Spring 2015 Customer Meeting

March 9, 2015

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the customer meeting! Our initial foray into recording the meeting failed, so we don’t have a recording to share. But we’ll try again next time, hopefully with more success.

Here are some notes from the meeting.

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Nebula Customer Spring Meeting, Mar 5, 2015

Brian Arkills, Service Manager for Nebula Managed Workstation presented a Powerpoint presentation based on the topics discussed in the most recent Newsletter.

Presentation summary:

  1. Folks who wish to continue receiving the newsletter should join the nebula-discuss mailing list.  See https://itconnect.uw.edu/wares/nebula/contact-us/  for more information on communication options including nebula-announce.
  2. We’ve clarified the auto-response situation so you now have only one REF # for any request.
  3. Your Nebula billings have moved to the Non-Recurring tab of the Technology Service & Equipment bill; this is temporary while we work out some infrastructure changes, then they will be back on the Recurring tab.
  4. Corrupt Outlook profile workaround published; more self-help docs coming.
  5. Nebula2 -> NetID user conversion:  volunteer now for more help and date flexibility; in 6 mos we will be assigning conversion dates. This change is very important for retiring old equipment and making future improvements, such as making package development more readily available between campus units.
  6. We hope for a small rate reduction in FY16 (starts 7/1/2015) to reflect lower costs, plus we will separate file storage service from the core service, so you will pay for only the space you use (in both H: and I: drives)
  7. What’s next:
    1. Mac VPN – we will be changing the design of the VPN so that Mac users have easier access.
    2. We will start billing out of UW Connect, the new ticket managing system.
    3. Windows 10!
    4. Data encryption with Azure RMS pilot – let us know if you’re interested!

Questions

  1. Q: Can you help us moving group memberships from Nebula to NETID groups?  A: Yes.
  2. Q: what do we do with training room (or conference room) computers? A: ask us to change the default domain login to NETID.
  3. Q: if I’ve never used Nebula2 logins, do I have to worry about NETID logins?  A: no, you’re already doing the right thing.
  4. Q: Where are the Google storage and retention limits and policies on line (couldn’t find on Google Apps page)? A: we will publish this on the IT Connect page.
  5. Q: Is mapping the My Documents folder to the H: drive going to go away (please say yes)?  A: it’s already gone if you’re using Windows 8.  (Straw poll showed no other interest in getting rid of the mapping in Windows 7.)
  6. Q: Can we map a drive to Google?  A: no, but you can set up a sync process so you have a local folder that syncs to your Google drive.
  7. Q: What can you tell us about the H: vs U: drives?  A: it’s the same GPFS infrastructure, but different environments; in fact Nebula’s is a little behind.  U: drive now has 20GB free space available.
  8. Q: Can we use U: drive as a replacement for H:?  A: yes. (You can even map a drive to it.)
  9. Q: How can we see file space usage (H: and I: drives)?  A: your department contact will be able to see it; more on that soon.
  10. Q: Can you help us help our users manage their passwords? A: yes; we’ve looked at LastPass Enterprise license (widespread interest in audience for this).  Password can be passed to end-user, but not revealed to them.

Comments

  1. Google: it’s more difficult for group sharing.  Will be a learning curve.  Does integrate with UW Groups.
  2. Still some departments who can’t upgrade IE due to vendor issues (Medisys, Eprocurement, OHM, MyChem)
  3. Windows 10: we are in the early adopter program.  Win10 will have both IE and a new browser.  We’re hoping it’ll have better in-place upgrade options from Win 7 and Win 8.
  4. Many VPN users haven’t transitioned to new VPN because they’re using systems that haven’t needed a rebuild.  We need to have you using the correct VPN;  instructions are here.