Information Technology Services Centre
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
GEN001 Information Technology Services Centre QUICK START GUIDE
Version 1.7 December 2007

1. Introduction

The Information Technology Services Centre (ITSC) located in the Pi Ch¡Šiu Building offers a variety of services to support academic development, research and administration. The service area does not only provide technical support and application or project development, but also provides services in areas such as system recommendation, acquisition, installation and subsequent maintenance.

2. Key Services

The ITSC provides seven key services to users.

  1. Basic computer resources;
  2. Programming consultation;
  3. Training seminars and user documentation on the use of computer systems and application packages;
  4. Microcomputer application support, technology transfer, office automation and research;
  5. Workstation support including advice on hardware selection and subsequent installation, user training, on-going consultation and system administration;
  6. Evaluation, selection and installation of network equipment; the monitoring of networking activities between the University and the rest of the world; and
  7. Development and maintenance of management information systems for the University administration.

3. Computing resources for Research, Teaching, Learning and Administration

3.1 Research Computing

The ITSC has three High Performance Computing (HPC) systems. They are

Details of the information can be read at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/compenv/research-computing/index.html.

3.2 Academic Computing

The ITSC academic computing service is supported by two UNIX servers which provide data library service, 3rd-party commercial software packages, general UNIX applications and Internet applications to support the teaching and instructional needs of the University.

Moreover, there is a large pool of PCs connected through a Novell Local Area Network. They facilitate PC software application/development and furnish access points to other supercomputers, minicomputers, workstation servers, and the campus network applications. These personal computers are located in the User Area on the 1/F of Pi Ch'iu Building and Room 103 of Wong Foo Yuan Building.

3.3 Learning Technology

ITSC provides a wide variety of services and resources for faculties, staff and students to promote the effective use of information technology in teaching and learning. They are:

  1. Resources and support to facilitate online teaching and learning;
  2. New means for the delivery of instruction;
  3. Training for teaching staff to acquire new technologies and skills for teaching;
  4. Consultation and support in using information technology in instructional design, development of teaching materials and media production etc.

3.4 University Administrative System

Several IBM AS/400 machines and UNIX machines are equipped to support the development and running of management information systems of the University administration.

In addition, the User Area is also furnished with high-tech facilities for multi-media applications development, optical mark scanning, colour and laser printing, text and image scanning, and user self-paced learning.

4. Campus backbone Network

The campus backbone network was first set up in late 1992. The campus backbone network is also a member of the Hong Kong Academic and Research Network (HARNET), a wide-area ATM network linking the campus networks of eight tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. The purpose is to facilitate fast and easy information transfer and resource sharing among all the interconnected departmental LANs of the University and to provide good connectivity to the outside world.

The campus network is a Gigabit Ethernet network and connections between switches can therefore be made at 155Mbps or up to 1000Mbps. To facilitate the teaching and research activities on campus, the campus backbone network has further extended to the student hostels, libraries, classrooms and public areas. Through the available connection outlets, you can log into the campus network using either your notebook computers or the built-in computers. and public areas. Through the available connection outlets, staff and students can log into the campus network using either their notebook computers or the built-in computers.

ITSC also plays important roles in the provision of Internet services in Hong Kong as it:

  1. Operates the Hong Kong Internet eXchange (HKIX), which acts as a neutral interconnection point for the routing of intra-Hong Kong and intra-Asia-Pacific Internet traffic. This eliminates the necessity for local information to be sent overseas before being routed back to Hong Kong and provides faster and less expensive paths to local sites.
  2. Maintains a list of WWW servers in Hong Kong.
  3. Exchanges thousands of USENET newsgroups with many ISPs

5. References

6. Enquiries

For any enquiries, please contact us by:

Website: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc
Electronic HelpDesk: http://helpdesk.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk

Fax:    2603-6098
Phone: 2609-8845 (Hotline Services)

Monday - Thursday 08:45-13:00 14:00-17:30
Friday 08:45-13:00 14:00-17:45
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday close