Skip navigation

Halley Computing Facilities - For Staff

General Use Computing Room (Laws Building):

  • 4 x Networked PC's running Windows 2000 Professional
  • Networked Laser Printer with Duplexer
  • Canon Slide Scanner
  • Flatbed Scanner

Local Area Network (LAN):

  • The LAN is CAT5e twisted pair (10baseT) with RJ45 type connection only.
  • Ports for general use are available in the Laws Computer Room and in the Library. There are no ports in bedrooms.
  • BAS provides a 24 hour satellite link of 256Kb (IE probably a quarter the speed of your broadband link at home). This has to handle the traffic for everyone on base, including Voip telephone calls, work data, remote access, web browsing and email. Many people bring web "toys" south only to find they do not work as well as they might hope.
  • If providing your own PC/Laptop (both work and personal), network cables are available on Station. However, you must provide the rest of the hardware and software to connect your PC/Laptop to the LAN. This means that you must provide a network card or PCMCIA adaptor plus the relevant software drivers. The Communications Manager will assist you in connecting your PC/laptop to the LAN providing you have the relevant software available, however if you are unsure, it is better to contact the IT helpdesk at BAS Cambridge prior to departure for more information. (Contact the Helpdesk on +44 (0)1223 221447 or send an email to helpdesk@bas.ac.uk). Important Note : Windows XP Home is not compatible with BAS systems and will not be allowed to connect to the BAS network.

Server:

  • The Network Server runs Novell NetWare 6.5
  • The server is fully spared, secure and backed up
  • You will be allocated with an account and 1Gb of NetWare server disk space for your personal/work use. This space can be increased at the discretion of the Communications Manager. The account and all files will be deleted upon leaving the base.

Software:

  • The standard operating system is Windows XP Professional
  • XP Home and Windows Vista are not compatible with BAS systems
  • Software packages available from the NetWare server to networked PCs include:
    • GroupWise email system
    • Microsoft Office 2000 Professional
    • Adobe Acrobat Reader
    • Exceed
    • Firefox
  • All PCs run Sophos Anti-Virus.
  • All Laptop users should bring with them all driver and recovery disks related to their equipment.
  • Windows XP Professional is supported on BAS Laptops, however Windows XP Home is not supported.

Please speak to the Communications Manager before you make any changes to the General Use Computers, such as installing software. All software installed on these PCs must be licensed and work related.

Consumables:

  • There are NO spare media on base. This includes writable CD-ROMs, DLT tapes, DAT tapes or floppy disks. You must supply your own media.
  • There is a limited supply of A4 paper for printing purposes, however it is requested that you save the printing of any documents not remaining on the station till you arrive back from the Antarctic.

Backups:

  • The NetWare Server is backed up on a daily basis. All files that you place on your N: drive (your personal account space) will be backed up.
  • No backups are taken of the PC local hard drives. You are responsible for backing up any files that you place on the PC local drives.

E-mail:

  • BAS Personnel department will inform you and your contacts of your e-mail address when you are South.
  • Never place yourself on mailing lists using this address or your account may be deleted.
  • You should bring with you the full e-mail addresses of all those people that you wish to e-mail (both personal and work). Once you are South it may be difficult to 'lookup' e-mail addresses.
  • The maximum size for any email both work related and personal is currently 10MB. Please try to keep emails as small as possible.
  • Email is sent and received regularly during the day. Times vary for each Station/Ship. The Communications Manager/Radio Officer will inform you of these times when you arrive.
  • All your e-mail will be deleted once you leave Halley. Note that there is no facility within GroupWise (the BAS email system) to save an email account. Emails can be saved on Station using other software provided. The Communications Manager/Radio Officer can explain this to you on Station. Note you will need at least one writable CD in order to do this.