Overview

Winstats is a Windows system with commercially licensed software and open-source software. It is accessed by logging in using your BSDAD account via the remote desktop protocol.

Hardware

Winstats Server has the following hardware configuration.

• 2 CPUs: 2.4GHz Intel Xeon E7-8870 (Westmere)
• 24 cores per CPU
• 1.1 TB of RAM
• 6.5 TB of dedicated temporary space for SAS workloads. Currently configured on D:\ (SAS Working Directory).

Request Access

You can request access to the Winstats server using BSD Winstats Server Request (You will need to have a BSDAD account).

Prepare Your System for Use with Winstats

1. Obtain a remote desktop client that is right for your operating system.
   
   1. If you use Windows 10 or 11, follow the instructions on How to use Remote Desktop.
   2. If you use a Mac, follow instructions on using the Remote Desktop Client.
2. If you are on campus when accessing Winstats, see Logging In. If you are off campus, connect to the Winstats server in one of two ways.
   
   1. Use cVPN to connect to the University network, requires the Cisco AnyConnect tool and a CNET ID.
      
      1. For cVPN, you can obtain the Cisco AnyConnect tool.
      2. For instructions to enroll in 2FA authentication: Register Your Smartphone in Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
      3. Start the Cisco VPN application on your desktop. Enter the address: cvpn.uchicago.edu and click 'Connect' followed by CNET credentials.
   2. Use the Remote Desktop Gateway
      
      1. The Remote Desktop Gateway requires an RDP client (listed above).
      2. Configure the RDP client using these instructions:Remote Desktop Gateway.

Log In

1. The instructions listed below assume that you are either on campus or connected to the University network.
2. Launch Microsoft Remote Desktop and use winstats.cri.uchicago.edu as the Computer.
3. Enter your BSDAD account as the username with the domain prefix: "BSDAD\username" and your password.
4. Your desktop will be available momentarily.

Log Out / Sign Off

The proper way to Log Out of Winstats is to Sign Out of Windows. This will close the applications as well as your user session.

User sessions that are not Signed Out of, and remain logged in for a long amount of time will start to see unexpected application behavior with R and R Studio.

 

1.  Click the Start Menu
2.  On the left side of the start menu at the top, click the circle with the image of a person. 
3.  Click the Sign Out button from the popup menu that appeared after you clicked the circle image with the person.

 

 

Storage

1. The local storage area of c:\Users\username is only for data within the current working session. It has a 2 GB quota.
2. You may access a lab share with Windows File Explorer (Hint: Not Internet Explorer). Lab shares are storage shares sponsored by your PI for sharing data with those in your group.
   Your lab share can be accessed by typing \\cri-rss.cri.uchicago.edu\Lab-Share-Name in Windows Explorer.
3. To mount your lab share:
   
   1. Open This PC.
   2. Right-click on Network then select Map network drive....
   3. Type in your lab share name as your folder as follows: \\cri-rss.cri.uchicago.edu\Lab-Share-Name
      
   4. Choose the Reconnect at sign-in check box, then select Finish.

Temporary Working Files Storage Space

6.5 TB of dedicated temporary space for STATA and SAS workloads. Currently configured on D:\ (SAS Working Directory).

• This space is temporary and is not intended for long-term storage of any type of data. This space is shared among all Winstats users, it is expected that users clean up their files when no longer needed.
• CRI reserves the right to remove files or compress files from this temporary storage space without warning.

Software

Winstats has the following packages installed for data processing:

• SAS 9.4
• Stata 17
• QuPath-0.30.0
• R 4.1.1
• Aperio ImageScope
• Microsoft Excel
• Notepad ++
• Visual Studio Code
• Git

Request New Software on Winstats Server

1. Use BSD Winstats Server Request to put in a ticket with the CRI.
2. Specify the name of the software and that the software is for the Winstats system. Be sure to specify the location from where it can be obtained.

Mailing List, Patches, and Outages

1. All Winstats users are subscribed to the announcement list cri-winstats-users.
2. Notifications about new software installation and upgrades, outages, and maintenance windows will be communicated to all users in the list.
3. Microsoft patches are released every month and are applied to this system on the Wednesday following the 2nd Tuesday of every month at approximately 10:00 pm.
4. Installed software packages will be updated quarterly. As new versions of the software are released, CRI will only support the previous version for six months before it is removed.
5. A notification/reminder regarding the patches is sent out to the Winstats users one day prior to the patches being applied.
6. The patching process takes approximately two hours. CRI encourages you to submit a ticket through the BSD Winstats Server Request form if you have any issues after the patches are applied.

Support

Please note that cri-rss.uchicago.edu is the only remote file system supported by the CRI on the Winstats server. For concerns regarding compliance (e.g. HIPAA) and data governance, we do not recommend that you access any other remote file systems from the Winstats server. Contact the CRI using BSD Winstats Server Request for additional help when using the Windows Statistics Server.