Hardware Purchasing Guidelines

LAS Hardware purchasing list:

LAS IT Administration has a goal of issuing a response within 2 working days in most situations.

Red list (Arne / Ann approval):

  • All wireless AP’s are an exception
  • NAS Devices (network connected storage)
  • Add-on wireless networking adapters
  • LG / Dell Thin or Zero clients

Orange list (North / South Manager, Supervisor, or Team Lead approval):

  • Apple products:
    • Time Capsule
  • Microsoft Surface Book
  • Dell Enterprise class not on IBOR list, or IBOR item with significant third party modification
    • Dell Pro Plus
    • Dell Pro Max
    • Dell Pro Premium
  • Copiers – not on ISU contract
  • Printers:
  • HP B2B store products with 3-4 year support
  • Consumer grade machines
    • Anything without 3-4 year warranty
  • XPS with 3-4 year warranty
    • TPM must be explicitly requested (not default on Dell Premier Store)
    • Can be fixed / reimbursed through on campus repair
  • Phones
    • Cell Phones - Locked or Unlocked
    • Desk Phones
  • Any other device (examples, not exhaustive):
    • Monitors (costing more than $500 each)
    • Tablets
    • 2in1
    • Cable attached storage (USB hard drive) – generally 1TB or more
    • Hobby electronics (raspberry pi, Arduino, edison, etc.)
  • Servers (server form factor, server OS, or servers in function)
  • Equipment from surplus

Yellow list (Manager, Supervisor, or Team Lead notification):

  • Microsoft Surface Pro - non IBOR Standard
    • 3 year warranty required
    • May want to consider CDW product protection with ADH (accidental damage handling)
  • Monitors from manufacturer other than Dell/Apple (costing less than $500 each)
  • LAS-approved multi-function personal printer selection
  • SD cards over 32 GB

Green list (Technician consultation):

  • Apple Mac products with 3 year warranty
  • Microsoft Surface Pro
    • Must be an IBOR standard purchased through CDWG
    • 3 year warranty required
  • Dell IBOR standard machines
  • Flash storage (usb sticks, sd cards, etc.) – generally 64GB or smaller
  • iPad
  • Keyboard, mice
  • Dell / Apple Monitors (costing less than $500 each)
  • Headsets
  • Component replacements & upgrades (e.g. disk drive, ram, etc.)
  • Network cabling
  • Wired switches
  • Toner / Printer maintenance kits
  • Apple TV
  • Mainstream, well supported, Android tablets (e.g. samsung, nexus)
  • LAS-approved personal laser and work-group laser printers

 

Additional note:

An item on the technician-consultation list does not mean it is automatically approved for purchase. The IT technician serving the department should serve in their role as trusted advisor and guide the decision.

Last update: 2025-08-26