What is MESA?

MESA stands for the Mason Enterprise Services Architecture. It is the new computer network system designed to meet the needs of the Mason faculty and staff community, as defined by the Information Technology Unit’s Technology Council. If you’re already using Novell, MESA is the updated replacement of that network operating system. If you have not been using Novell, MESA will provide new methods for handling your files and new levels of security.

MESA is a system of services that takes advantage of the network’s components to give users resources beyond what a stand-alone computer can provide. MESA was designed specifically for George Mason University.
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What are the minimum requirements to put a system in the MESA environment?

Windows systems require Windows XP Service Pack 2. Apple systems require Mac OS 10.x. The university owns site licenses to both of these operating systems, and we encourage users to upgrade their systems in advance of the migration. If you need assistance with upgrading your system, please contact the ITU Support Center.
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Will I have off-campus access to my MESA networked file space?

One of the core goals of the MESA project is to provide anytime, anywhere access to files stored in the networked file space. Currently the remote access options for files are tailored more toward the advanced IT user. The MESA migration team will work with your department to identify your remote access needs and recommend the best solution. The MESA project team is currently working on more user-friendly options for remote file access, which we hope to make available to users soon.
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How will MESA affect me?

MESA will offer you several new benefits.

• You will have a large amount of space in MESA to store your personal files (1 GB per faculty/staff),
• The files that you store on the MESA M: drive will be backed up daily,
• You will be able to share files with your department through a shared storage space in MESA, and
• You will have greater security measures in place for your computer.

What will I have to do to migrate to MESA?

Your Technology Coordinator will help explain better any specific items you need to do for your department, but in general, the process of moving over to MESA will be very simple for you.

• You may have to fill out a questionnaire with information about your computer and the printers that you use.
• You will have to activate your MESA account by creating a special MESA password. The web site http://password.gmu.edu/ will provide you with easy to follow, step- by-step instructions on how to do this.
• One of the Special Project Technicians will contact your Technology Coordinator to schedule a time to be migrated. Your coordinator will inform you about the scheduled date for migration.

Once your computer is migrated to MESA (a process that should take less than 30 minutes), you will access your files through the “mydata” and “shared” folders on your newly created M: drive (see picture below).

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