Technical Support

ESC’s CSS (Client Support Services) team is your human interface to ESC services and resources. The CSS team provides direct support to faculty, staff, and students in the colleges; as well as coordination of other ESC and OIT services. The CSS team at the ESC help desk is your first line assistance with problems and requests. Your CSS representative acts as coordinator and ombudsman to reduce the friction of getting the help and services you need to keep your teaching and research on track.

Problem Solving

direct support, break fix, installations, setup

The ESC help desk will assist you with IT and related technology problems of all kinds. If your email stops working, your printer acts up, or your conference room projector won’t behave, the ESC help desk is the place to go. The CSS team is also ready to assist you with configuration difficulties, operating system upgrades, and equipment set up (e.g.: printers, scanners, wireless devices, etc.); if there’s an IT problem we can get you help.

Contacting the ESC help desk is simple: email to eschelp@nd.edu to open a ticket with our help desk. This will automatically notify the CSS team, and they will follow up quickly. You will receive an automated confirmation from our help desk system to confirm your email was received. Replying to that email will associate your message with the ticket, so it’s the best way to keep the case on track. You will see other messages from the system as your case is handled, please be sure to scroll down so you can see additional comments added by ESC staff to the ticket. If your email isn’t working, or you prefer, you can call the ESC Help Desk at 631-0101. If you get voicemail, go ahead and leave a message, this will be forwarded to the help desk ticket system and the CSS team will be notified quickly. You will also receive a confirmation of your message in email, assuming you are calling from your university VoIP phone, and that email is working.

Technology Consulting

new computers, server hardware, special networking, benchtop computing, audio/visual

The CSS team is ready to get you the expert help you need to apply technology to teaching and research. Whether you just want to figure out the best notebook computer to buy, or you need help with a storage server for experimental data, ESC’s expert staff can assist. The help desk can also help to connect you to the right people for special networking needs. New labs, higher bandwidth, and secure networks are a few examples of how we can help. No matter what you are trying to do, ESC can help you find an answer.

To arrange a consultation, email help@esc.nd.edu to open a ticket. We will follow up quickly.

Technology Life Cycle Management • TLCM

procure, prepare, maintain/repair, decommission, reuse/recycle

ESC has established a cradle-to-grave technology lifecycle program to ease the procurement, configuration, maintenance and repair, and ultimate decommissioning for recycle or reuse of all information technology and audio visual equipment. It starts with an expert consultation on your needs, then moves on to helping buy, receive, and set up your new technology. When you need help with maintenance or repair, ESC’s expert staff can evaluate the problem, and either repair it or arrange authorized service. When equipment becomes obsolete, ESC can handle the secure removal of your data, and the appropriate recycling or reuse of the hardware.

Operations & Engineering • O&E

servers, networking, infrastructure

ESC’s O&E team provides specification, configuration, and maintenance of special infrastructure needed for the teaching and research missions of the colleges. From a VPS (Virtual Private Server) to a high performance network connection, to a storage server for large image files, O&E can provide that technological edge to keep your program in motion. After technical consultation, O&E will make sure your infrastructure is up and running, monitored, and maintained.

Information Security • InfoSec

firewalls, attack mitigation, host security

ESC’s information security team plays a special role in the colleges of engineering and science where the typical campus security methods would be an obstacle to teaching and research. Working with the OIT’s information security group, ESC has developed practical solutions to the problem of policy compliance that respects the special needs of our researchers. ESC is ready to help you create an environment that is compliant and functional. We can provide custom firewall solutions to protect instruments and legacy computers, host-based firewall solutions for sensitive machines, and exceptions to the general security rules where they are needed to do research. We can also coordinate with ESC’s O&E team to get you public-facing server resources and eliminate possible vectors of attack close to vulnerable lab computers and instruments.

The InfoSec team always performs surveillance on the network to guard against attacks, and responds to reports of compromised computers. Working with the OIT, ESC is a key partner in mitigating the effect of cyber-attacks on the colleges’ computing assets.

If you need help crafting a security solution, of you suspect a computer is compromised, email infosec@nd.edu with a detailed request.