Connecting a server to the Trinity data network

The IT Services department is responsible for providing a centralised computing service to Trinity. This service satisfies most of the needs of the Trinity community.

However, some departments have specific needs and IT Services would like to offer the following guidelines to ensure that best practice is followed when acquiring or administering a server. The department has a number of experts that are willing to advise on server procurement acquisition and setup. If a department has a need for a server then we would recommend the following:

1. Contact the IT Service Desk and your query will be passed to the relevant group. Advice will be given on specific servers that are suitable for the task. IT Services now has a number of recommended standard servers.
2. IT Services will not be able to maintain or administer individual departmental servers so it is crucial that the department appoints an administrator who has the understanding and ability to set-up/maintain/document the server – IT Services can give advice as to our standards and recommendations in relation to server setup, documentation, and most importantly security on a consultancy basis only. If there is currently no person in the department with the required administration skill-set then the department would be strongly advised to send a person on the relevant training course. (This course will be specified by IT Services).
3. IT Services can also provide initial advice on backup/recovery procedures. See the University's policy on backups

Note: It is important to stress that whilst IT Services can provide support to departments if they have purchased and setup machines to the IT Services standard, the individual department remains responsible for setup/administration of their server, and recovery in the event of failure.