How to get software for CMPT courses
We provide both Windows and Linux compatible software in a number of software repositories for students. We do not provide Apple brand software at this time. Most of the Microsoft brand software used in CSIL is licensed through "Microsoft Azure Dev Tools for Teaching" program - through SFU's subscription.
(A bit of history: the School of Computing Science had subscribed to Microsoft Imagine, formerly known as Microsoft DreamSpark which is formerly known as Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance (MSDNAA) program. Now this subscription is no longer in place.)
Thus, on this page, we use the old name MSDNAA to refer this program.
Since we could not assist on any downloading issues with the non SFU sites, please do not use download option when possible. Always come to CSIL and get a copy!
The access to these software packages will be available within the same time period while the CSIL is open.
MSDNAA program (aka "Microsoft Azure Dev Tools for Teaching")
- About MSDNAA/"Microsoft Azure Dev Tools for Teaching" products
- Where to save the licensing information of my purchases so I could access it later?
- I'm not taking any CMPT courses this semester; may I have access to my previous purchases?
- I have graduated from SFU; may I have access to my previous purchases?
- I'm using a non-Windows system (Mac, Linux), can I download MSDNAA products?
- I cannot find download option for some MSDNAA products, why?
- May I download the MSDNAA products?
- I lost a key of MSDNAA products, may I have another one?
- I lost the media of MSDNAA products, may I have another one?
- I could not activate a MSDNAA product with the key I received, what I could do?
- How long I could keep using the MSDNAA products?
General Guidelines
- General Tips
- I use USB storage for copying packages; any suggestions?
- What if the software I need is not on the list?
- I see there is this "Access Guarantee" option on the site. Does this mean I will have access to my previous purchase records after graduation or not taking any CMPT courses?
- The license of a software package I purchased is expiring; but it is still well in the "Extended Access Guarantee" period! What's going on?
- Currently available software list
Current Offers
Latest Offers
VMware vSphere 6.5 Enterprise
Microsoft Windows 10, version 21H2 (Updated NOV 2021)
(Want to know which Windows 10 edition suits you? Click here.)
Who can get CMPT course software?
Every student who is registered in any CMPT course in the current semester can get copies of any software packages we have available in our repositories. We make this software available to CMPT students so that they can do a portion of their course work using their own computer if they wish.
Please note: if a student takes MACM101 but no CMPT courses, this user has no access to MSDNAA software repository.
What format does the software come in?
The software comes in a number of different formats. All Linux and some Microsoft brand and Windows compatible software comes in the form of ISO images. Some Microsoft brand and Windows compatible software comes in the form of installers (*.msi), updaters (*.msu), and executables (*.exe). Additional formats may be found in the repositories for different software.
How to use the ISO files?
The ISO files could not be used directly; there are 2 ways to access the content within:
- If you do not want to burn a disk, or there is no optical drive on your computer, you need to use a CD/DVD emulation tool.
- for Windows 8 and later systems, you could right click the ISO file and select mount, you will be able to see the contents of this image file.
- if you are using older Windows systems, you may want to read through this external link to find a good CD/DVD emulation tool.
- for Windows 8 and later systems, you could right click the ISO file and select mount, you will be able to see the contents of this image file.
- Burn the ISO file to a writable & blank CD/DVD disk. On CSIL Windows workstations, you could use CDBurnerXP to do this.
What is the procedure for getting software?
IMPORTANT: For any MSDNAA product, please "purchase" it before getting the media. And always copy the licensing information for your purchase (e.g. product keys) to at least two of your own places.
We recommend copying ISO files to your own removable storage, then use a CD/DVD emulation software on your computer to access the content within.
If your own computer has a DVD drive, you could burn the selected ISO files to a DVD or a CD. You can then read your DVD/CD on your computer and install your chosen software just as if it were an original installation DVD/CD.
For our non-ISO format software packages, simply copy them to any removable storage (DVD/CD, USB key or USB external hard drive) and take them home.
You could find these files under: \\cs-gaia.cmpt.sfu.ca\repository
I am a graduate student, what other software packages I could get?
The School of Computing Science is currently partnered with VMware Academic Program (VMAP). This program provides access to licenses for select products for use in instruction and research. Full details can be found here.
For other non-free software packages, please contact your supervisor.
About MSDNAA/"Microsoft Azure Dev Tools for Teaching" products
Microsoft requires students to purchase each Microsoft brand product via MSDNAA portal. Because the School of Computing Science is a member of the MSDNAA, student's purchases are FREE ($0.00) if you don't require the media (CD/DVD).
Note: Any license agreements you commit to are strictly between you and Microsoft.
Before you visit the portal for the first time, please make sure you have gone through the "validation" stage: click here. To reset your password of your SFU Microsoft account, please visit the same page as well.
Please click here to get to the MSDNAA portal and make your purchase.
After you check out, you will get a purchase receipt, and if it is required for your chosen product, a product key. Note that some products already contain the product key within the distribution files, but Microsoft still requires students to obtain receipts for their software.
Once you have your product receipt (and product keys if provided), you can get your own copy of the software in CSIL as mentioned above, saving the downloading time/bandwidth it takes to download from the MSDNAA site.
Note that there are many reports claiming the downloading process from this site is not stable. And there are reports indicate that the "Mail Order" does not reach satisfactory level either.
So, please:
do NOT download products from this web site
do NOT purchase "Mail Order"
You are on your own if you choose these options - there is nothing helpdesk of the School could help you out.
WARNING: if you have graduated and/or no longer taking CMPT courses, you will no longer be able to get the keys from the web site, nor from the School.
So, please keep your copies of MSDNAA product safe and accessible, keep your purchased keys safe and accessible. Important: the information on MSDNAA site is NOT considered accessible!
Where to save the licensing information of my purchases so I could access it later?
Once you've purchased any MSDNAA product, there will be a record on the MSDNAA site. The tricky part is: the information on MSDNAA site is NOT considered accessible!
If you have graduated and/or no longer taking CMPT courses, YOU WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO GET THE KEYS FROM THIS WEB SITE, NOR FROM THE SCHOOL.
So, if you would like to have access to these crucial information at any occasions, please follow these steps:
- click "Your Accounts/Orders"
- under the "Order History", click each order
- (1) print page (with product keys etc.) as a PDF file
- (2.0) email this PDF file to your SFU Connect account.
- (2.1) email this PDF file to your secondary email account.
- (2.2) print this PDF file to paper, and keep this piece of paper safe with the product media, e.g. the DVD you just burnt in CSIL.
Please keep your copies of MSDNAA product safe and accessible, keep your purchased keys safe and accessible.
I'm not taking any CMPT courses this semester; may I have access to my previous purchases?
No.
Please keep your copies of MSDNAA product safe and accessible, keep your purchased keys safe and accessible.
Warning: if you have graduated and/or no longer taking CMPT courses, you will no longer be able to get the keys from the web site, nor from the School.
Please check the previous Q&A for more details.
I have graduated from SFU; may I have access to my previous purchases?
No.
Please keep your copies of MSDNAA product safe and accessible, keep your purchased keys safe and accessible.
Warning: if you have graduated and/or no longer taking CMPT courses, you will no longer be able to get the keys from the web site, nor from the School.
Please check the previous Q&A for more details.
I'm using a non-Windows system (Mac, Linux), can I download MSDNAA products?
It depends.
If the downloading process is handled by a "downloader" - a Windows application which will not run on any non-Windows system - you can only get it from a Windows system.
This is one of the reasons we strongly recommend coming to CSIL for the software :)
May I download the MSDNAA products?
No, we wouldn't recommend it.
Due to numerous reports on download failures, we do not recommend downloading MSDNAA products on your own.
Please come to CSIL and get/burn a copy.
I lost a key of MSDNAA products, may I have another one?
Please contact Microsoft directly for your options.
Please keep your copies of MSDNAA product safe and accessible, keep your purchased keys safe and accessible.
Warning: if you have graduated and/or no longer taking CMPT courses, you will no longer be able to get the keys from the web site, nor from the School.
I lost the media of MSDNAA products, may I have another one?
It depends.
If you still have access to our MSDNAA site, you can always come to CSIL and burn your copy again.
If you have graduated and/or no longer taking CMPT courses, you will no longer be able to get the media from the School. You need to contact Microsoft directly.
Thus, please keep your copies of MSDNAA product safe and accessible; keep your purchased keys safe and accessible.
I could not activate a MSDNAA product with the key I received, what I could do?
As we have stated on this page, we (helpdesk of the School) could not help you. You have to contact Microsoft all by yourself to get the product activated.
e.g. If the activation of Windows 7 fails, you may try to activate it manually:
- run command "slui.exe 4"
- follow the instruction, select "Phone Activation" option.
- call the number listed and hold on for a real person - this may take a while.
How long I could keep using the MSDNAA products?
It deppends.
The license for most MSDNAA products doesn't expire as long as you conform to the usage guideline and the EULA, which essentially states that you are using it for your course work and not for commercial work.
Please read more here.
About VMWare products
VMWare provides some products for students to use. Please check out the webstore for more details.
The School's subscription is: "Simon Fraser University - School of Computing Science".
How to get VMWare products?
Please visit our service page which will link to the School's subscription at: "Simon Fraser University - School of Computing Science" on the OnTheHub Network.
You could logon by using your SFU login ID provided if you are taking at least one CMPT class.
Please, do NOT download the products. Please always come to CSIL and get/burn your copy after the purchase.
Please note: we (helpdesk) could not assist you if you choose to download VMWare products.
I could not login to purchase VMWare products, what I should do?
The quick answer is: please always go through our service page to make the purchase. This is the only proper way.
General Tips
- Keep the product key and the media in safe place.
- Please always generate a PDF file of your purchase for records.
- If your software requires a Service Pack, get it at the same time. Install the Service Pack asap.
- On your Windows system(s), install "Microsoft Updates" to obtain latest updates for all Microsoft products.
- Use the lowest possible speed when burning CD/DVD disks to ensure the highest quality.
I use USB storage for copying packages; any suggestions?
NTFS, FAT32 and FAT16 file systems are commonly used for USB storage.
Since some of the ISO files are larger than 4.0GB in size, out of these 3 only the NTFS file system could handle such files. FAT32 or FAT16 simply could not handle any single file larger than 4.0GB.
Mac users be aware: NTFS file system is not natively writeable under OS X. So if you need to use the same USB storage on a Mac system, please make sure its file system is FAT32.
Then, how to use the USB storage with FAT32 file system for huge files?
The answer: use an archive tool to re-package & split the huge files. We use WinRAR as example here and just remember the following:
choose "ZIP" for "Archive format"
choose "Store" for "Compression method"
choose "4095MB (FAT32)" for "Split into volumes, size"
Then, you could copy these smaller files to the USB storage and unpack these files on your own computer.
What if the software I need is not on the list?
There are many reasons why a specific application is not on the list:
- The software needs a special license, e.g. Matlab.
- The software has compatibility issues in CSIL, e.g. Adobe Reader 9.0.
- The software is not related to CMPT studies.
- This is not a popular package so we did not put in the repository due to storage space limitations.
Please email helpdesk if you need other software packages.
I see there is this "Access Guarantee" option on the site. Does this mean I will have access to my previous purchase records after graduation or not taking any CMPT courses?
No.
This is an extremely misleading piece of information.
It basically means: if (and only if) you have access to the site, you have access to your previous purchase records in certain period of time. And this time period has nothing to do with the licensing.
If you no longer have access to the site, you will have no access to your previous purchases. PERIOD.
BTW, do not purchase the "Extended Access Guarantee" - it is purely wasting money.
So, please keep the record in your own domain; please check the previous Q&A for more details.
The license of a software package I purchased is expiring; but it is still well in the "Extended Access Guarantee" period! What's going on?
Well, this is very confusing indeed.
In short, the "Extended Access Guarantee" basically means: if (and only if) you have access to the site, you have access to your previous purchase records in certain period of time. And this time period has nothing to do with the licensing.
And on the purchase page for a product, it generally states: "the license you will receive with this offering is valid 12 months starting with the 1st of the month the offering was ordered."
So, if you still need this product, here are two options:
purchase ($0.00) the new version of this product; in general, you'll get another year of academic license.
or, spend money purchasing a different license for this specific version of the product from the vendor.
Latest additions
- Microsoft Windows Server 2019
- Microsoft Windows Server 1709 (Semi-Annual Channel, no desktop experience)
- Microsoft Windows 10 (21H2)
- Microsoft SQL Server 2019
Available software for CMPT courses
- 7-Zip
- Adobe Reader
- Adobe Flash Player for Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox
- (NA) Alegro Express
- C++: Eclipse for C++
- C++: Netbeans for C++
- (NA) CodeWarrior for HC12 (Special Edition for home use)
- CodeBlocks
- DirectX SDK
- Eclipse for Java and C/C++
- FileZilla FTP Cient
- Ghostscript
- GIMP
- Google Chrome (Enterprise)
- Java: Eclipse
- Java: JAI
- Java: Jcreator
- Java: JDK & JRE
- Java: JMF
- Java: jTDS
- Java: Microsoft SQL Server JDBC Driver
- Java: Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server
- Java: Netbeans
- Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
- Mozilla Firefox (Extended Support Release)
- Multimedia: Anvil Studio 2017 (2017.12.01 release)
- Multimedia: K-Lite Codec pack
- Multimedia: OpenCV
- Multimedia: VirtualDub
- Netbeans for Java, and for C++
- NoMachine NX Client
- Notepad++
- PDF24 PDF Creator
- Python
- ironpython
- (NA) Racket (former PLT-Scheme)
- SSH Client
- SWI-Prolog
- Tortoise SVN Client
- Visual Studio Code
- (NA) VHDL Simili
- wxWidgets
- Xilinx ISE Design Suite
Available MSDNAA products
- Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003
- Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2003
- Microsoft Visual Studio Enterprise 2017 (click here for installation instructions.)
- Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 18.5
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (ISO format)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 with Update (ISO format)
- Microsoft Windows 10 EDU (x64), version 1703 (Updated June 2017)
- Microsoft Windows 10 EDU N (x64), version 1703
- Microsoft Windows 10 (Consumer Editions) (x64) (include Pro Edition), version 1903 (Updated May 2019)
The following products are newer than what we have in CSIL, use them at your own risk - we could not assist you with any of these:
-
- Microsoft Visual Studio for Mac
- Microsoft Office OneNote 2013 (x64 & x86)
- Microsoft Office OneNote 2010 (x64 & x86)
- Microsoft Office Project Professional 2016 (x64 & x86)
- Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2016 (x64 & x86)
- Microsoft Windows Phone SDK 8.0
- Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Developer Edition x64
- Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Enterprise Edition x64
- Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (ISO format) - (Long-Term Servicing Channel - LTSC)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (updated Feb 2018) (ISO format) - (Long-Term Servicing Channel - LTSC)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Essentials (updated Feb 2018) (ISO format)
- Microsoft Windows Server 1709 (updated Feb 2018) (ISO format) - (Semi-Annual Channel - SAC)
The following products are obsolete or at the end of their lives, or better - there are newer products replacing them; use them at your own risk.
- (Obsolete) Microsoft Windows XP Professional w/SP3
- (Obsolete) Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 (Service Pack 2 is also at the same folder)
- (Obsolete) Microsoft Windows XP Mode for Windows 7
- Microsoft Windows 7 Professional x64 w/ Service Pack 1 (ISO format)
- Microsoft Windows 7 x64 Service Pack 1 (windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe)
- Microsoft Windows 7 Professional x86 w/ Service Pack 1 (ISO format)
- Microsoft Windows 7 x86 Service Pack 1 (windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe)
- Microsoft Windows 7 x86 Service Pack 1 (windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe)
- Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional x64 with Update
- Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional x86 with Update
- Microsoft Windows 8.1 Debug/Checked 32bit
- Microsoft Windows 8.1 Debug/Checked 64-bit
- Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 x86
- Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 x64
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 (x86) with Service Pack 2
- Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Developer Edition x64 w/ Service Pack 1
- Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Enterprise Edition x64 w/ Service Pack 1
- Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Developer Edition with Service Pack 1 x64
- Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Developer Edition x64
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 R2 Developer Edition w/ Service Pack 3 (x64) (ISO format)
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 3 x64/x86
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition SP1 x86
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition SP1 x64
- Microsoft Office Project Professional 2013 (x64 & x86)
- Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2013 (x64 & x86)
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Enterprise w/ update 3
- Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2015
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 and all of its components
Warning: The following products you should avoid, regardless the release dates. Please do not use any release of the following products; do not install at any circumstances:
- Microsoft Visual Basic Express Edition
- Microsoft Visual Studio Express Edition
- Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition
About VMWare products
These are the products which are available on our software repository server. Please note: to use any of these files, you need to purchase from the webstore first.
| Product Name | Files included in the package | Remarks |
| VMware Fusion 10.0 (for Mac OS X) | ||
| VMware-Fusion-10.1.1-7520154.dmg | for Mac OS X | |
| VMWare Workstation 14 for Windows | ||
| VMware-workstation-full-14.1.1-7528167.exe | ||
| VMWare Workstation 14 for Linux | ||
| VMware-Workstation-Full-14.1.1-7528167.x86_64.bundle | for Linux | |
| VMware vSphere 6.5 Enterprise | 9 files (~20GB) | All 9 files are under folder "VMware_vSphere_6.5_Enterprise" |
| VMware vCloud Director | ||
| vCloud-Director-VA-OP-5.5.1.0-2170358_OVF10.ova | ||
| VMware-vShield-Manager-5.5.3-2081508.ova | ||
| VMware vCloud Suite Standard (English) | includes: VMware vCloud Director, VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise Plus, VMware vCloud Networking and Security | |
| vCloud-Director-VA-OP-5.5.1.0-2170358_OVF10.ova | ||
| VMware-vShield-Manager-5.5.3-2081508.ova | VMware vCloud Networking and Security | |
| VMware-tools-linux-9.4.0-1280544.iso | ||
| VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.0.0-2494585.x86_64.iso | ||
| VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0.update02-2068190.x86_64.iso | ||
| VMware vCenter Server 6 Standard | ||
| VMware-VCSA-all-6.0.0-2562643.iso | ||
| VMware-viclient-all-6.0.0-2502222.exe | ||
| VMware-VIMSetup-all-6.0.0-2562643.iso |
To use any of these files, you must purchase the products from the webstore first.
(Obsolete) Old VMWare products
These are the old products which are still available on our software repository server. We recommend using the newer releases.
| Product Name | Files included in the package | Remarks |
| VMware Fusion 8.0 (for Mac OS X) |
VMware-Fusion-8.0.0-2985594.dmg |
for Mac OS X |
| VMWare Workstation 12 for Windows | VMware-workstation-full-12.0.0-2985596.exe | |
| VMware Fusion 6.0 (for Mac OS X) | ||
| VMware-Fusion-6.0.1-1331545.dmg | for Mac OS X | |
| VMWare Workstation 10 for Windows | ||
| VMware-workstation-full-10.0.0-1295980.exe | ||
| VMware vCloud Director | ||
| vCloud-Director-VA-T2-5.1.2.0-1069180_OVF10.ova | ||
| VMware-vShield-Manager-5.1.2-943471.ova | ||
| VMware vCloud Suite Standard (English) | includes: VMware vCloud Director, VMware vCloud Networking and Security, VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise | |
| VMware/vCloud-Director-VA-T2-5.1.2.0-1069180_OVF10.ova | ||
| VMware-vShield-Manager-5.1.2-943471.ova | VMware vCloud Networking and Security | |
| VMware-tools-linux-9.0.0-782409.iso | ||
| VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.1.0-799733.x86_64.iso | ||
| VMware-VMvisor-Installer-201210001-838463.x86_64.iso | ||
| VMware vCenter Server 5.1 Standard | ||
| VMware-VIMSetup-all-5.1.0-880471.iso | VMware vCenter Server 5.1.0a and modules | |
| VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-5.1.0.5200-880472-data.vmdk | VMware vCenter Server 5.1.0a Appliance - Data Disk | |
| VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-5.1.0.5200-880472_OVF10.ova | VMware vCenter Server 5.1.0a Appliance - OVA File | |
| VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-5.1.0.5200-880472_OVF10.ovf | VMware vCenter Server 5.1.0a Appliance - OVF File; an XML file |
|
| VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-5.1.0.5200-880472-system.vmdk | VMware vCenter Server 5.1.0a Appliance - System Disk | |
| VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-5.1.0.5200-880472-updaterepo.iso | VMware vCenter Server 5.1.0a Appliance - Update | |
| VMware-viclient-all-5.1.0-860230.exe | VMware vSphere Client 5.1.0a | |
| VMware-vcops-5.6.0.0-923459-vapp.ova | VMware vCenter Operations Manager 5.6.0 | |
| VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise | ||
| VMware-tools-linux-9.0.0-782409.iso | VMware Tools 5.1 | |
| VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.1.0-799733.x86_64.iso | VMware ESXi 5.1 (CD ISO) Installable | |
| VMware-VMvisor-Installer-201210001-838463.x86_64.iso | VMware ESXi 5.1.0a (CD ISO) Installable |
To use any of these files, you must purchase the products from the webstore first.