Information Technology 2012-2013 Activities Report
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Informaon Technology Annual Acvies Report 2012‐2013 Table of contents Unit Page number Information Technology 1 Advanced Research Computing 10 Converged Technologies for Security, Safety, and Resilience 19 Enterprise Systems 32 Information Technology Acquisitions 41 Information Technology Security Office 49 Learning Technologies 59 Network Infrastructure and Services 88 Secure Enterprise Technology Initiatives 121 Information Technology is the central university organization that includes units providing information technology services and infrastructure for learning, discovery, outreach, and administration; robust, high performance networking and computing; safety and security; and software and systems development. The Information Technology organization also sees to the establishment and communication of information technology policies, standards, and best practices to achieve a safe and secure environment for the creation of specific services, tools, and applications that may be needed for particular university functions. The mission of Virginia Tech’s Information Technology organization is to serve the university community and the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia by applying and integrating information resources to: • enhance and support instruction, teaching and learning; • participate in, support and enhance research; • foster outreach, develop partnerships with communities and promote the capabilities of advanced networking and communications; and • provide, secure, and maintain systems allowing the university to accomplish its missions. The 2013 fiscal year was one of change, with the appointment of Dr. Scott F. Midkiff to the role of vice president for information technology and chief information officer, effective October 2012. Midkiff succeeds Erv Blythe, vice president since 1992, upon Blythe’s retirement. One of the first tasks for the incoming vice president was to update the organization’s strategic plan to extend to 2018. The IT Strategic Plan1 is organized around seven pillars: 1. Enabling networked learning in the networked university 2. Providing competitive advantage through sustainable advanced cyberinfrastructure and collaboration 3. Leveraging information technology to distinguish the Virginia Tech experience 4. Advancing information technology for enterprise effectiveness 5. Ensuring the security and resilience of information technology resources 6. Improving communications with customers and partners 1 www.it.vt.edu/publications/strategic_plan/Virginia_Tech_IT_Strategic_Plan_2012‐2018‐v1‐1‐2013‐06‐12 Information Technology Page 1 of 132 7. Strengthening the Information Technology organization Some units within the IT organization tend to focus on one of the pillars, while other units contribute to multiple pillars. Unit reports follow and detail specific accomplishments during the past year. Some of the highlights, organized around the seven pillars of the strategic plan are summarized in this section, particularly for those efforts that require the collaboration and contributions of multiple units. Pillar 1: Enabling networked learning in the networked university Learning Technologies is at the forefront of providing applications, infrastructure, and services for networked learning. This year was one of planning for significant realignment for the coming year as the organization began re‐designing internal processes, practices, and organizational structures. In June 2013, the university announced the launching of Technology‐enhanced Learning and Online Strategies, a re‐aligning of units both inside and outside of Information Technology to meet the goals of a networked university. TLOS will work across the university to incentivize and support highly effective distance learning programs, online content for on‐campus courses, and hybrid courses. Included in the plan is a reformulation of the Faculty Development Institute to create the Networked Learning Institute to better provide instructional faculty with the “skills and conceptual frameworks necessary to use technology to provide meaningful student‐to‐ student and student‐to‐faculty interaction, active learning opportunities, and timely and constructive feedback.” (A Plan for a New Horizon: Envisioning Virginia Tech 2012‐2018, p. 15). The Networked Learning Institute will begin in the coming fiscal year. The re‐thinking and re‐organization accomplished in FY13 moves the organization a significant way to “position itself to serve as a university hub for networked learning services, including consulting on instructional design; support for design, development, and creation of digital media content; support for universal design for accessibility; and access and support for in‐house and cloud‐ based services for course management, content delivery, and collaboration.” (Virginia Tech Information Technology Strategic Plan for 2012‐2018, p. 7). While Learning Technologies and, in the coming year, Technology‐enhanced Learning and Online Strategies, will become a hub for networked learning, other units within Information Technology provide significant support ranging from the collaboration software acquired through Information Technology Acquisitions, to the support in using collaboration tools offered by University Computing Support. The VT Google Apps project, an important effort during the fiscal year, reflects the goal of ensuring that Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff all have access to usable and familiar collaboration tools, a factor in the selection of Google as the provider for the service. Information Technology Page 2 of 132 And while cyberinfrastructure is front and center for Pillar 2, it is also a prerequisite for a robust environment supporting networked learning. Pillar 2: Providing competitive advantage through sustainable advanced cyberinfrastructure and collaboration Leadership for data‐intensive, high‐performance, and highly networked advanced computing falls primarily to the Advanced Research Computing unit and to Network Infrastructure and Services. Together, these groups brought up the BlueRidge supercomputer in March 2013. BlueRidge is Virginia Tech’s most‐powerful general‐access research computing system to date. Virginia Tech researchers have used more than five million central processing unit (CPU) hours on BlueRidge since it went into production. The year also saw an important advance in the data storage capabilities with the purchase of an EMC Isilon HPC storage solution. Network Infrastructure and Services works to ensure that faculty, staff, and students have access to high performance networks. Organizing for robust networking includes the new non‐profit corporation, Mid‐Atlantic Research Infrastructure Alliance, Inc. (MARIA). This organization promotes the development and operation of high performance network and computing infrastructure to provide a competitive advantage for Virginia’s research universities. MARIA provides high speed connector services linking to national research networks through the NatCap Aggregation Facilities, and the Virginia Tech Operations Center (VTOC) provides 24x7x365 support for research networking. The year’s efforts on the Unified Communications program include work to improve networking, both within the university and from the university to the world. This year witnessed the final phase of the work to upgrade the campus network’s fiber‐optic backbone, entailing interconnection of many of the campus’s larger buildings to the new fiber ring. Each building will receive a new high‐strand‐count cable capable of providing reliable high‐speed network connections and supporting future fiber‐based services. Planning for a major upgrade to the core and border networking equipment was related to the year’s UC work, as were upgrades to the university’s wireless networks. Pillar 3: Leveraging information technology to distinguish the Virginia Tech experience The Information Technology Strategic Plan calls for “providing innovative technology‐ drenched spaces, which will grow in importance in distinguishing the physical university Information Technology Page 3 of 132 experience from the virtual university experience; leveraging and appropriately managing information technology to enhance the experience of students, faculty, and staff, including embracing the “consumerization” of information technology and the availability of highly‐ capable mobile devices; and leveraging converged technologies for the physical safety, security, and resilience of the university community” (p. 10). Contributions to this pillar are widely shared among Information Technology units. Advanced Research Computing offers perhaps the most “technology drenched” experience through the Visionarium, a 3D immersive experience promoting visualization for discovery and understanding. Personnel in this unit collaborated with faculty and students to use the Visionarium to conduct research on varied topics during the fiscal year. Converged Technology for Security, Safety, and Resilience worked with University Relations and Facilities Services to develop an online interactive map of the Virginia Tech campus. The goal is for intuitive use by new students, parents, and other visitors to better navigate the campus. Enterprise Systems work to move more processes online for both employees and students ranges from the new systems for (a) leave, time, and attendance, (b) for travel and expense management, and (c) document management for advising systems. Information Technology Acquisitions plays key roles in acquiring software