Client Support is one of six departments within the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) at Stony Brook University. Its mission is to assist faculty, staff and students with resolution of computing problems. To this end, Client Support serves to provide:
- Information concerning Stony Brook computing resources and facilities
- Installation and configuration of software and hardware
- Software application training and training manuals
- Setting up printer and server shares on individual computers which enable users to access network resources and shared files
- Assistance with backing up and archiving important files
- Technical recommendations when it comes to equipment purchases
- Responses to resident report calls concerning network trouble and other computing issues
Client Support works with other groups on campus that employ their own computer support staff by making them aware of the services offered by DoIT, providing any necessary assistance, and generally encouraging the use of university-wide solutions.
Located on the fifth floor of the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library on West Campus, Client Support’s office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Here are the best ways to go about receiving assistance from Client Support:
- Call the Help Desk (631) 632-9800
The Client Support phones are staffed and answered 18 hours a day, five days a week. All calls are entered into a ticketing system, so that technicians are able to call faculty, staff and students back as quickly as possible. Technicians manning the help-desk phones are required to get complete and accurate information from the caller, including full name, contact number, office information, and description of the problem.
- Visit the Student Service Drop-In Center
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Fifth floor of the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library (room S-5410)
This is a place where faculty, staff and students can bring their machines (both laptop and desktop) to be repaired. It usually takes between 3-5 days for a computer to be returned to a user when Client Support experiences its normal volume of customers. During its busy time (at the start of each semester), when there is a large number of computers brought in to be worked on, it can take up to a week for a computer to be returned to a user. Client Support rents out hand carts so that faculty, staff and students can easily transport their machines to the Drop-In Center after filling out a form and showing their ID.
- Schedule a Room Visit
Technicians can be sent to a student’s room to provide computer support. All technicians carry official badges so that they are easily identifiable. Call Client Support at (631) 632-9800 to schedule a room visit.
Client Support carries out numerous site visits where it helps users resolve problems. As mentioned previously, this is done in person, on the phone, and it can also be done remotely. The Client Support team uses tools such as SMS to remotely connect to users’ machines in order to distribute software packages and/or install updates to existing applications on campus. In addition, Client Support offers downloadable software to the campus community through a special Web site called Softweb.
Documentation and training about administrative applications and supported software used by campus members is provided through Client Support. Classroom training sessions are led by professional trainer, Kim Rant. These sessions allow for hands-on practice of specific exercises. Class descriptions, dates and online registration can be found on the Client Support Web site http://clientsupport.stonybrook.edu/training/. If you would like more information about training, please call (631) 632-1232.
In addition to Client Support, the Stony Brook University Division of Information Technology includes:
- Computer Operations
- Systems Support
- Information Systems
- Teaching, Learning + Technology (formerly Instructional Computing)
- Telecommunications and Networking (TeLNeT)
