This section will show you how to get access to resources. (The next section will tell you what they are.) FYI: Computing resources can easily be accessed from https://resources.cs.rutgers.edu, as well as more up-to-date information. Please note that this document will only give you the necessary resources to start. When you are more familiar with the department, you will learn about other resources and contacts that can provide you with more resources. To access the department’s computing resources, you need an account to do your work, read or send emails, and access rooms.

Access to computing resources in the Computer Science department requires a username and password. Usernames and passwords can be obtained by following the procedures outlined at How-To under Account Related.

IMPORTANT: Only people with university NetID can create an account on any Rutgers system. If the user does not have a NetID, you must sponsor and request a NetID for your guest.

1. Linux/Unix Accounts (e.g., faculty, research, or student login accounts): This account is only available to people who are officially a CS student or are taking eligible CS classes. Recently admitted students cannot activate an account until they are formally registered for eligible CS classes.

2. Webmail/Exchange email accounts on http://connect.rutgers.edu (faculty/staff) and ScarletApps/Mail (students)

For more details on these accounts, see Getting Started with Technical Resources at the Department of Computer Science.  

Note: Graduate students admitted to the department are expected to activate their CS Linux/Unix and University Email accounts as soon as they are acknowledged to ease communication with the department. Follow the instructions that were sent to you in your acceptance materials or go to netid.rutgers.edu

Computer Science resources are normally not accessible to the public. Resources are often placed in a semi-private room where access is allowed via a keycard system.

All the department’s public labs and printers require keys or keycard access. A keycard system also manages access to the department’s copiers. The keycard used for the labs and printer rooms is normally a Rutgers Connection ID card. The Rutgers ID card must be activated before accessing any department resources. The instructors of the class normally request students to have access.

For faculty/staff, see our website to activate your keycard or obtain keys for certain rooms,

The Computer Science Department is located in two buildings, CoRE and Hill Center. In CoRE, the Computer Science department occupies the second, third, and fourth floors. Part of Core’s second floor and Core’s fourth floor are shared with the Industrial Engineering and DIMACS departments. Hill Center’s Computer Science department occupies the second, third, and fourth floors. Like CoRE, the department shares part of Hill Center’s second and fourth floors with the Math Department and other departments.

The main computing resources are hosted on CoRE’s second floor, and as a result, all computing support staff offices can be found on CoRE’s second floor.

Besides the resources available in your office, the CoRE second-floor machine room, and other specific research labs, the Computer Science department has specialized computer laboratories that can be accessed by most faculty/staff. These laboratories are for special needs that have arisen through the years. KeyCard restricts access to all of our computer labs. Except for the research labs, if you can access the room, you can use the resources inside it.

All our systems are configured similarly and should all have the same software installed. Please see the Summary of Computer Systems page for detailed information about what hardware/software we use.

We generally install the most popular software on our computer systems. However, we don’t necessarily support them all due to the number of software. Please let us know if you need specific software that has not been installed, and we will try to see if we can install it on our system. You may also install them yourself if administrative access is not needed. For a list of supported software maintained by LCSR for Unix/Linux OS, see Major Software Collections.

Rutgers has a collection of licensed and free software, including free Windows 10 licenses that can be accessed by Rutgers Faculty/Staff and Students. For more details, see http://software.rutgers.edu.

The University also has a local repository of many Linux mirrors. Please look at the local mirror before downloading them from outside resources.

The Computer Science department has many centralized printers available for its community. Amongst them are laser printers (with double-sided and high output capabilities), color laser printers, and a poster printer capable of printing 36 inches wide and with unlimited length output. These printers are distributed in Core and Hill Center. See the CS Print Server page for more info on these printers, drivers, and printing tips.

Notes about printing posters: The poster printer is a unique printer that most people are unfamiliar with. Please spend the time to learn how to print your poster so you will not waste paper, ink, and time. Depending on your poster size, printing a single poster may take 15-60 minutes. Please do not expect to be able to print to this printer the day you need your poster. Do not ask or expect LCSR or CS Staff to print your poster.  See Printing Posters on the Windows page to learn how to print your poster.

These printers are available from our faculty/research/graduate/undergraduate Linux/Unix machines. If you use your personal computer (through our wireless network) with Windows, MacOSX, and Linux, you must set up your drivers; please see How To under the printing section to obtain them.

We also have copying and scanning facilities in Hill 381. The printer, or Hill3, is the CS department copier and scanner. This device can quickly scan any single or double-sided document into PDF format and email it to you. For help, see the instructions posted in the room near the copier. Access to the copier function can be obtained from the main office at Hill 301.

Rutgers has a general public WiFi system called RUWireless, which is available in most campus buildings. This system is accessible by anyone who has a NetID and password. The University WiFi network also supports eduroam, which allows guests from other eduroam member universities to access the Rutgers WiFi network. See http://ruwireless.rutgers.edu for more details.

Among the other resources in the Computer Science department is networking infrastructure. Computer Science offices are equipped with the latest networking technology that allows all faculty/staff/students to take advantage of the technology available in our buildings. All CS offices are wired for CS desktops only. Laptop and mobile devices must connect to a wireless network and do not get a wired connection.

There are a few very popular rooms in the Computer Science department, and some equipment faculty/staff and graduate students can borrow to supplement a lecture, presentation, or other need. Because of their popularity, these resources must be reserved before being used. The list of resources changes as the need arises. The popular rooms are classified into three groups: Conference Rooms, Computer labs, and Classrooms. The rooms have stricter reservation and usage rules. For more information on Room reservations,

Maintaining the resources in the Computer Science department requires a lot of work. Some of this work involves checking daily activities. Some involve long-term log recording to see how resources are used or behave in certain situations. These activities are recorded for users to see and available at report.cs.rutgers.edu. We also post to the @RutgersLCSR X account all other important issues we want our users to know. X is especially important when networking issues prevent you from accessing resources inside RUNet.