Account Information
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Campus Computing ID
Members of the University of Alberta community are eligible to receive a Campus Computing ID (CCID) - a unique identification that provides a secure gateway to University services. CCIDs are handled by the University's Information Services and Technologies (IST) unit.
A CCID provides access to:
- Email, calendaring and more (Google apps)
- This account can be accessed from apps.ualberta.ca
- By default, a U of A e-mail address takes the form: CCID@ualberta.ca , but the first part of the address can be personally customized using the MyCCID tool and selecting e-mail aliases from the menu.
- Computing and library resources
- Centrally operated general-purpose computers (Unix) and computer lab workstations
- Campus wireless network
- Disk space for files and hosting of web pages related to academic activities
- Licensed electronic databases and journals in the Library
- Online learning
- Your course websites in eClass
- Bear Tracks
- Students can use Bear Tracks to register for courses, view timetables, and view their grades/transcripts
- Staff can use Bear Tracks to view their online employee profile and pay cheque information
- CS Intranet
Largely faculty and staff administrative resources. Access restricted to the U of A network (or VPN if you are off campus).- Time entry/approval instructions
- Hiring procedures and forms
- Requesting spaces/access
- Visitor procedures and forms
- Tenure and promotion information
See the IST website for more information
Computing Science Access
The Department will also issue faculty, staff and students the use of our labs and facilities.
Your CCID provides access to:
- Computing resources
- Disk space
- Access to CS instructional lab workstations
Undergraduate CCIDs are approved a few days before the start of a semester, assuming you are registered in a Computing Science course. If you are registering for a course after the start of a semester, your access will be approved in two business days.
Graduate student CCIDs are approved two weeks prior to the start of Fall semester, or two business days after registration.
You can contact IST for assistance with your CCID.
DoCs DB
The DoC's DB login is used to login to DoC's DB, Grad DB and Astep.
- DoCs DB
Department database for managing courses- Allows TAs access to their timetables, class lists and submit grades
- Allows other department staff to administer courses and TA assignments
- Grad DB
Contains all of the records pertaining to a graduate student's program- Allows grad students, supervisors and graduate administrators to update and maintain students' program information
Graduate students will obtain a DoC's DB login during the application process when responding to the offer to attend grad studies. New instructors will be contacted with their docsdb login. Faculty who are supervising graduate students and administrative staff may need to request a login.
If you have problems with your login email docsdb@cs.ualberta.ca.
Obtaining an account
Students
A CCID/password combination is issued to a student applicant upon receipt of his or her application for admission to the University.
Faculty and Staff
You (if you are faculty) / Your supervisor, in consultation with the Administrative Supervisor, will start the process of getting your CCID account issued. If you are a supervisor and will be hiring a new staff member, please see the Intranet for account application procedures.
Guests and Visitors
Your host or sponsor, in consultation with the Administrative Supervisor, will start the process of getting your CCID accounts issued. If you are a host or sponsor who has a guest coming, please see the Intranet for account application procedures.
Account Details
What are the limits on undergraduate CS accounts?
Your account has a default disk quota of 5 GB. If your account size exceeds 5GB, you may have trouble saving your work or logging in. Either reduce your disk space or contact IST.
How do I request additional space?
Student disk quotas are set based on what is known from experience to provide lots of room for students to accomplish their course work. Sometimes, if you are taking a large amount of programming intensive courses, you may require additional space.
To request a change in your disk quota, please contact IST. They will want to know what courses you are taking, why you need more space, and how much more you will need. They will look at your account's disk usage to determine that the disk space you are using is only for material related to your current courses. You will not receive additional quota if you are using large amounts of space for personal, old, or non-course related material. You will receive additional quota space only if you show that your existing space is free of needless waste, and inadequate for the needs of your course work. If the space is required for a particular course, your TA or Instructor should make a request for all students in that course.
What do I need to know about account security?
We make every effort to ensure that our department's computing systems remain secure from outside interference. However, you must do your part too. We ask that all new students and staff take a moment to read over the next few points so they can do their part in helping us maintain a secure working environment.
- Leaving your workstation
If you are leaving your console for 15 minutes or less, do not wish to log out and you trust all those around you we ask that you lock your workstation before leaving (running xlock on Linux or Ctrl-Alt-Del -> Lock Workstation on Windows). This prevents others from sitting down and using your account while you are away. It does not, however, on a Linux system, prevent anyone from killing your X session and using your account anyway, so please don't rely on it to keep your account secure. - DO NOT share your account
This is grounds for account suspension and all offenses will be dealt with immediately.
Where can I use my account?
- Undergraduate students have access to the instructional labs as well as any of the machines in the common areas.
- Graduate students also have access to instructional machines and are able to login to any of the computers in the graduate offices.
- Researchers affiliated with a research lab may use any of the machines in that research lab unless there are restrictions set up by the lab. In some research labs you may need to obtain a special login from the owner of those particular computers. There are also some semi-public machines that you can use.
- Faculty and support staff have access to all of the above.
Can I access instructional machines?
The instructional laboratories are primarily for students taking undergraduate level courses but are also used by some graduate level courses as well.
Grad student / faculty preference will be given to those using these resources for activities related to courses or labs they are teaching. While on the instructional machines you will have a 5GB disk quota. If you would like to request special usage for one of the instructional labs, please contact IST.
How private are my files?
The Department of Computing Science Chair or representative may request access to examine any files belonging to your UNIX ID if there is reasonable suspicion of a violation of the Conditions of Use.
Supervisors may also request access to any files that represent joint research work. A reasonable attempt will be made to contact the user before such access is granted and they will be informed via email regarding which files and directories access was granted to.
How does supervising accounts work?
Faculty and staff can sponsor a guest or student (see the Intranet for account application procedures), and are responsible for their resource usage and conduct. If the supervisor leaves the Department, sponsored IDs will need to find a new supervisor.
Troubleshooting
I enter my username and password, and it returns me to the login prompt/window with a message like "Access Denied" or "Login Incorrect".
You may have forgotten your password, or have not received your access yet. Go to MyCCID and reset your CCID password.
I enter my username and password at the login screen on a UNIX machine and the login box disappears briefly and then returns.
There are several possibilities. You need to try to log in on a text console (on the machine you are on, or a different UNIX machine). Switch to the text console by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F1 (simultaneously). Try to log in again.
- If it lets you log in you are either over disk quota or have corrupted rcfiles.
- If it did not let you log in, go onto the next item. Check your quota with the command
quota -v. If it says you are over quota then you need to remove/compress files until you are back under quota. - If you are not over quota, you probably need new rcfiles. Follow the instructions to get new rcfiles. When you have finished, be sure to log out. Then switch back to the X Windows login screen (by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F5 simultaneously) and attempt to login again.
I tried to log in on a text console on a UNIX machine and it says something about my account being suspended. It then kicks me out right away.
Your account has been suspended due to abuse of the system. Please contact IST to discuss the reactivation of your account.