Applied Computers Best Practices Checklist

The largest fraction of computers used at Lehigh are personally-assigned computers: general-purpose systems intended for one user’s research, reporting, and / or data management work. Still, a similar fraction are best categorized as “applied” systems, intended to be used by numerous people for a specific purpose or application, like classroom stations, research workstations, or shared convenience workstations in labs.

With their different use-pattern, it’s wise to take some time to ensure that those systems are configured and managed to make sure that they stay as secure and useful as they can be for as long as practical. The list below is intended to guide efforts to enact that.

Who will use this machine?
1. Should access to it be protected?
2. Should access be scheduled?
3. Does the system require registration in (and connection to) Lehigh’s network domains to enable logins by arbitrary Lehigh users?
How will they access it? (in-person / remote)
Does the owning department need to log the use of the machine?
Will there be a fee or charge for using it?
What software will it run?
1. Who will purchase / own the software?
2. What do software updates cost, and who will pay for those?
3. Where will you store offline copies of the software installers in case the system needs to be rebuilt?
Who will ensure that software / operating system updates occur?
1. On what schedule will such maintenance be done? OS vendors provide updates at least monthly.
2. Is there other automation that should be checked for proper operation?
Where will any created files be saved?
1. How should storage be configured? Local? Cloud?
2. Who will access the files?
What files need to be backed up? (Configurations or generated data)
1. How will file backups occur?
Do users need to be able to print from this system?
1. How will that be managed / tracked?
Where are the above details recorded such that anyone needing the information can find it?
1. Department staff
2. Research staff
3. LTS