DSS General Support Services

Make a request above or by phone at 847-491-HELP (4357) 

• The online form is available 24 hours a day. However, service is only provided 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding standard University holidays.
• Online requests are automatically routed to a DSS field representative scheduled to assist you.
• Charge per visit is $45/hour, with a one-hour minimum.
• Please note that the fees for DSS service are charged for work performed and not necessarily resolution of the problem.
• Depending on staffing and demand, DSS will respond within 24-hours. If a request is entered after 5:00 p.m., the 24-hour response begins at the start of the following business day.
• The submitter must provide a valid CUFS number.
• To request Priority Service, call the NUIT Support Center at 847-491-HELP (4357).
  • For this service, a DSS field representative will be dispatched within 15 minutes to attend to the issue reported in the call.
  • Charge for Priority Service is $80/hour.
  • The caller must provide a valid CUFS number.
• Issues extending beyond 5:00 p.m. will generally be picked up again at the start of the next business day, unless special arrangements for "overtime" are made with the Manager of Distributed Support Services.

Billing for Services

Statements are sent out at the beginning of the second week of the month following the month the service call was placed. Statements include:

• Date (of service)
• DSS consultant
• Description of service
• Customer name
• Billed hours
• Extended cost

Specific Support Services

Hardware Support:

• DSS will support Windows and Macintosh business computers, PDAs, laptops, printers, and associated peripherals (e.g. mice, keyboards) that are less than three years old.
• DSS will assist in commodity-type hardware upgrades and replacements such as memory upgrades.
• DSS will only provide best-effort service on repairs such as motherboard replacement and data recovery.
• Hardware over three years old is considered "out of lifecycle" and support may be problematic. DSS will make best attempts to support this equipment, but cannot provide the same standard of resolution as with newer equipment. Therefore, DSS reserves the right to refuse servicing equipment more than three years old.
• DSS retains the right to defer service to a third party.

Software Support:

• DSS will assist with installation, upgrading, and troubleshooting of the following on business computers, not including servers:
  • Windows 2000 and XP and Mac OS 10.x operating systems.
  • MeetingMaker client. DSS will provide best-effort support for the MeetingMaker Java client.
• The University standard virus protection software.
• Other University-standard software, such as e-mail clients and VPN for wireless networking.
• The Microsoft Office Suite, XP, and 2003 for Windows-based machines and Microsoft Office X for Macintosh-based machines.
• Standard Microsoft Windows XP client-side setups and connectivity to existing Microsoft Windows 2003 shares and print queues.
• Software required by core administrative services such as HRIS, SES, and CUFS.

Other Support:

• Setup of printers and regular peripherals on the client/desktop side.
• Setup of Palms and other devices using the Palm OS operating system.
• DSS can only put forth best-effort support for cross-application or cross-platform data transfers (e.g., transferring an Outlook calendar to MeetingMaker) and cannot guarantee the success of such service.

Networking Support:

• Networking support generally includes configuration and administration of desktop-based networking services that reside on the user's computer or within the user's office up to the data connection.
• DSS will provide TCP/IP client support and troubleshooting of connectivity issues.
• DSS is not responsible for resolving hostmaster requests for IP numbers, IP registration requests, and IP conflicts or for any issues involving an Ethernet jack, but can facilitate communications with the proper IT departments.

DSS will not:

• Set up users, server shares, server applications, operating systems or patches, security groups, print queues or server hardware, except in the case of Northwestern University File and Print Services - NUFP.
• Develop Web pages other than the support pages specified in the standard Partner level agreement.
• Purchase hardware or software on behalf of a faculty or staff member.
• Stock parts for equipment.
• DSS cannot provide expertise for applications that fall outside the NUNet suite, or outside standard business operating systems or software (see above). Should this service be requested for such software, industry-standard best practices will be used to troubleshoot problems.

• DSS will not provide support or administration for networking services that are the proper responsibility of other units within NUIT (e.g., DHCP services), nor will it deploy services contrary to standards defined by NUIT Telecommunications and Network Services.

• DSS will generally not provide support for small-population software or hardware. DSS can be contracted to provide best-effort service on such items, for example, one-time consulting along with a third-party vendor to install a lab-specific hardware item. In these situations, DSS cannot guarantee the success of such service. DSS will not provide any service that violates IT policies or guidelines. DSS reserves the right to refer any service to a third-party provider.

DSS General Support
847-491-HELP (4357)
consultant@northwestern.edu

DSS Departmental Contract Support
847-467-7911
dss-manager@northwestern.edu