The University of Sheffield
Sheffield-WRGRID

Matlab Introduction

Matlab is one of the major items of Scientific, Mathematical and Engineering Software provided by CiCS Department for Teaching and Research related activities.

It is freely available to use on ICEBERG and also on the Managed/XP service workstations.
Matlab can also be bought for use on an individual workstation.


Continuity of Matlab Service

CiCS makes every effort to minimize interruptions to the Matlab service, but cannot compensate users for loss of service due to the following or other similar events:

  • Unexpected peaks in demand for Matlab (i.e. more than 225 simultaneous users due to large class teaching etc.)
  • Loss of connectivity to the licence server caused by network interruptions
  • Licence server crashes


If you experience problems accessing Matlab via the University network, please check the CiCS Service Status web page and if necessary contact the CiCS Helpdesk .

Matlab Q&A

Q: Can I have Matlab on my own workstation?
A: If you are a student, the cheapest way to purchase Matlab is on-line directly from Mathworks.  Follow the link to the Student Release.  If you are staff, you may purchase Matlab from CICS.

Q: Can I run Matlab on my laptop or at home free of charge?
A: YES you can, by getting an iceberg username and entering via the Applications Portal.

Q: I am having problems starting MATLAB on my Windows computer while using a VPN client to connect to the campus network.
A: The default VPN client provided with MS Windows seems to have a bug which causes this problem.  However, the CiSCO VPN client does not exhibit such problems, and can be down loaded here.

Q: On a Managed/XP PC I started Matlab and had to wait over 45 minutes for it to come up. This is outrageously slow !!!
A: Matlab does not come pre-installed on the Managed/XP workstations, but is installed the first time it is used, which takes over half an hour.  Thereafter, Matlab on the same workstation will start quite quickly.  Should you happen to be the first person to use Matlab on a fresh Managed/XP workstation you will also suffer the initial installation delays. Workstations are normally re-imaged annually, but may have to be re-imaged at other times (e.g. due to corruptions etc.) causing the loss of pre-installed software such as Matlab.