Research Group web sites
Falcon
For research groups in the Department, and others wanting to produce group pages in the University house style, the recommended solution is to use the University's Falcon service. This provides a supported content management service, with University-style templates and straightforward editing that does not require technical skills or experience with HTML. There are also training courses available in creating sites using the Falcon system.
For more information about Falcon and how to use it, see the University's Falcon web pages and the Falcon support site. Please also read the guidelines for Engineering groups using Falcon.
Managed Web Service
The University also provides another hosting service, the Managed Web Service, which may suit groups who prefer not to use Falcon, or who have specialised needs, such as a requirement for server-side facilities like scripting and databases, or a need for site branding that can't be accommodated by Falcon.
The Managed Web Service provides a virtual server with web server, database and scripting packages already installed, and a control panel for managing the server's facilities. Note that this service requires some Unix skills, but it provides more options and flexibility than the Falcon service.
Group sites hosted within Engineering
Those Divisions and research groups running their own servers may have their own sites hosted within the Engineering Department. Divisional and group computing staff will be able to advise on those facilities and their use.
Some research groups have previously had their sites hosted on central Departmental servers, but this option is no longer available for new sites. As described above, the normal recommendation for any new sites is that they use Falcon. However, the previously offered service is still maintained for those existing sites that wish to continue to use it. Information about how to access and maintain those sites is available here.