Purchasing and Adding New Hardware and Software to the Network

Adding Hardware

Addition of ANY and ALL equipment to the Ethernet and to any of the Martinos Center machines, whether permanent or temporary, requires clearance in advance from the System Administrators. The laboratory is obligated to notify the MGH network manager, and coordinate the addition of equipment, which may require some time. If you are purchasing a new computer that will be attached from the network, it will speed the process to notify the System Administrators far in advance so they can obtain an IP address for it before it arrives.

Quotes for basic Linux/Windows workstations can be found here. Specifically, the quotes starting with BASE_ you find there. The XEON and Opteron quotes are dual CPU options that mean you can run more then one job comfortably on them at a time. The XEONs are more expensive on a cost per power basis but are generally more stable. The single CPU P4 option is best for the person on a budget. For Freesurfer, a minimum of 1GB per CPU is required with 2GB per CPU recommended.

Adding Software

All software used at the Martinos Center or at MGH must be properly licensed and utilized in strict accordance with the license agreement. Anyone making or using copies of any software in violation of this policy is subject to "corrective action", possibly including termination of employment.

The center buys annually a large number of Matlab licenses for a network license server at the Center. Any UNIX, Windows and OSX machine on the network can use these licenses. For machines not on the Center network, you can buy a standalone license from Harvard Enterpise Licensing. The pricing is available here.

The center has a site license for McAfee antivirus. If you do have any anti-virus software running on your Windows computer, please contact the systems administrators as soon as possible. Check out our McAfee AntiVirus FAQ entry.

For Microsoft Office and other Microsoft products, individual licenses for each install can be bought from PCConnection at an academic discount. Pricing for the Office Suites is described on our Office FAQ entry. For Adobe (Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator), Endnote, and Apple software, an individual license must be bought for each installation from Harvard Enterpise Licensing. The pricing is available here. Contact Janice White about buying these products.

More information about getting software at Partners can be found on the Research Computing -- Getting Software page.

Computer Purchases

For advice on most computer purchases, especially for equipment that is to be networked, check with the System Administrators. For Linux analysis workstations, we have preferred standard configurations.

When your Computer Arrives

The first thing you need to do is register the computer with the Center SysAdmins so we have all the information we need to be able to help you in the future. This can be done by filling out the registration form found here.