How to check domain name activity and renewal dates in AWS Route 53
Zachary Reese, Research Support Services

Start in the aws console and click on Route53 under the Network & Content Delivery section:

You’ll see the Route53 Dashboard. Notice the Alerts for recent events (towards the bottom) and the Domain Registration (on the top right). Click on the Domain Registration.

This will take you to a list of all the domains. (Right now, they all fit on one page, this will change as domains come to AWS.) Notice the column for expiration dates:

If you’ve recently gotten a domain registration invoice and want to reconcile, click on Domain Billing Report. You’ll be prompted to pick a date range and csv file will download to your computer.

It’ll be something like this, with InvoiceId, Domain Name, Amount and Date.


Getting Started with APPC’s GitLab Server
Zachary Reese, Training

GitLab provides excellent documentation for all of the use-cases you’ll see at APPC.

We have two guidelines.
1. If you have data, put it in GitLab.
2. If you put data in GitLab, make sure the project visibility level is set to Internal.

That’s it. You can access GitLab either through the command line or using a desktop client like GitHub Desktop. The server is operational between the hours of 8AM and 6PM, from Monday through Friday. Any changes made outside of normal business hours can be committed and then pushed when the server is next online.


Help Learning Qualtrics
Gary Gehman, Training

Generally, if you are a researcher needing to learn a new piece of software (e.g.: SPSS), you would look for a tutorial suite on lynda.upenn.edu. Lynda, however, does not have anything helpful on the survey software Qualtrics.

Qualtrics references, tutorials and guides can be found on the Qualtrics website here:
https://www.qualtrics.com/support/

Here are some other resources to consult:

General / Getting Started (videos)

Qualtrics YouTube Tutorial #1
Qualtrics YouTube Tutorial #2
Qualtrics Tutorial Playlist

Qualtrics API interface

Implementing a Qualtrics Web Service
Common API Use Cases

Qualtrics and R

qualtRics.pdf

Complete Qualtrics documentation

See the Qualtrics Docs folder in the SciComm share.


Learn Essential Skills for Free with Lynda.com
Gary Gehman, Training

Lynda is an online resource for training and professional development. It provides video tutorials in short chapters, which you can resume at any time. Lynda also tracks your progress through multiple lessons and allows you to pin subjects to revisit later.

Lynda is available for free to all regular Penn faculty, students and staff with a valid PennKey.

What type of training is available on Lynda?

Lynda provides a wide range of subject areas for staff members to study, including:

  • technical training, such as software and programming tutorials (e.g.: SPSS, R, Adobe Suite)
  • management and communication skills and strategies
  • photography lessons and other personal enrichment programs

How can I access Lynda?

Log in with your PennKey here:

lynda.upenn.edu

Accessing Lynda on a mobile device

Follow these instructions to use the mobile app:

  1. After opening the app, select the Already a member? button.
  2. In the next screen, select the Organization tab.
  3. Enter upenn.edu in the Web Portal section and tap the Log in button.
  4. This will direct you to the familiar Penn WebLogin page, where you can enter your PennKey username and password.

This brief was adapted from the School of Engineering’s web portal. For more information about Lynda at Penn, see ISC’s Lynda page.


Using Penn Groups to collaborate with Penn Box
Gary Gehman, Uncategorized

ISC now provides a way to simplify collaboration through use of Penn Groups.

Anyone want to use PennGroups to manage groups of people with access to Penn+Box files and folders? See instructions below. PennGroups is an online tool that enables users to electronically manage access to Penn resources, from web applications to physical resources (such as printers), and more. For more information, please visit the PennGroups service page on ISC’s website:
https://www.isc.upenn.edu/how-to/grouper-basics

Why would you want to do this?

  • Easier to share files/folders to a group than to a set of people
  • Easier to manage existing shares when team members are added/removed
  • Automatically control access e.g. based on payroll org or class list
  • Maintain consistent access to Penn+Box documents with privileges in other applications that tie in to PennGroups
  • Leverage PennGroups auditing capabilities to know who added/removed someone to the group, and when. Or see point-in-time history of who was in the group at a time in the past or even a range of time
  • The more applications that use centralized authorization, the easier it can be determined centrally “who has access to what?” “how can I deprovision a user that leaves” “how can I copy privileges of an existing (or past user) for a new team member”
  • Delegate group membership management to others, possibly even to managers not in the group itself
  • Automatic reminders to review group memberships of manually maintained groups

PennGroups to Penn+Box

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How do I add a PennGroup to Penn+Box?
    Contact help@isc.upenn.edu to have a PennGroup added. In your request:

    • Specify the name of the PennGroup. The name must begin with: group_
      e.g. group_iscStaff (the group_ prefix followed by a short alphanumeric label).
    • Provide the name of an existing PennGroup of staff that you own and who should be able to manage that Group.
    • Let us know if this Group will be data driven (e.g., based on employee organization) and provide the requirements. Queries originate from Penn Community or Data Warehouse.
  2. Are automated notifications sent out to Group members when they are added to a Group?
    A user will NOT receive automated notification.
  3. Are automated notifications sent out to Group members when Box files or folders are shared with the Group?
    A user will NOT receive automated notification.
  4. Who can change memberships in PennGroups?
    The Group of staff specified on Group creation will have UPDATE on the group and can update the memberships in PennGroups. Data driven groups can have manual includes and excludes
  5. Who can change memberships in Box?
    PennGroups is the system of record, so changes to memberships cannot be made in Box
  6. Who can see the members of a Group?
    Members of the Group can see fellow members in Box. The Sharing tab on the upper right of the Box interface contains the members that have access to that folder resource. The Group managers identified at Group creation also can see the members in PennGroups.
  7. If added to a PennGroup, how long does it take to see it in the Box application?
    Changes in PennGroups to existing Box users propagate to Box usually after a few minutes.
  8. What happens if I add a user to PennGroups, but they don’t have a Box account yet?
    New Box accounts require that the user first log in. Once they’ve done that, they will appear in the group on Box upon the completion of the next full sync, which runs early each morning.
  9. What do you need to be able to access Box?
    You need a PennKey and an active Affiliation.
  10. Basic navigation in BOX for inviting collaborators, setting roles and uploading files.
    https://community.box.com/t5/Collaborate-By-Inviting-Others/Inviting-Collaborators/ta-p/19723

Information via SUG: Chris Hyzer, UPenn Information Systems and Computing. May 30, 2018