Computing and Communications Services News: June 2004

June, 2004

Lab Evaluating Linux Options
The Lab’s licenses for Red Hat Enterprise Linux expire later this year, and the cost of renewal is expected to increase. ITSD is determining what alternatives are available and affordable for users in the Lab’s scientific divisions.

Lab Reduces Number of Active Email Servers by Factor of 15
In March, the Lab began to reduce the number of email servers at Berkeley Lab from 290 to 25 or fewer in order to improve efficiency by reducing redundancies in cost and effort, and to limit the Lab’s cyber security exposure.

Lab to Host Fifth Workshop on the DOE Advanced Computational Software Collection
Berkeley Lab will again host a workshop to familiarize users with the DOE Advanced CompuTational Software Collection (ACTS Collection), a set of high-performance computing tools mainly developed at DOE laboratories. The workshop, called “Enabling Technologies for High End Computer Simulations,” will be held August 24-27.

Keep Up to Date with Calendar Upgrade
It's time to get the latest upgrade on your Oracle Calendar software for desktop and synchronization clients. The new clients offer much better performance. The new software features allow for easier access to group views and allow OSX clients to customize colors and backgrounds. The new synch software supports the latest Palm devices running OS 5.2.1, and Pocket PC clients running ActiveSync version 3.6.0.

Stay tuned for a massive performance upgrade of the calendar server hardware in early July.

Protecting Your Computer

Microsoft's Jesper Johansson to Give June 23rd Talk on Network Security
Microsoft's Jesper Johansson, an expert in Windows security and popular speaker, will return to Berkeley Lab to speak on "How to get your network hacked in 10 easy steps" at noon on Wed., June 23 in conference room 50A-5132. This event is part of the Computer Protection Brown Bag Series.

Sign Up for July 15 Encryption Fundamentals Course
The Computer Protection Program's upcoming encryption fundamentals course will help you understand the "why's and wherefore's" of encryption and how to make cryptographic solutions work for you. The course will be taught from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thurs., July 15, in Perseverance Hall. Read the course description. Enrollment is limited on a first-come, first-served basis; go to the Employee Self-Service Site to enroll.

Monthly Virus Update: Over 100,000 Viruses Stopped in Tracks
The LBNL virus wall continued to provide an effective first line of defense against worms and viruses by finding and removing 103,146 infected attachments in messages last month. Netsky worms targeting Windows systems prevailed again.

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