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Software

This policy outlines the guidelines for installing software on college-owned research servers to ensure security, compliance, and maintainability. Users may install software locally under certain conditions, while centrally managed software must go through an approval process.

User Level

Users are allowed to install software in their local directories under the following conditions:

  • Software installation via package installers, such as Conda or pip, is permitted (and recommended) within the user’s home directory.

  • Users may compile and build software in their local directory as needed.

  • Locally installed software must not interfere with system-wide configurations or security policies. If you have any questions about whether your installed software interferes with system policies, contact ti@davidson.edu

  • Users are responsible for maintaining and updating their locally installed software.

Site-Managed

For software requiring centralized management or wider accessibility, users must submit a request to ti@davidson.edu.

Install Request

Submit software installation requests to ti@davidson.edu.

The request must include the following details: - Justification for the software’s relevance to research or academic work. - Source code or binary location.

Licensing requirements: - If the software requires a paid license, specify whether the license is user-managed or institution-managed.

Updates

  • Centrally managed software follows a two-year update cycle.
  • Users may request an update to a newer version outside the regular cycle if necessary.
  • Critical security patches will be applied as needed to maintain system integrity.

Retention

  • The Research Computing department will retain and support any installed software version for five years.
  • After the retention period, outdated versions may be deprecated and removed unless otherwise requested.

Compliance and Security

  • All installed software must comply with institutional T&I security policies and licensing agreements.
  • Unauthorized installations that pose security risks may be removed by T&I.
  • Users must ensure their installed software complies with data protection and regulatory requirements.