Communications & Technology

Our goal for telecommunications and technology at Stanford Menlo Park is to ensure that the staff have the information technology (IT) infrastructure, functionality and services they need to efficiently and successfully perform their work.  In addition, we are exploring and piloting new technology solutions at SMP that can be replicated at other off-site locations and to better support distributed work throughout the School of Medicine.
The SMP buildings are connected to the Stanford University network with 1-Gigabit connections available from service outlets (ie, wall jack) located throughout the offices, meeting rooms and other public and shared support services space.  As on-campus, you can connect immediately to the network by plugging in your computer to a network jack.  Wireless access is available in all SMP public areas and meeting rooms and full wireless coverage will be rolled after all the buildings are fully occupied.  You can connect wirelessly to the network at SMP just as you do on campus.   For more information on wireless, see: http://med.stanford.edu/irt/networking/wireless/information/standardNetwork.html

With respect to surge protectors: 

It is highly recommended that all computer systems are plugged into a surge protection device (e.g. power strip with surge protection) This will help ensure your equipment is protected from permanent damage in the unlikely event of a power surge or other external electrical malfunction.

Owners of computer systems that are mission critical or that can't afford downtime should consider using a properly sized Un-interruptible Power Supply (UPS) rather than connecting those systems directly into the wall or power strip. UPS devices will allow a computer system to continue running when a power failure occurs, this allows for the system to shutdown gracefully.  Contact your computer support group to determine the proper UPS size for your system.  Keep in mind UPS's contain batteries, which need replacement about every 3-4 years and should be tested regularly.