Validation of Desktop Telephone Calls Begins November 1

Based on Lab desktop telephone bills from August to October 2005, IT will begin requiring selected users to validate their outgoing calls starting November 1. Two percent of LBNL telephones will be randomly selected to validate an itemized phone bill, and indicate any non-business calling. Reimbursement for these calls will be required if it reaches a designated threshold. After November 1, desktop validation will be ongoing using the most recent quarterly phone bills. Read more.

IT Maps the Future of Windows Workstations at Berkeley Lab

The IT Division (IT) is engaged in a number of initiatives to help reduce the cost of workstation acquisition and support for our customers. Many of these efforts involve Windows workstations and include:

1. Migration of NT4 Users to Active Directory
2. Desktop Security
3. Automatic Inventory Collection
4. Berkeley Lab Computer Store

Read more.

BLIS Portal Adds New Features

Berkeley Lab Information Systems (BLIS) portal recently added new features. The web portal now offers single sign-on access to HR Self Service. In addition, users can now store an unlimited number of bookmarks and sort them. Previously, BLIS timed out after four hours without any notice, but now a pop-up screen will appear reminding users that their session is about to expire. Stay tuned for more improvements.

IT to Phase out IPX/DECnet/Appletalk Protocols

IT will end support for IPX/DECnet/Appletalk, three old legacy network protocols still in use at Berkeley Lab, on December 31, 2005—long after the companies that invented them have stopped using them. LBNL follows SLAC, Stanford, UC Berkeley and other institutions that have transitioned out of these old technologies several years ago. Phasing out these legacy protocols will decrease desktop support costs, and increase IT's flexibility in selecting networking infrastructure equipment in the future. Read more.

IT’s Telephone Services Switches to Do-It-Yourself Updates

If your project ID number for desktop phones should change, you can now update that information yourself on the Service Account Management (SAM) database, which is now available through IT’s Telephone Services. Effective September 1, IT will no longer be accepting project ID changes via email. If you have any questions, call Telephone Services at x7997.