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Information Technology 2005-2006 Annual Report

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Information Technology 2005-2006 Annual Report Information Technology 2005-2006 Annual Report Table of contents I. Featured topics 3 Focus on security 4 Networking for distance learning 5 Student computer requirement 7 II. Office of the Vice President 8 Restructuring 9 Nolij project 10 Financial summary 11 III. Area reports 12 eCorridors 13 Enterprise Systems 20 Information Technology Acquisitions 38 Information Technology Security Office 49 Institute for Advanced Learning and Research 59 Learning Technologies 71 Network Infrastructure and Services 120 Research Computing 244 Secure Enterprise Technology Initiatives 276 Information TechnologyPage 2 of 291 Featured topics Information TechnologyPage 3 of 291 Focus on security Information technology security remains a vital and moving target. This fiscal year has seen repeated news accounts of government agencies, other institutions of higher education, and corporations who have exposed the personal information of their patrons or customers. The personal information of Virginia Tech’s faculty, staff, students, and other partners is critical to safeguard, and the various efforts to improve information technology security help the campus community to be able to use the information needed to complete their responsibilities while maintaining appropriate levels of control and confidentiality. Security reviews began this fiscal year to increase security assurance and to identify and ameliorate vulnerabilities. Working closely with the Controller’s Office, the IT Security Office identified the first offices for security reviews to be those dealing with credit card information, and began the first fifteen reviews. Among the measures instituted this year is the ability for faculty, staff, and students to control more finely the public display of their contact information. In consultation with Personnel Services, the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and the University Registrar, several Information Technology workgroups established means for individuals to set their own display. Supporting this transition are Information Resource Management, Middleware Services, Administrative Information Systems, and the Collaborative Technologies Unit. This fiscal year also saw the first regular orientation in information technology security for newly hired staff employees. IT Security Office staff members participate in the weekly new employee orientation. In addition, they continue to be active in the Faculty Development Institute sessions and in new faculty orientation. The Virginia Tech Central Authentication Services (CAS) went into production in August 2005. In addition to the added convenience of single-sign on, CAS adds security to online applications by reducing the number of times credentials travel over the network. Tools developed to improve desktop security include the initial deployment of Medium Facilities Management (MFM) for Windows machines. The Microsoft Implementation Group (MIG) developed MFM to automate windows patching, virus scanning, and a firewall for those selecting this service. Another new tool, Sunflower, is a component of Some Facilities Management that scans machines with Microsoft’s Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0. Information TechnologyPage 4 of 291 Networking for distance learning Virginia Tech’s distance learning programs provide opportunities for learners throughout Virginia and beyond. From early satellite communications to two-way interactive videoconferencing, the network provided the underpinnings of communications between university sites. Throughout the 1990s and into the twenty-first century, the foundation for connectivity has been NetworkVirginia as the foundation for the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network. Since 1998, the university has offered between 50 and 70 courses each fall and spring with total student enrollments of 1000 to 1500 each semester. While the ATM technology has been stable and reliable, the videoconferencing equipment nears the end of its useful life and newer protocols and improved technologies for instruction are available. The upgrade underway constitutes a major conversion project that will enhance the university’s position in this competitive market. With increased bandwidth and high quality, reliable videoconferencing over the Internet, faculty members and students will benefit from high-resolution graphical displays and other instructional enhancements. H.323 is the standard for interactive videoconferencing utilizing the IP protocol and H.329 is the standard for adding high-resolution graphics. Information Technology has embarked on a conversion plan to H.323 systems that support H.239 standards. Video/Broadcast Services is leading the project. Key university partners are the Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program, the M.B.A. Distance Learning Program, the Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning, Learning Technologies, and Outreach and International Affairs. Communications network Services’ Research and Development groups identify and address infrastructure and quality of service issues. Learning Technologies supported classroom equipment upgrades, and the Network Operations Center provides round-the-clock support. The first phase of the conversion ran through March 2006. During the 2005-2006 academic year, nearly twenty courses were supported in the new technology, including five courses to the Wake Forest Medical Center and three to the Arab Academy in Cairo, Egypt. Phase Two of the project beginning in April 2006 will include the installation of two gateways to connect ISDN and IP videoconferencing systems. This phase will involve the deployment of twenty-two origination systems and ten small-group receiving systems at twelve different sites. Completion is scheduled in time to support fall semester courses. Information TechnologyPage 5 of 291 In addition to the major upgrades to the videoconferencing bridging and classroom equipment, the project includes solutions for personal computers and improvements in video streaming. The personal computer videoconferencing solution will allow faculty members to teach when they are traveling, and will expand the benefits for students in sites other than those with enhanced classroom systems. Information TechnologyPage 6 of 291 Student computer requirement Since 1998, Virginia Tech has required computer ownership of incoming undergraduates. This year, the requirement has been for mobile computing—a laptop or tablet computer. In addition to serving on the requirements committees, staff members in Information Technology support the student computer requirement, and through the provision of infrastructure, have made the mobile computing requirement possible. The provision of wireless access in classroom space has been substantially in place for two years, with additional capacity added as more faculty use in-class learning experiences with laptop and tablet computers. Today, over 85% of the academic space in on central campus has wireless available. The help desk, 4Help, directly supports students using laptops and tablets with telephone, online, and walk-in support. Vendors supply hardware support as a part of the computer requirement. For short-term checkout of back-up computers, however, laptops are available from TechConnect Lab, a unit of Learning Technologies, located on Torgersen Bridge. Additional computers, often with specialized software, are available in the computer-integrated classrooms and computer labs supported by units within Learning Technologies. Software is available to students at much better educational contracts than would be available at retail prices, through the contracts and distribution by Information Technology Acquistion. Support for technology in the classroom has long been a staple of the Faculty Development Institute (FDI) and Educational Technologies. With tablet computers, the paradigms for learning with technology have changed. FDI helps faculty work with the new possibilities for visualization and conceptualization possible with tablet computers. Summer 2005 FDI tracks included teaching with tablet computers. Graduate students participating in the Graduate Education Development Initiative also learn to work with tablet computers to facilitate classroom instruction. Similarly, research on using tablet computers for instruction is part of the efforts of the Computer Integrated Classrooms group within Learning Technologies. This group provided support for a project conducted in partnership with Microsoft that studies the effect of evolving hardware and software systems on teaching and learning. Information TechnologyPage 7 of 291 Office of the Vice President for Information Technology The mission of Information Technology 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; • Provide, secure, and maintain systems allowing the university to accomplish its missions. Information TechnologyPage 8 of 291 Restructuring During the past year, the board of visitors passed a resolution adopting the Virginia Tech’s management agreement as an element of the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act. The management agreement negotiated with the secretaries of finance, administration, education, and technology took effect July 1, 2006. The agreement
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