Engineering Base Desktop (EBD) for Departments

  • The Engineering Base Desktop (EBD) is CAEN’s fully-configured, easy-to-install, and ready-to-use software environment based on Microsoft Windows 10.
  • It is designed to support the administrative and productivity needs of Michigan Engineering departments.
  • As configured and with no other modification, it supports web browsing, working with Microsoft Office documents, viewing PDFs, and accessing cloud-based files.
  • It is fully integrated with Microsoft Windows network services, including access to CAEN’s online file storage and software-on-demand services.

Highlighted Features

The Engineering Base Desktop (EBD) is available to Michigan Engineering departments at no direct cost, however, software license restrictions limit its installation to University of Michigan-owned computers. It is intended to be installed on supported hardware configurations by departmental IT support staff. Faculty and staff who are interested in using the EBD should contact the IT staff in your department.

The Engineering Base Desktop includes:

  • Microsoft Windows 10 operating system, complete with current patches, anti-virus software and automatic updates enabled.
  • A default set of pre-installed applications, including Microsoft Office, and access to additional applications via a software-on-demand service.
  • For laptops, Microsoft DirectAccess and the Cisco VPN Client are installed by default, which allows for seamless access to resources from off-campus, including mapped network drives and online file storage.
  • Default security (including support for enabling BitLocker), power management, and other system settings that reflect best practices and technical expertise from campus and Microsoft.

In addition to being usable “as is,” the EBD may be customized at the departmental level with additional applications, access control, and other system settings.

Getting Started

Faculty & Staff

Contact your departmental IT support staff to request the Engineering Base Desktop for your University-owned computer.

Departmental IT Support Staff

It is important to understand your responsibilities before beginning installation of CAEN’s Microsoft Windows-based products on your departmental computers. Download the installation media only after you have read and understood your responsibilities described in the Pre-Deployment Guide.

Available Software

Pre-Installed Applications

The following set of applications are installed and available locally on computer running the Engineering Base Desktop:

  • Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
  • Google Chrome
  • Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer
  • Microsoft OneDrive
  • Microsoft Project Professional
  • Microsoft Visio Professional
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • VMware Horizon Client
  • Zoom

* denotes University-wide site licensed software
** applications are pre-installed, but require activation

Additional Applications Available via Software-on-demand

The following set of applications are available to faculty and staff using the Engineering Base Desktop via the software-on-demand (AppsAnywhere) service:

  • 7-Zip
  • Abaqus
  • Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud
  • Adobe After Effects CC
  • Adobe Audition CC
  • Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Adobe Dreamweaver CC
  • Adobe Illustrator CC
  • Adobe InDesign CC
  • Adobe Lightroom Classic
  • Adobe Media Encoder CC
  • Adobe Photoshop CC
  • Adobe Premiere Pro CC
  • Adobe Reader DC
  • AIMS-PSA
  • ANSYS
  • ArcGIS
  • Arduino
  • Atom
  • Audacity
  • Autodesk 3ds Max
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Blender
  • CAEN VNC
  • COMSOL (Academic Research License)
  • EndNote
  • Foxit Reader
  • Ghostscript with GSview
  • GIMP
  • GitHub Desktop
  • Google Earth
  • Grasshopper for Rhino Course Series
  • Inkscape
  • JavaHAWKS
  • LabVIEW
  • LINCAGES 2000
  • LS-DYNA
  • Materials Studio
  • Mathematica
  • MathType
  • MATLAB
  • Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables
  • Microsoft Visual Studio and Intel Parallel Studio XE Settings
  • Microsoft Visual Studio Enterprise
  • Minitab
  • NVDA
  • Orca3D
  • OriginPro
  • PuTTY
  • PyMOL
  • QGIS
  • R for Statistical Computing
  • Read and Write Gold
  • Rhinoceros
  • RStudio Open Source Edition
  • Scribus
  • Sculptris Alpha
  • SPSS Amos
  • SPSS Statistics
  • STK
  • Sysinternals Suite
  • Tecplot 360 EX
  • Tecplot 360 EX and Chorus
  • TI Code Composer Studio
  • T-Splines for Rhino
  • Visual Minteq
  • VLC
  • Working Model 2D

Questions?

Many frequently asked questions about the Engineering Base Desktop are covered in our online knowledge base. Departmental IT support staff are encouraged to contact CAEN regarding problems or question about deployment.