March 2020 Telecommuting Guidance
For IT Policies and Guidance for working remotely during the curtailment, please visit https://remotework.lbl.gov/.
Guidance for Telecommuting Computer Usage
If you have a Lab-issued laptop, you should plan to use it.
If you have a Lab-issued desktop computer, you may be able to temporarily relocate it to your home, along with your monitor and other peripherals (Supervisor approval and Division Property Rep Notification Required)
If you don’t have a Lab-issued system that can be used from home, be advised that personally owned devices can be used for most lab work. Check with your supervisor to review whether this is a suitable option for your particular situation (exceptions: those who work with PII, export controlled information, identifiable human subjects data, and proprietary information with special contractual obligations - these require supervisor approval and consultation with itpolicy@lbl.gov).
If you urgently need a laptop for telecommuting, IT may be able to get you a basic laptop (via recharge to a PID). Given supply chain disruptions and overall demand, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet all needs, so please try to prioritize these requests.
Initial policy and ordering methods for peripherals and ergonomic accessories including monitors, printers, accessories, and furniture is available here.
Information for Hiring Managers of new employees is available here.
Guidance for Computer Purchases
Review this page, and submit the appropriate form to request a computer from IT.
IT will review the request, and if a system is available, will set it up and FedEx to the employee. The requester will be charged via recharge to the provided project and activity ID.
If an appropriate system is not available, IT will advise the requester to contact their division requisition preparer to purchase a system using drop shipping.
Procurement will get IT approval on all drop-shipped computer procurements.
IT will follow up to assist the user in initial setup, and to ensure that it complies with LBL security requirements.
Computers may not be purchased on Division PCards or reimbursed. If a computer needs to be drop-shipped, arrangements will be made for asset tagging.
Table of Contents
Berkeley Lab IT makes it simple to get a new computer quickly and easily. We also have re-purposed systems available for no charge!
We provide the lowest-cost and highest-quality services available, based on Lab-Standard hardware and software, automated management systems, and many, many years of experience.
Note that some Science Divisions have internal IT groups who provide workstations. Members of these divisions should follow internal IT processes to request new workstations.
ESnet:
To purchase a new computer: Go to the ESnet Service Portal at: https://esnet.service-now.com/ess and click the Business tab and choose PurchaseNow.
CRD:
To purchase a new computer: Contact your division admin assistant. For linux system purchase consulting, contact cshelp@lbl.gov.
NERSC:
To purchase a new computer: Contact your division admin assistants, nersc-admin@lbl.gov
Overview
IT provides the following services for all new and re-purposed workstation requests:
- Help selecting the ideal computer for your work and budget
- Procurement of hardware and accessories
- Enrolling computers in our management systems
- Pre-configuring computers with Berkeley Lab recommended software and settings
- Delivery, installation, and configuration based on customer needs
- Transfer data, settings, and applications from previous workstation
- Retrieval and salvage of previous workstation
Rates
As of June 1, 2018, IT has new rates for system configuration and refreshes.
| Lab-Standard Model | Non-Standard Model | Repurposed System | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Install | $250 | $250 + $100/hr for speccing and procurement | $250 |
| System Refresh | $250 | $100/hr + $100/hr for speccing and procurement | $250 |
These fees ares not charged for Primary Workstations issued to personnel from Operations Divisions, as part of the Operations Desktop Support program.
How to Request Service
Users can request a computer through one of our Google forms. These forms will generate a service request in the askUs system.
You must be logged in to google with your LBL account as the active account (for users who sign in to multiple google accounts).
Please submit all requests for computers at least 2 weeks in advance, for standard models, and 4-6 weeks in advance for custom systems.
| Workstation Type | Request Form | Who Should Use This Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab-Standard | Lab-Standard Computer Request Form | Anyone wishing to purchase a standard model of laptop, desktop, or iPad All Operations personnel will use this form, except under special circumstances. | IT highly recommends that users deploy Lab-standard models. These are readily available for quick delivery, and we have better tools and expertise available to support these systems. The Lab-standards are summarized below. |
| Re-purposed (used) | Lab-Standard Computer Request Form | Anyone who wants a zero-cost re-purposed workstation from IT's available inventory. | IT makes systems available to all Lab research groups after they have passed the end of their primary service life. The equipment is available at no cost, and the erasing, re-installation, OS license, configuration and installation costs $250 per system. The models and performance of these systems is subject to availability. |
| Custom Specification | Custom Computer Request Form | Anyone whose computing needs are not met by any of the Lab Standards. | In general it costs more to select, procure, and support custom computer equipment, and the use of standard equipment is encouraged when possible, but IT will provision and support whatever equipment is needed for a given project. |
More Information
Lab-Standards
Selecting from the standard configurations will ensure the fastest delivery of your workstation.
Any customization made to these specifications will require additional time and labor for provisioning.
Workstation Class | General Purpose | Mid-Tier | Graphics Performance | High-Power | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose and Use Cases | Common computing tasks including office applications, browser-based applications, and light-duty analysis. Recommended for: Most non-scientific users and scientists using terminal emulation (SSH) | Mid-range computing, such as large spreadsheets, ECAD design, software development, and CPU-intensive applications Recommended for: Scientists analyzing small local data sets and Developers | Graphic-intensive applications, including 3D modeling, CAD design work, and graphic and video editing Recommended for: Mechanical Engineers, Graphic Artists, 3D modelers | Computation-intensive applications, including modeling, data analysis, software development and running virtual machines Recommended for: Intensive data processing and analysis | ||
| PC Desktop | Dell Optiplex 7070 SFF 6-core i5-9500 - 3.0GHz processor | Dell Optiplex 7070 SFF 8-core i9-9900 - 4.9GHz processor | Dell Precision 5820 Tower 4-core Xeon W-2123 3.9GHz processor | |||
| PC Laptop | Dell Latitude 5400 14-inch 4-core i5-8365U 1.6GHz processor | Dell Latitude 5300 13-inch - Light Weight 4-core i5-8365U 1.6GHz processor Windows 10 Pro 64bit 8GB RAM DDR4 M.2 256GB Class 35 SSD HD Intel UHD Graphics 620 Integrated Graphics 13.3" display 3 lbs Cost: $1175 | Dell Latitude 7400 2-in-1 4-core i7-8665 | Dell Latitude 7400 4-core i7-1.9GHz processor | Dell Precision 7540 6-core i7-9850H processor | |
| Mac Desktop | Apple Mac Mini 3.6GHz 4-core 8th generation Intel Core i3 | Apple Mac Mini 3.2GHz 6-core 8th generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz) | Apple iMac 3.6GHz 8-core 9th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz | |||
| Mac Laptop | Apple MacBook Air 13" - Silver 1.6GHz dual‑core 8th‑gen Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz | Apple MacBook Pro 13" - Space Gray 2.8GHz quad-core 8th gen Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.7GHz | Apple MacBook Pro 16" - Space Gray 2.4GHz 8-core Intel Core i9, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz AppleCare Plus | Apple MacBook Pro 16" - Space Gray 2.4GHz 8-core 9th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz | ||
| Chrome Desktop | Intel i3 processor 8GB RAM 16GB SSD HD approx. $300-$500 | Intel i5 processor 8GB RAM 64GB SSD HD approx. $500-$750 | Intel i7 processor 16GB RAM 64GB SSD HD approx. $750-$1500 | |||
| Chrome Laptop | Celeron or MediaTek processor | Samsung Chromebook Pro | Google Pixelbook Core i7 processor 16GB RAM 512GB SSD HD 12.3" flip touchscreen $1500-$1750 | |||
| Virtual Machine (Windows Server or Linux) | 2 Core Xeon $900/3 years | 4 Core Xeon $1800/3 years | ||||
ChromeOS
Berkeley Lab IT strongly recommends that all users consider using ChromeOS devices. These systems are very inexpensive, and require little-to-no configuration and management. With a wide range of extensions and Android applications available, as well as integration with the Lab's Google tools, these can be an excellent choice for many users. They are ideal for providing remote access to applications and services running on other desktops, servers, and VMs. Please see the ChromeOS FAQ.
Virtual Machines
Berkeley Lab IT also provides on-demand VM hosting for scientific applications. See the Science VM FAQ for more information.
Standard Software
PC Desktop | PC Laptop | Mac Desktop | Mac Laptop | Chrome Desktop/Laptop | Linux Desktop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows 10 Professional | Windows 10 Professional | MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra) | MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra) | Google Apps | Ubuntu |
Backup Software
Protect your data! Use Druva InSync to backup your workstations.
Druva provides UNLIMITED backups for up to 10 workstations for $57 per year!
Please see the Druva InSync FAQ for details, or sign up at software.lbl.gov.
For other backup questions, please see the Backups page.
