Typical Installation Processes

How open is your computing environment? What is the typical process for installing software on your desktops? As an end user how much control do you have over your desktop? (150-250 words, a general paragraph)

CSU

The paragraph below was written by Martin Kong, CSU Library, Systems Librarian

In the library, we (the Systems Unit), do most of the installation of the software on our work computers and servers, especially if it is library related software. We have the local permissions to perform that function ourselves. We don’t generally require permission from campus information technology unless it is an application/software that works over the network and requires that a system have a specific dedicated IP address and/or requires dedicated network routing. If a piece of software does pose possible conflict with existing campus software and hardware infrastructure, then we initiate a discussion with campus information technology before fully installing and implementing the new software; if that situation arises, that could introduce some delay into the process.

Most of the time that it takes Systems to install software involves the following: reviewing the hardware and software requirements of the new software, some basic understanding of how to get the software working, how to configure it as needed, and what possible interactions there are with other existing software / antivirus programs. Depending on the complexity of the software, installation can be as simple as a few minutes or a few hours. I have worked with complex software that can take over two to three hours to install and configure properly.

IWU

In my library, I am able to download software to any non-publicly accessible computer without requiring assistance from the library’s IT staff. This means that all but one of the computers I have student assistants work at in the archives can be modified by me. However, for any downloadable product that needs access through the campus firewall I would need to go through campus ITS for assistance. Time estimates depend on the staff workload at any given moment, but I believe a minimum of a few days would be needed.

WIU

The Information Sytems and Library Computing Units at WIU are able to perform many of our own tasks relating to putting software on individual machines for library employees. It is considerably more difficult if we have to install anything more complicated, especially items that need to be stored on a university server. This typically requires that we work with campus IT. This often brings projects to a screeching hault as it often a very slow process for IT to commit their scarce (yet talented) resources to outside projects. As a work-around WIU Libraries has acquired cloud-based storage space, totally independent of WIU servers, for some of our own smaller projects.