Desktop rollover program guidelines and details

Owned by Jia Wen Li
Last updated: Nov 13, 2023 by Natasha Jennings
5 min read

Guidelines below effective as of May 1, 2019
 

Eligibility

  • Available to staff employed in non-ancillary academic support departments.

  • Only Eligible full-time staff members qualify.

  • Staff employed on contract, temporary, part-time or co-op work terms, or contingent on funding do not qualify.

  • One rollover machine provided per FTE during rollover cycle. Current rollover cycle is 6 years for desktop computers and 5 years for laptops.

  • Computers required for a service function, that are used by multiple FTEs (where these FTEs do not have an additional computer of their own) are eligible

  • Secondments/leaves: Computers eligible for rollover are not replaced when an FTE is on leave or secondment, even if the position is backfilled by a contract employee.  The computer will be replaced when the FTE returns from secondment/leave.

  • All computers provided through the Desktop Rollover (DTR) program, are required to be managed (SCCM for Windows; SCCM/Parallels for Mac OS (when available)), unless approved business reason to opt out.

    • To request to opt out: submit a ticket to DTR-Other Form and include:

      • Name and userid of manager/supervisor

      • Your machine name

      • Details of business reason for DTR to be “client managed”

Equipment

  • Recommend laptop specifications:

    • Standard offering: 16GB Memory, 256GB Solid State Hard Drive

    • Higher Performance: 16GB Memory, 512GB Solid State Hard Drive

  • The Desktop Rollover program covers the cost of the current standard Dell High End desktop computer system, Precision 3460 Small Form Factor including:

    • 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500 (24 MB cache, 14 cores, 20 threads, 2.50 GHz to 4.80 GHz Turbo, 65 W)

    • 16GB RAM (2X8GB) DDR5 4800 MT/s

    • 512GB M.2, Gen 4PCle NVMe, SSD, Class 40

    • Dell KB522 Business Multimedia Keyboard (US)

    • Mouse Laser Dell MS3220

  • Monitor

    • At rollover time, if the FTE has two 24 inch LED Backlit Dell monitors in good working order (or one LED Backlit Dell monitor in good working order, for those only needing 1 monitor), a new monitor will not be purchased

      • If a new monitor is needed, at rollover time, a Dell P2422H Monitor 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor will be provided

    • If a monitor fails out of warranty, an equivalent monitor will be provided, as needed, either from our surplus/supplies or as a new purchase.

  • Speaker bars are no longer included with standard Dell monitors; external speakers or a monitor model that includes a speaker bar, may be requested.

  • Departments may alternatively choose laptops and/or Apple computers.

  • The DTR program covers:

    • The cost of the current standard Dell High End desktop computer system, or the equivalent amount towards the purchase of an Apple iMac or customized Dell desktop

      • The remaining portion of cost is paid by the staff person’s Academic Support department

      • $1300 (up from $1200) towards the purchase of an Apple or Dell laptop

  • Extra costs for laptops, Apple, customized computers, peripherals and accessories which are greater than the rollover covered portion are the responsibility of the department.

Process

  • Rollover requests can be submitted as follows:

  • For purchases that are shared between the department and IST, a departmental account number is required for the purchase requisition; in which, approval for the expense with flow through the procurement system, known as Unit 4.

  • All new rollover computers are purchased by IST

  • If you are working remotely with IST to provision a Windows or Apple computer, please see the DTR remote provisioning page.

Purchasing a Dell computer

The University of Waterloo has an agreement with Dell Canada for advantageous pricing on new computers, peripherals and accessories.

To view the list of preferred desktops, notebooks, accessories and peripherals visit the Waterloo Dell Premier Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM) website. Login required (contact Donna Foreman-Braun to have an account created for purchasing from the Waterloo Dell Premier website).

Purchasing an Apple computer

Procurement and Contract Services is now purchasing all Apple equipment online through an agreement with the Apple Store for Education Institution.

  1. You can find pricing and generate quotes online at the Apple Store for Education.

    1. Specify 'University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1' and browse as a Guest on the University of Waterloo store.

  2. When you add items to your cart you will be offered the opportunity to save the cart (PDF quote) and have it sent to you by email. 
     

  3. Forward the saved cart along with a purchase requisition to Procurement and Contract Services who will review and convert the cart to an order.

    1. For Desktop Rollover orders, attach the saved cart and submit other details through one of the following forms, for approval and ordering:

      1. Replacement Desktop Rollover computer: DTR-Replacement form 

      2. New Desktop Rollover computer: DTR-New Machine form

    2. Note that AppleCare Protection must be purchased for all Desktop Rollover computers.

Maintenance for Dell Computers

  1. Submit a ticket in Jira https://uwaterloo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/2.

  2. Our Hardware Technician will let you know whether you need to contact Dell Support first, or to send/drop off the laptop in IST.

  3. If you need to contact Dell Support, go to https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-ca and enter the Service Tag of the product. If you need help identifying the Service Tag, please ask your IST Account Rep.

  4. Click Contact Technical Support. You can chat or call a Dell Support Technician.

  5. Our Hardware Technician can order some parts and install them if necessary.

  6. All DTR Dell computers come with a four-year warranty.  If a computer requires hardware repairs out of warranty, IST will decide between replacing parts and providing a new computer ahead of schedule. Our Hardware Technician can look at DTR computers and X-rollovers to extend their life, but cannot make any guarantees.

Maintenance for Apple Computers

  1. IST does not provide hardware support for Apple Computers.

  2. You can find more information on the Apple Support page https://support.apple.com/en-ca/mac/repair.

 What happens with computers after they have been rolled-over?

  • Computers which have completed the rollover cycle and have been rolled-over (replaced) by new DTR computers are known as X-rollovers.

  • X-rollovers are to be returned to IST to be re-imaged and re-named. They will either be re-deployed (to originating or different department)or sent to Central Stores for surplus sale or e-waste disposal.

  • X-rollover computers remain the property of the university.

  • If an X-rollover fails:

    • IST can replace it with another X-rollover, if available, or repair if we have parts salvaged from x-rollover machines (new parts are not generally used for x-rollover repairs).

    • OR recommend department to purchase a replacement computer.

    • OR department would have option to pay for any hardware issues/repairs, within reason(e.g. laptop battery replacements); we recommend they not spend much on repairs of X-rollovers.

  • IST will assign new hostnames to re-deployed X-rollover computers to help identify them as computers that have already completed the rollover cycle.

  • Old home computer equipment can be returned to IST at any time for e-waste disposal.

Exceptions to these guidelines are rare. Process for requesting an exception: submit a ticket to submit a ticket to DTR-Other Form, providing a business reason for the exception.