
To view your Math e-mail using a web browser click here. (Mozilla is recommended)

Voicemail

For information on setting up your voicemail click here.

Mailing Lists

For official, public Math Department mailing lists click here.

Personal Web Pages

Each math account is provided with personal web space on the server. Files that are available for viewing on the web must to be placed in your public_html directory (if this folder does not exist, create a new folder and name it public_html) and needs an index.html file in it that folder. Thus, /home/gmcfoo/public_html/index.html is found on the web at http://www.math.drexel.edu/~gmcfoo

Make sure that both your home and your public_html directory have search permissions enabled and the index.html file is readable by everyone.

No scripting is supported at this time. We hope to be able to offer both cgi, and php script support in the near future.

Remote Access

All users can connect remotely to the Math server (pi.math.drexel.edu) using SSH and logging into the system with your Math username and password. Windows users have a choice between SSH, Cygwin, and/or RealVNC

Backups

Home directories on pi are fully backed up once a week on Saturday and Sunday morning. Incrmental backups, only the files which have changed since the weekly backup, are done every Monday through Friday. Full backups are held for one month. Incrementals are held for two weeks.

Please submit a work request if you need to have a file restored. Make sure you include the full path of the file or directory and the date from which you want it restored.

Need Computer Help?

If you have a computing problem, then we have a formalized process that you should use to get it solved. The main tool is the help request system https://help.math.drexel.edu. This is a web-based system which tracks questions, answers, and problems which come up. The help request system harasses technical staff on a daily basis to make sure your question gets answered, and keeps you informed of any changes or updates. Using this system helps capture answers to simple and complex questions for later use.

Please search the help request system to see if someone else is having a problem similar to yours. Then you can add your comments and information to theirs, which should help shorten the resolution process. This includes Linux and Windows requests, and hardware problems, such as a department printer having run out of toner. DON'T BE SHY ABOUT POSTING REQUESTS. Also, an issue that you might think is special to you may be a problem for many people, and could be more serious than you suspect. The list of things that shouldn't go on help is few.

For simple questions that do not require filling out a full help request, you may directly e-mail manager@math.drexel.edu. Manager is a mail alias for the entire Math department's technical staff.

In an emergency/time critical situation, please contact the department head, Hugo Woerdeman directly by phone, who in turn will contact a manager.

System Administrators

Departmental computing is partially administered by the Computer Science system administrators (with whom the Math department has a contract for services), and partially by Gene Phan, our local system administrator who primarily handles Windows issues.

Useful University Websites

Drexel Computing Help (IRT)
CAMS (Manage Drexel Accounts)
DrexelOne (E-mail/Banner/Course Info)
University E-mail Lists
Dowload Licensed Drexel Software
Course Management Service (Student E-mails/Photos)
Class and Room Schedules
BannerWeb
DUPROD Banner
WebFinancials (Grant Administration)
Drexel Benefits Online
PaymentNet
Non-Academic Departments