Appleton Tower DICE machine upgrades and temporary closures of individual labs
This summer we are upgrading the operating system of the approximately 300 DICE machines in Appleton Tower student labs from the current version Ubuntu Jammy Jellyfish (22.04) to the newer Noble Numbat (24.04) in time for the new teaching Semester. Some versions of software packages may differ in the new OS. As part of this upgrade, 55 machines will be replaced with new HP desktops.
Two student interns have been appointed to assist with the upgrade project. Their contribution is highly valued, and they will be integral to ensuring the successful completion of this task.
Work will commence on 16th June 2025 and will involve a few days closure of each lab as the upgrades are carried out. As the machines will be shut down, this will result in any jobs left running on those machines to be terminated.
MSc/MInf students currently working on DICE desktops for their project should use Level 9 machines. These desktops, including GPU-equipped systems, will not be upgraded until after the project deadline to ensure a stable and reliable platform.
If you need any advice regarding this, please contact the computing team via our support page
Jennifer