To provide systems support on the following platforms on which LSC services are based.
All servers managed by LSC will be kept up-to-date with security patches and non critical functional patches will be applied on a quarterly basis. All servers reside within a managed environment located within dedicated data centres. Support is not provided for individual group equipment. Groups seeking to purchase servers or server based software should seek advice and provide where possible a requirements specification. All servers are audited by the Life Sciences hardware and software inventory systems. All software installed on servers must be appropriately licensed in accordance with the vendor’s end user license agreement (EULA).
LSC maintain a cluster of ESX servers that provide virtual machines for either server or desktop purposes. These are connected redundantly to network and SAN and provide Virtual Machines to groups.
Centos Linux is the preferred operating system for all services. If RHEL is required due to application or support constraint then an annual subscription to the Redhat Network for updates must be purchased. All Linux servers authenticate against the Life Sciences Directory based LDAP server and log to a central facility.
Windows 2003 server is supported on demand for applications that require it or if features are only available with the Windows platform. All Windows servers authenticate against the Life Sciences Directory based Windows Domain. If requested for a specific group or service Windows Server licenses must be purchased.
