Category: All News Articles

The College of Engineering information technology (IT) environment is continually evolving, and developments occur regularly. In order to keep the College community informed about what is going on with IT around campus, CAEN posts regular updates on this site.

MATLAB now licensed for all available toolkits

Posted on by CAEN

Now available in CAEN computer labs for the start of the Winter 2019 term is a new release of MATLAB that includes access to all available MathWorks toolkits. This new release of MATLAB can be accessed by selecting the version that starts with “MATLAB 64-bit R2018b” (note the “R2018b” in the name).

Later this term, ITS will make this version of software available for download and installation on student-owned computers. See the ITS MATLAB License for Students website (requires login) for details.

 

Shapiro CAEN Lab to be renovated and expanded over Spring Break

Posted on by CAEN

The CAEN Lab in Shapiro B000 will undergo renovations, and be closed from February 25 until March 11, 2019. Most of the renovations are being scheduled during Spring Break to minimize disruption. After the renovations, the number of computers will increase to 50. The renovations will include an expanded space with new modern furniture and chairs, as well as new carpet and paint. The new furniture will feature both conventional and sit-stand workspaces, and will have a mix of collaborative and individual workspaces with some acoustic and visual privacy.

 

Remote access to LS-DYNA will be removed in Winter 2019

Posted on by CAEN

LS-DYNA

Starting Friday, January 4, students and faculty will no longer be able to access the LS-DYNA software application using CAEN’s remote access services. This includes both the Windows Remote Desktop Service and the Linux Login Service. Due to vendor licensing terms and conditions, access to the software must be removed from these remote access services.

LS-DYNA will continue to be available locally in CAEN computer labs, and on computers in the Duderstadt Center that use the CAEN Lab Software Environment (CLSE).

Questions about this change can be directed to the CAEN Help Desk by phone at (734) 764-2236, or by email to caen@umich.edu.

 

Flexible Learning Spaces now available in some College classrooms

Posted on by CAEN

Some College of Engineering classrooms, including two CAEN computer labs, are now equipped as flexible learning spaces through the use of highly flexible furniture and integrated technology. These classrooms can be reconfigured for multiple uses, such as lecture-style teaching, allowing students to collaborate and work together in groups, and engaging in a whole-class discussion. Many rooms also have wall-mounted monitors that can be used to display content from the instructor lecturn, or individual student laptop connections at each station.

Classroom Capacity Movable Furniture Movable Whiteboards Perimeter Whiteboards Wall-mounted Monitors
Chrysler 133 84
Dow 2150 62  
EECS 4440 35 (w/CAEN computers)
FXB 1008 60      
FXB 1032 25  
GFL 224 48 (w/CAEN computers)
G.G. Brown 1025 24  
G.G. Brown 1045 24    
G.G. Brown 2147 56
G.G. Brown 2153 56

 

Training & drop-in help sessions for the Flux to Great Lakes HPC migration

Posted on by CAEN

As announced by ARC-TS, the Flux high-performance computing (HPC) cluster will be replaced in early 2019 with a new computing cluster named Great Lakes. Since there are a number of differences between Flux and the new Great Lakes environment, a test cluster named Beta has been created and is now available for researchers who would like to get started learning about the new environment.

In order to assist researchers, CAEN will be holding two training sessions in November for experienced Flux users who would like to get an early start learning the Great Lakes environment. Seating is limited, so we encourage users to register for a training session using the following links:

Three drop-­in help sessions have also been scheduled to assist researchers who are migrating their data and code to the new environment. There is no need to register for these drop-in sessions, which will be held at the following times and locations:

  • Tuesday, November 20 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Beyster 1620
  • Tuesday, December 4 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in GFL 224
  • Wednesday, December 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in EECS 4440

Anyone who has questions about these training sessions or the new Great Lakes environment, or would like to schedule an individual consultation, may email us at coe­-research­-computing@umich.edu.

 

Updated VNC client now available for download

Posted on by CAEN

Due to the change that Duo Two-Factor Authentication will be required for all CAEN remote access services starting Wednesday, October 3, CAEN has released an updated version of our VNC client for connecting to the Linux Login Service. Along with this change, the names of the available servers have also been updated:

  • When connecting from an on-campus network (excluding U-M VPN networks), select: oncampus-course.engin.umich.edu
  • When connecting from an off-campus network, select: login-course.engin.umich.edu

For a link to download the newest version of the VNC client, and instructions on using it to connect, refer to our knowledge base article: How do I connect to the Linux Login Service using the CAEN VNC client?

 

Locations of the newest computers in CAEN Labs

Posted on by CAEN

Approximately 220 new HP Z2 computers will be installed during this Fall term, in the following CAEN student computer labs and learning centers:

  • Duderstadt Center
  • IOE G610
  • NAME 134
  • Pierpont B521

The new computers will have the following specifications:

  • Combination of Small and Mini Form Factor case sizes
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-8700 6C 65W
  • RAM: 16 GB (2×8 GB) DDR4 2666 NECC
  • Graphics: GFX NVIDIA Quadro 4 GB P1000 mDP(4)
  • Disk: SSD 512 GB Z Turbo Drive 2280 TLC

Approximately 20 HP Z38c 37.5” LED monitors (the largest individual displays in a CAEN Lab so far) will be installed as they arrive over the Fall term in:

  • Duderstadt Center
  • FXB B085

 

Changes to the EECS 4440 & Duderstadt Center computer labs

Posted on by CAEN

There have been some changes to two popular CAEN student computer labs this year.

The newly renovated EECS 4440 computer lab is now a multi-use facility. It is a 36-seat flexible active learning classroom, that features five multi-seat collaborative stations with CAEN computers. The collaborative stations are available for drop-in use by students when the facility is not being used for course instruction.

The Duderstadt Center 3rd floor (Southwest area) is undergoing a large renovation, which is expected to be completed by October 5. This space will have new furniture, featuring sit/stand benching, as well as collaborative tables. It will also include 50 new CAEN lab computers, and areas for charging personal laptops and devices.

 

Duo Two-Factor Authentication required for all CAEN remote access starting Wednesday, October 3

Posted on by CAEN

Two-Factor Authentication Icon

Beginning Wednesday October 3, 2018, access to all CAEN remote access services, both Windows Remote Desktop and Linux Login/VNC, will require Duo Two-Factor Authentication at U-M (previously only off-campus access required it). In order to use Duo two-factor authentication, you will need to enroll a device as described in the CAEN Knowledge Base. In addition, you may also need to update your remote access client software. Links to download and use the latest versions are provided below:

If you want to use the remote linux computers for file copying or synchronization (SFTP/SCP) without the Duo prompting, please follow the instructions in this related CAEN knowledge base article.

CAEN is requiring the use of Duo on all remote access services in order to help protect the account data of Michigan Engineering students, faculty, and staff, as well as better secure the College’s IT infrastructure.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) is a security tool being used to mitigate the threat of online attacks. It provides an added layer of protection by requiring an additional security check, in addition to your password, when logging into your computing account. For example, it is especially useful in preventing malicious intruders from accessing University resources using stolen or hacked passwords, such as those obtained via phishing attacks or malware.

The University of Michigan has adopted Duo as its two-factor authentication solution. Any U-M student, faculty, or staff member can enroll a device in Duo at no cost. In addition to using it for securing login to CAEN remote access services, it can optionally be used to protect access to other University systems that use the U-M Weblogin page. Doing this helps protect web-based access to your online University data, including:

  • Personal information in Wolverine Access, such as enrollment and payroll
  • U-M Google services, such as Email and Drive storage
  • U-M Box storage
  • Canvas course data

Contact the ITS Service Center at 734-764-HELP [4357] or 4HELP@umich.edu for assistance with Duo. If you have any other questions or concerns about this change, please send email to caen@umich.edu.