Minutes - January 14, 2000
1-3 pm - I.G. Greer Room 224
I. Call to Order, Welcome and Introductions
Jeff Williams called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. All representatives and guests were welcomed. Members absent were Kevin Howell, Lynn Lysiak, Bill Ward and Al Rapp.
Guests present were Michael Bennett, Steve Breiner, Jeff Church, Tom Culver, Wayne Fee, Terry McClannon, Joyce Roy, Tom Van Gilder and Gary Yorkdale.
II. Organization Housekeeping
A brief review of the mission statement was done with no further comment. It was agreed that Doug May would serve as the Vice Chair for the group. Meetings will be more informal than with a formal approach. Meetings will be held on the second Friday of each month from 1:30 � 3:00 p.m. Correspondence would be done through the ITAC@listproc.appstate.edu list with notices also being posted to the ITAC_CC@listpoc.appstate.edu list for those interested in receiving information (names can be added by contacting the chair or vice chair). A web page for the group will be established with all information and proceedings posted regularly.
III. Technology Briefings
Campus Network
Tom Culver presented information to the group on the status and future of the ASU network. He summarized the background of the UNC systems study for the Phase I study, recommendations and deployment of funds to the campuses. During the Phase I funding, ASU was allocated $2.6 million dollars for our baseline requirements during the first allocation of funds (approximately half of the total). During this past year, we have replaced all the major network electronics and have begun wiring studies for several buildings (click here for more details). Tom also reported that he was in the process of completing the hiring of four additional staff positions for the support of the network.
Support Services and Student Labs (Doug May)
Doug May briefed the group on the state of student labs on campus. Centrally supported labs are located in Raley, Student Union and several residence halls. ACS also has joint responsibility for several departmental labs. Doug outlined the support services model. It is a three tier model with the primary contact being the helpdesk at 6266 and the walk-in center in Raley Hall. Depending on the time of day, the phone will roll to the appropriate group on duty. In the future, it is expected that we will get an intelligent phone distribution system to better manage these resources. For more complex calls, the user situation may be elevated to level two or three depending on the nature of the problem. An example of this may be a specific network problem. The concept of having a primary technical contact in each department was discussed and may be an option to pursue. Doug is in the process of hiring two more permanent staff to assist in the support model.
Faculty Technology Workshops (Steve Breiner)
Steve Breiner gave an update on the latest round of training faculty in the use of technology. The latest workshop involved 50 faculty and was held January 5 � 7 in several electronic classrooms in Raley Hall. Like workshops will also be conducted during Spring break and immediately after the semester ends. Click here for more information or visit www.fcc.appstate.edu. Steve is also the campus representative to the UNC system TLT (Teaching and Learning with Technology) workgroup. They are in the process of hiring an executive director of the TLT collaborative group to coordinate these activities on a systems level.
IV. Discussion of Future Meeting Format/Content
There was brief discussion with no specific recommendations.
V. Discussion for Regular Meeting Agenda Items
There was brief discussion with no specific recommendations.
VI. Discussion of Possible Future Agenda Items
Microsoft Agreement
Doug May gave a brief update about the system-wide agreement to license the Microsoft Professional Office Suite. ASU agreed to participate in order to reduce our costs. Until now, we were out of compliance due to the change of policy at Microsoft to allow for concurrent license use. ASU will pay $ 33.94/each for the 1,416 campus knowledge workers providing unlimited licensing for all campus owned computers.
Computer Purchases
Doug May gave an update on the ASU agreement with IBM through the UNC Chapel Hill contract which provides an easy, cost effective way of purchasing state-of-the-art computers. They can be purchased for personal use through the Bookstore and for campus use through regular purchasing channels. They carry a four year on-site warranty through our certified technicians with the campus electronic repair group. As models change approximately every six months, ASU gets to take advantage of newer computers at the same price. We work with IBM on the software pre-load to make sure it is compatible with our on-campus supported software. Apple computers are also available through the Bookstore and through regular purchasing channels for the state educational price.
Virus Protection
Doug May reported that we are about to finalize the extension of the McAfee virus protection license. This is a site license and needs to be coordinated centrally.
Novell Directions (ZEN)
Doug May reported that we are considering consolidating all the campus Novell licenses into a site license that would include ZEN (Zero Effort Networking). This would allow remote management for software installs and problem resolution. The user is involved in this process to allow the access. This follows a similar approach that is already available for Apple computer support.
Upgraded Central Disk Storage Infrastructure
Jeff Williams reported on the recent RFP process to select an updated disk storage system for the campus. We are currently using ten year old technology for the management of the VMS environment using Storage Works HSD equipment. All other platforms (Novell, NT and Unix) have been handled on a per computer basis. The new system will increase throughput from 3 to 80 mBs (megabytes per second) and provide the capability for all ASU platforms. We will start with one drawer with a capacity of 180 useable megabytes utilizing Raid-5 with a hot failover drive and mirrored over the network to another disk sub-system in Belk Library. The disk storage cabinet has plenty of expansion capability to add several terabytes of storage to support future growth and consolidation of existing platform use.
ISP Directions - Preferred Internet Provider
Jeff Williams mentioned that Tom Culver and he had been talking with various vendors to discuss ways to leverage our position at ASU for the cost benefit of the our users. We�re looking for a much better price point with several selection categories for services. The cheapest would be a dial-tone to the internet with a 56kb dial-up connection. The high end would be unlimited access including email and web site options. We expect to go out with a formal RFP during this semester and have something in place no later than summer. This service would only be available to authenticated ASU users that have access to our campus services.
Campus Pipeline
Jeff Williams gave a report on the status of Campus Pipeline. ASU was the first campus to go live with the CP in mid-August 1999. It was a student deployment targeted for new freshmen and transfer students for web-based email. During the Martin Luther King weekend (January 15-16), a migration will be made to the newest version of CP that will improve email functionality, create a new look and feel and provide more stability and efficiency. We will monitor the new system and get feedback from current student users before deciding the next steps. If all goes well, then later in January a campus announcement will be made to all students that this is available as an option. If that goes well, then all students will be encouraged to use CP as their portal to information in the Fall. This will provide a base for the dissemination of information instead of email lists and hardcopy in their PO box.
VII. Other Items
The next meeting will be on February 11 at 1:30 p.m. A note will be sent out the week before asking for possible agenda items. The meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m.
