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University of Florida

Workstation Support and Levels

TSS offers a variety of support levels for workstations depending on the needs of customers and their units, as well as the risks and responsibilities that units are willing to accept. For more specifics on what entails workspace support provided by TSS—which goes beyond support of the machines on customer's desks—please see the overall section on Workspace Support.

 

Fully TSS-Managed Workstations

This is the standard service level. TSS is responsible for installing and maintaining all required software, agents, encryption, etc. for customers, as well as any UF or UFIT requirements that might be added over time. In addition, TSS will ensure the following:

  • A standard TSS computer image following UFIT naming conventions will be delivered to the customer.
  • Computers and standard software will be updated in a timely basis as updates and patches are released by vendors.
  • TSS will work with the Information Security Office to "white list" applications on the computer that can not be updated or patched due to the unit's business process needs.
  • Microsoft Defender will be installed as the antivirus software.
  • The UFEM and UF SCCM agents will be installed and actively reporting to their respective central server.

Customers in this support level do not have administrative access to their machines, and thus have priority over similar help requests from customers who have administrative access. Please see the Ticket Prioritization page for more details.

 

Jointly Managed Workstations

TSS supported employees who need administrative access to their computers, but who do not need a unique setup fall into this category. TSS will deliver the machine meeting all UF and UFIT requirements and will be responsible for managing required agents and updates to standard software. If new standards are created, TSS will coordinate with the employee to make sure these are met in a timely manner. In addition:

  • The employee managing the machine and their supervisor agree to and sign off on the “Local Admin Rights: End User” form, or if the employee is in UFIT, the “Local Admin Rights: UFIT Workers” form.
  • The initial operating system must be a TSS image following standard UFIT naming conventions, with minimal changes to the standard image by the employee over time.
  • Microsoft Defender is the required antivirus software.
  • For machines on UFAD, the UF SCCM agent must remain installed and reporting to the central UF SCCM server.
  • The UFEM agent must remain installed and reporting to the UFEM server.
  • For standard applications
    • TSS will manage updates and patches for standard software and operating systems.
    • TSS will work with the Information Security Office to "white list" specific applications that can not be updated or patched due to the unit's business process needs.
  • For non-standard applications:
    • It is the responsibility of the employee to patch and update non-standard applications - and in particular any applications installed by the employee - in a timely manner.
    • The employee or employee's unit is responsible for working with the appropriate UF or UFIT to unit to "white list" or otherwise obtain exceptions for UF or UFIT policies. The documentation of any approved exceptions must also be retained by the employee and/or unit.
  • Should the machine become unresponsive or unavailable for updates and patches managed by TSS, it is the employee’s responsibility to work with TSS to bring the machine back into compliance. If the machine cannot be made available to managed updates, it will be reimaged or converted to “Self-Managed” status, where the self-managed standards will then apply.

No Reboot Option for Jointly Managed Machines

  • TSS offers an option for employees to control the reboot times for their machines. In this option the employee agrees to reboot their machines in a timely manner after updates and patches are applied, and TSS will not force an automated reboot to that machine. If the employee does not reboot their machine before the next round of updates and patches, and after conversations with the employee's supervisor, the machine will be placed back into the automated reboot schedule.

 

Self-Managed Workstations

In certain cases, the needs of the unit or the particular employee can not be supported directly by TSS (ex: Linux operating systems, Mac systems that TSS has not set up). In these cases, it is the responsibility of the employee to insure that all current and future UF and UFIT standards are to be installed and maintained:

All Workstations

  • The UFEM agent must be installed and reporting to the UFEM server.
  • Antivirus software must be installed, activated and continuously updated (CPM preferred).
  • The machine must follow UFIT standard naming conventions for workstations. To avoid duplicates, TSS will provide the name to be used.
  • For UFIT units, the machine must be included in the overall UFIT Workstation Inventory, with the lifecycle (purchases, replacements, reassignments, survey, etc.) managed by TSS.

Additional requirements for laptops, tablets or other mobile devices

In addition:

  • The employee managing the machine and their supervisor agree to and sign off on the “Local Admin Rights: End User” form, or if the employee is in UFIT, the “Local Admin Rights: UFIT Workers” form.
  • The employee assumes all responsibility and must keep the operating system and software patched and updated in a timely manner.
  • If the machine needs exceptions to any UF, UFIT, UF Information Security Office or other applicable policies or standards, it is the employee’s responsibility to obtain and document the approval for these exceptions.

Due to the unique setup of self-managed machines, minimal help support is available for these machines. In all cases, similar help requests from users with standard setups will always be given priority over requests concerning self-managed machines.

Please see the Ticket Prioritization page for more details.

 

Support Locations

TSS provides virtual/remote support for UF certified equipment located at personal residences. However, TSS will only provide in person support on equipment located on UF property or public locations under UF's jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the employee who has certified UF equipment for home use to return that equipment to the main UF campus should it require physical servicing.

Physical servicing of computers/printers is provided to the current UF President and Provost residences. All other previous occupants of those positions, that are still professionally associated with UF, are eligible to receive in home servicing of equipment as long as they reside in Alachua county. On request, TSS will schedule times to enter these residences to service UF equipment during normal business hours.

For information about certifying UF equipment for use at a non-UF facility or private location, please see UF Finance and Accountings information on Asset Management, and in particular the section on "Non-UF Facility Certification."