Key Components for computing at MIT

A. Network
B. Kerberos/Certificates
C. Printing
D. 3rd Party Software
E. Email/Calendaring
F. Instant Messaging
G. Web Browser
H. Security/Software Update
I. VPN
J. Backup
K. Filesystem/AFS
L. Remote access configuration: Athena 10 proposes to eliminate this.

Classes of Service

Based on who owns/manages the system:

• IS&T Owned and Managed
• Managed by Department Lab or Center
• Managed by individual owner.

Use Cases

• General Purpose Computing
  • Connectivity/Communication
  • Document Preparation
• Courseware i.e. Applications tailored for use in teaching.
  • Often consistency, e.g. the same app. version for all students in a class is important.
• Research i.e. Applications tailored to scientific use.
• Special Purpose Computing
  • Distributed Computing
  • Academic Computing Testbed
  • Collaborative Spaces
  • High Performance Computing
  • High Performance Graphics
  • Virtualized Computing Environments
• Various Different User Focus
  • All Students
  • Administrators
  • Researchers
  • Access restrictions based on DLC ownership.
  • Special hardware purchased by system owner

Key OS Distributions:

1. Redhat / CentOS / Fedora
2. Debian / Ubuntu
3. "bsd" which could include MacOS and Solaris
4. Gentoo
5. SuSe: SLES/SLED/OpenSuSE