Category: General Information

The softphone can be used in the home office, at the shared desk or for mobile working. A softphone is software that is installed on a PC, laptop or mobile device to operate telephony as a software solution. This means that conventional number telephony can also be used regardless of location, for example from the home office or at shared desks, and is no longer tied to a desk phone.

Softphone telephony can be used by all ETH Zurich employees who have been assigned a landline number. Softphone telephony is available free of charge.

More informations about Softphone telephony at the ETH Zurich

Instructions for D-MATH members

MacOS Users

On all macOS clients managed by the ISG D-MATH, the softphone app UCDesktopApp should already be installed. If this is not the case, you can install it using the ETH Self Service app: search there for “OpenScape“.

Note: once started and signed in, the app will then start automatically every time you login to your computer.

Linux Users

For Linux there is not a real softphone client and the recommend way to use it, is via a browser like Google Chrome. Therefore, on all Linux clients managed by the ISG D-MATH, we installed an app called ETHZsoftphone which starts Google Chrome and open the URL of softphone.

To start automatically the softphone app upon login (which is recommended), start the Tweaks tool, select Startup Applications in the left side bar and add the “ETHZsoftphone” app (see also here).

Headset

You can pick up a USB-A or USB-C headset from our office.

Generic ETH instructions

Here you find also for instructions to use softphone on an Android smartphone or an iPhone:

https://unlimited.ethz.ch/x/-1lCAQ

Read more

Posted on 20-Jun-2025 by ISG D-MATH

Here below you find useful IT-related information.

Equipment

• Standard IT equipment & Rules

Password & Security

• How to change your ETH or D-MATH password
• IT security in everyday life
• Good to know
• Usage of external cloud services

Connectivity (Network, Wi-Fi & VPN)

• Wi-Fi and VPN configuration
• Wired Network Authentication for private devices (ex. laptop)

E-mail

• Webmail
• Mail Client Configuration (ex. Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, …)
• Spam Filter Quarantine

Data & Backup

• Accessing your files (on the server)
• Backup by syncronizing manually your files on the server (they are then backed up automatically)
  • Syncronize your Files with FreeFileSync
  • Syncronize your Files with Unison
• Backup using an external disk provided by the ISG using the built-in backup tools:
  • TimeMachine for macOS
  • Backup (Déjà Dup Backup) for Linux
• Restore files deleted from the server

Printing

• Printing at D-MATH

Personal homepage

• Personal homepage with ETH Layout
• Personal homepage (full control)

IT-related Policies

A number of regulations are put forth by ETH to guide the usage of computers and information security in general.

• Acceptable Use Policy for Information Technology (“BOT”)
• Directive on Information Security
• IT Guidelines and IT Baseline Protection Rules
• Directive on Inventory and Classification of information
• Directive on Logging, Evaluation and Monitoring

Read more

Posted on 13-Mar-2025 by ISG D-MATH

You can access your files that you have on the server via Samba (recommended for administration staff and also for all macOS users) or via SSH (ssh, sftp, rsync, unison, …)

Access via Samba (VPN needed!)

Connect to:

• smb://shares.math.ethz.ch (macOS & Linux)
• \\shares.math.ethz.ch (Windows)

and login with your eth-username and your e-mail password.

MacOS

Select the Finder, in the menu Go, click on Connect to server…, enter the address smb://shares.math.ethz.ch, click on Connect and authenticate. Afterwards you will be prompted to select a “volume” like “your-eth-username”, “www” or “share-xyz”.

Linux

Open Files (Nautilus), click on Other Locations, enter the address

• smb://shares.math.ethz.ch/NAME_OF_THE_SHARE

click on Connect and authenticate.

Windows

Click on the Start button, enter run, enter the address \\shares.math.ethz.ch and authenticate. Afterwards you will be prompted to select a share like “your-eth-username”, “www” or “share-xyz”.

Access via SSH

The official SSH/SFTP server of the D-MATH is sftpmath.math.ethz.ch but with the “home office” setup (in particular using the “math-guest” or the “math-clients” VPN) you can access almost all linux computers of the department, in particular all Central Clients (ex. ion-*, ada-*).

Read more:

• Accessing your files via SFTP
• SSH key fingerprints of D-MATH hosts

More information about accessing your files via SFTP can be found here.

Read more

Posted on 7-Mar-2025 by ISG D-MATH

Please be careful when using external cloud services (such as Overleaf, Dropbox, DeepL, …) and try to make regular backups on your local device (laptop) or, even better, on the departmental file server.

The usage of some external cloud services has been approved (at least partially) by the CISO and the central IT services.

Here you’ll find more information:
https://ethz.ch/staffnet/en/service/information-security/usage-external-cloud-services.html

Read more

Posted on 7-Mar-2025 by ISG D-MATH

All the accounts of D-MATH members are going to be migrated to the Microsoft cloud in the week of October 21 – 25, 2024.

This means that all the mail accounts will have to be reconfigured, i.e. the old mail account has to be deleted from your mail application and then the new account has to be added. You’ll find links on how to do that below.

The new address for webmail is: https://outlook.office.com

Configuration for Mail Clients

Evolution (Linux)	EN	DE
Thunderbird	EN	DE
Apple Mail (macOS)	EN	DE
Outlook (macOS)	EN	DE
Mail (iOS, iPadOS)	EN	DE
Android Apps	EN	DE
Alpine	EN	DE
Mutt	EN

Spam Filter

The new address for the spam filter (Exchange Online Protection) is: https://security.microsoft.com/quarantine

More information about the spam filter: English or Deutsch

General Information

General Information about the new mailserver: English or Deutsch

Read more

Posted on 6-Sep-2024 by ISG D-MATH

By following the few steps below, you can send a request for a room reservation. Your request will then be reviewed and approved or rejected in a reasonable time frame.

The following rooms are currently available:

location	resource name	description
HG G 19.1	hg-g-19.1@math.ethz.ch	big seminar room
HG G 19.2	hg-g-19.2@math.ethz.ch	small seminar room
HG G 33.3	hg-g-33.3@math.ethz.ch	meeting room for admin/tech
HG G 43	hg-g-43@math.ethz.ch	Hermann-Weyl-Zimmer
HG G 69	hg-g-69@math.ethz.ch	Common Room

Read more

Posted on 1-Apr-2025 by ISG D-MATH

• https://github.com/moodlehq
• https://hub.docker.com/r/moodlehq/moodle-php-apache

Develop moodle

• https://github.com/moodlehq/moodle-docker

The following setup can be used to setup a moodle development environment, with rootless podman:

# D-MATH link podman-compose
ln -s /usr/bin/podman-compose ~/bin/docker-compose

# D-MATH clone moodle-docker repo
git clone https://github.com/moodlehq/moodle-docker.git
cd moodle-docker

# D-MATH set variables
export MOODLE_DOCKER_DB_PORT=15432
export MOODLE_DOCKER_APP_VERSION=18080
export MOODLE_DOCKER_SELENIUM_VNC_PORT=15900
export MOODLE_DOCKER_WEB_PORT=18000

# Change ./moodle to your /path/to/moodle if you already have it checked out
export MOODLE_DOCKER_WWWROOT=./moodle

# D-MATH add custom configuration
cat <<EOF > local.yml
services:
  webserver:
    volumes:
      - "${MOODLE_DOCKER_WWWROOT}/../moodledata:/var/www/moodledata"
  db:
    environment:
      PGDATA: /var/lib/postgresql/data/pgdata
    volumes:
      - "${MOODLE_DOCKER_WWWROOT}/../database:/var/lib/postgresql/data"
EOF

# Choose a db server (Currently supported: pgsql, mariadb, mysql, mssql, oracle)
export MOODLE_DOCKER_DB=pgsql

# D-MATH creating files with group access for moodle code
umask 007

# Get Moodle code, you could select another version branch (skip this if you already got the code)
git clone -b MOODLE_404_STABLE git://git.moodle.org/moodle.git $MOODLE_DOCKER_WWWROOT

# D-MATH add folder for moodle data
mkdir moodledata
mkdir database

# D-MATH setgid for automatic setting group permission
chmod 2770 moodle
chmod 2770 moodledata
chmod 2770 database

# Ensure customized config.php for the Docker containers is in place
cp config.docker-template.php $MOODLE_DOCKER_WWWROOT/config.php

# D-MATH set the permission to 33 inside the container for moodle code
podman unshare chown 33 -R moodle
podman unshare chown 33 -R moodledata
podman unshare chown 999 -R database

# Start up containers, choose docker.io to download the images
bin/moodle-docker-compose up -d

# Shut down and destroy containers
#bin/moodle-docker-compose down

Above we set the webserver port to 18000 so this means you now need connect to http://localhost:18000 in your browser to see the application.

Volume Permissions

If you have added new files from outside the container, you need to re-apply the correct permissions. Let’s say you have added files inside the moodle folder, then you need to run the following command:

# set the permission to 33 
podman unshare chown 33 -R moodle

Visual Studio Code

To prevent the above Volume Permission problem, you can connect your locally installed Visual Studio Code to the running container:

• https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/devcontainers/attach-container

• Open Visual Studio Code
• Hit F1
• Search for Attach to Running Container
• Choose the webserver container
• Now open the folder /var/www/html

If you need to run some commands in the container:

• After being connected to the container
• Hit Ctrl+`

Read more

Posted on 20-Jun-2024 by ISG D-MATH

If you want to develop something for kubernetes, you may need to run minikube. This can be done on our linux installations, the following commands should start a working “kubernetes cluster” on your installation:

mkdir ~/bin/

wget https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64 -O ~/bin/minikube
chmod 755 ~/bin/minikube

cd ~/bin/
./minikube config set rootless true
./minikube config set driver podman
./minikube config set container-runtime containerd

./minikube start --cni calico

After minikube has started you can check all running pods with the following:

minikube kubectl -- get pods -A

You can also install kubectl and helm in your ~/bin if you like:

cd ~/bin/

curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"

export HELM_INSTALL_DIR=~/bin; export USE_SUDO=false; curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash

Read more

Posted on 31-Oct-2023 by ISG D-MATH

Please read the following two articles if you plan to install ETH licensed software on a private device and/or if you plan to use ETH licensed software for private purposes (like writing a cancellation letter for your flat with Microsoft Office ;-):

• Information for ETH employees concerning home use of ETH software
• Home use software list
  Note: in the table of this second page, the “Research Institute Staff” are members of EAWAG, EMPA, PSI and WSL.

How to get a license for ETH software

All licenses can be ordere in the IT Shop

Detailed instructions for the “Microsoft Cloud Subscription”

This is for instance needed for Microsoft Office 365 and Teams

See: https://unlimited.ethz.ch/display/itkb/First+steps+with+Microsoft+365
(look for the “step-by-step instruction”)

Detailed instructions for “Adobe Creative Cloud”

• Login to https://itshop.ethz.ch
• Click on “Service Catalog” (left navigation)
• then “Software and Business Applications”
• then “Software & Licenses”
• then “Order Software Product”
• then search for “Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps”
• Select (x) Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps
• Click on “Next Step →”
• PSP element: 22002 (enter) / Approver: (x) Marcionelli Michele or Irene Schlönvogt (depending who is your contact)
• Click on “Next Step →”
• Accept license agreement/disclaimer: (x) Yes
• Click on “✔️ Submit Request”

In the exact same way you may also order the following useful software (and a lot more):

• DeepL Pro Translator
• EndNote
• Maple
• Mathematica
• MathType
• MATLAB
• Tecplot 360

Read more

Posted on 20-Sep-2024 by ISG D-MATH

You can find a documentation, a F.A.Q, examples and some more stuff about Auto Multiple Choice (AMC) here:

https://gitlab.math.ethz.ch/teaching/amc-howto

Read more

Posted on 17-May-2023 by ISG D-MATH

Bevor ein ausgeliehenes iPad an die ISG zurückgebracht werden kann, muss ein Reset gemacht werden. Anderenfalls haben wir von der ISG keinen Zugriff auf das Gerät und können es nicht weiter verleihen.

Es wird eine Internet Verbindung benötigt um den Reset durchzuführen. Hier der Link, wie dies gemacht wird:

• https://support.apple.com/de-de/HT201274

---

Before bringing back a lent iPad to the ISG, it has to be reset. Otherwise the ISG will not have access and it can’t be lent again.

An internet connection is required to reset the device. Here the link on how to do that:

• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201274

Read more

Posted on 17-May-2023 by ISG D-MATH

Login to Zoom using SSO (Single Sign-On) by clicking on “Sign In with SSO”. See below:

Afterwards you will have one of the following screen; either provide the “company” URL “ethz.zoom.us” or your e-mail address “username@ethz.ch”:

You will be then redirected to the following ETH page. Login with “username@ethz.ch” and your ETH e-mail password:

After the authentication you will be redirected back to the Zoom app:

Read more

Posted on 17-May-2023 by ISG D-MATH

We offer the following standard hardware to our staff:

• Linux desktop computer: e.g. Esprimo Q958 with 8-Core Intel i7
• Mac desktop computer: e.g. Mac Mini with 6-Core Intel i5 or Apple Silicon
• Linux laptop computer: e.g. ThinkPad X1 Yoga, ev. ThinkPad X1 Carbon; or a Laptop that is up to 4 years old
• Mac laptop computer: e.g. MacBook Pro 14″ with Apple Silicon; or a MacBook Pro that is up to 4 years old

Additionally you can get 1 screen (EIZO 24″ or 27″) (upon request 2, if supported by the hardware) and a docking station and some adaptors if you have a laptop.

You can get a desktop computer more or less immediately (1-2 days). New laptops are usually ordered during the Neptun period, ie. 2 times a year (middle of February – middle of March and September). They have a delivery time of 6-10 weeks (or even longer).

If you decide to have a laptop computer and we don’t have one in stock, you can start with a desktop computer and change later or you can use your private laptop computer until the one provided by the department has arrived.

Rules

We have the following rules concerning laptops:

• PhD students should contact their supervisors about the choice of model and operating system (Fedora Linux or macOS)
• we only support Fedora Linux and macOS
• the laptop belongs to ETH (as it is paid by D-MATH)
• the laptop is managed and installed by ISG D-MATH, but you’re allowed to install additional software (but e.g. not a different operating system)
• the laptop should be handled with care
• repairs etc. are handled by ISG D-MATH
• you can have either a laptop or a desktop; you can have an external screen, keyboard and mouse with the laptop
• you don’t necessarily get a new laptop, we use old laptops again
• there is no backup of the data on a laptop unless you make a backup (we can help with that)

Read more

Posted on 5-Feb-2024 by ISG D-MATH

The requirements and installation procedure is very well documented on the following page:

• https://ethz.ch/services/de/lehre/lehrbetrieb/it-services-lehrbetrieb/admin-applikationen/backoffice-applications.html

Read more

Posted on 17-May-2023 by ISG D-MATH

Please contact us if you want to buy computers and peripherals with ETH funding as special rules apply. Read more

Posted on 7-Mar-2025 by ISG D-MATH,

Configuration of mail, calendar:

general: https://unlimited.ethz.ch/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=16451437
(=> see below “Instructions / FAQ / How To / Tips”) Read more

Posted on 7-Mar-2025 by ISG D-MATH,

Please talk to your supervisor and / or ISG D-MATH before leaving ETH about what should happen with your scientific data.

Read more

Posted on 17-May-2023 by ISG D-MATH,

For a technical support in lecture halls and seminar rooms please contact the Multimedia Support for ETH Zentrum:

• Phone: +41 44 632 2117
• E-​mail: mms-​is-hg@id.ethz.ch

Read more

Posted on 15-Oct-2024 by ISG D-MATH,