Goal 5

Goal V. Maintain an easy-to-use, readily available, and forward-thinking technical infrastructure for the University community

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A reliable and robust communications infrastructure is essential for teaching and learning, facilitating research, conducting routine business practices, and communicating with others on Grounds and around the world. During the past year, the University's network and communications infrastructure was strengthened substantially through new hardware, programs, and services. U.Va.'s link to the ultra high-speed National LambdaRail network, described further in Goal I, was activated. The link also enabled the University to provide additional upgrades to its connection to the existing Internet2 Abilene network. Several improvements were made during the year to student-residence areas, including a 100 percent increase in the wired network and more comprehensive wireless services in the Alderman Road and McCormick Road complexes.

Internet2

A charter member of Internet2, U.Va. has been connected to the Abilene network since 1998. Abilene connects Internet2 universities to regional network aggregation points, called gigaPoPs, through an advanced network backbone. The affiliation with Abilene has enabled the University to substantially upgrade the external network connection through the Network Virginia backbone, bolstering the capacity of researchers to conduct their Internet-based work. Additional upgrades to Abilene have been enabled through the recent connection to the National LambdaRail network, described in Goal I of this report. Ongoing enhancements to the University network are described below.

Network Upgrades

Five years ago, the University's OC-3 connection (155 million bits per second) was supplemented with an additional DS-3 link that serves the student residence areas. ITC completed a multi-year project to upgrade the on-Grounds, building-to-building backbone in 2002-03. In 2005, ITC increased the core network capacity to 10 gigabits per second. Most buildings presently have a 1 gigabit-per-second uplink to both the level I and level II (More Secure) network, with 100 megabits-per-second service available as needed for individual network connections and gigabit connections available for research. All uplinks eventually will be a gigabit. During 2005-06, Internet access capacity for the residence areas was increased 100 percent, to 100 megabits per second. Additional increases are planned.

Building Rewiring Project

ITC staff pursued their ongoing work on the multi-year Building Rewiring Project, the second of the two-part Network Infrastructure Project, which will provide all students, faculty, and staff on Grounds with access to a more robust network. Through the Building Rewiring Project, new cable and connections capable of supporting substantial telephone, data communications, and video are installed building-by-building. Nearly all academic and hospital buildings have been rewired. During 2005-06, ITC staff also installed a substantial number of outlets in renovation and new construction projects. The only remaining areas in the Building Rewiring Project are approximately 200 drops in the third and fourth floors of the Private Clinics in Hospital West. The clinics cannot be wired because of asbestos.

Off- and On-Grounds Expansions

As the scope and volume of the University's teaching and research enterprises have grown, increasing numbers of departments are seeking new office, laboratory, and clinic spaces. The large increase in leasing of off-Grounds spaces has resulted in an increased workload for groups in ITC's Communications and Systems Division, who install and support the network at off-site locations. Among the many challenges is providing seamless connections to the University's on-Grounds network and communications infrastructure. New installations also provide the opportunity to offer new services based on new technologies, such as Voice over Internet Protocol, described later in this section. A partial list of ITC's off-Grounds work during 2005-06 includes: the Charlottesville and University Symphony Orchestra at 7 Elliewood Avenue, the Health Sciences Foundation at 2250 Old Ivy Road, and temporary space for the University's new Institute for Shipboard Education at 1924 Arlington Boulevard. Staff are working on projects at 1 Morton Drive for Cavalier Computers, Environmental Health and Safety, and the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.

On-Grounds renovations projects also have continued to increase. The work to reinstall and reconfigure communications infrastructure is performed by the same ITC groups as the off-Grounds installations. One substantial on-Grounds project during the year is work on the new John Paul Jones Arena.

Wireless Network

Deployment of the University's wireless local area network began in spring 2001, and by fall 2005 the network provided essentially complete coverage for the vast majority of academic buildings on Grounds, with partial coverage of the others and many administrative buildings. Wireless access also is available in each student residence hall that has a designated study/lounge, as well as in some computer lounges and coffee shop areas. Plans are underway to more fully expand wireless services to the student residence areas, beginning with the Alderman Road and McCormick Road complexes during summer 2006. Wireless is installed along with the wired network in all new buildings. Access to the U.Va. wireless network is restricted to students, faculty, and staff, though visiting faculty and colleagues needing access to the network can obtain temporary guest accounts. Several enhancements have been made to improve users' privacy and to better protect the integrity of wireless communications.

U.Va. NetBadge

ITC staff worked throughout the year to extend the reach of the U.Va. NetBadge service, which was first deployed in spring 2005. NetBadge, which is based on NMI pubcookie software, provides users with a single sign-on capability when browsing Web sites that use the service. When users access a U.Va. Web site that has incorporated the NetBadge service, they are redirected to the NetBadge Web site, where they either enter their user ID and password or present their personal certificate. After validation, they are issued a U.Va. NetBadge. When users visit subsequent Web sites that require a NetBadge for authentication, their Web browser automatically presents it. Users gain access without having to perform additional logins, and exposure of users' passwords is limited because they are sent only to a trusted login service. After users log in, their U.Va. NatBadge is valid for up to nine hours (one hour when logging in from off Grounds) as long as their browser remains open. Because of this, users are encouraged to protect their privacy by enabling a password-protected screen saver and discarding their NetBadge by exiting the Web browser completely whenever they leave their computers.

NetBadge was first used with the MyUVa Portal and the network registration system. Other early adopters of NetBadge include the Eservices password page and the management page. During 2005-06, NetBadge authentication was added to Web Mail, Web Home Directory, and the Instructional Toolkit.

Proxy Server

The U.Va. proxy server provides faculty, staff, and students the ability to access from remote locations certain on-Grounds electronic resources that would otherwise be unavailable to them. These resources - including some library Web sites, online databases, and news resources - are restricted to use by members of the University community. The proxy server identifies account-holding users as U.Va. students or employees. After obtaining a proxy server account, users must configure their Web browser before they can successfully log in with a password. The most complete off-Grounds access solution is U.Va. Anywhere, described below.

During the past year, ITC staff worked with persons from the Health Sciences Library (HSL) to remedy a lack of access to U.Va.'s networked resources experienced by some medical students and others. Due to the computing environment at their remote locations, some students in the School of Medicine and other Health Sciences Library patrons were unable to use either the proxy server or remote access VPN services. These remote locations, typically hospitals, do not allow the use of laptops or any configuration changes on the workstations provided. In order for these users to reach on-Grounds materials, staff deployed an interim solution based on a new type of proxy server and directory-based user authorization. This interim solution will operate for a few years while staff from HSL and ITC work with their providers to enable authenticated remote access to materials via Shibboleth.

U.Va. Anywhere/U.Va. Anywhere Lite

In use since December 2002, U.Va. Anywhere is the most complete solution for accessing digital resources remotely. U.Va. Anywhere provides faculty, students, and staff a secure route into the University's network via an encrypted Virtual Private Network. It assigns a user's computer a University-owned Internet Protocol address and authenticates through the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) security model. Faculty, staff, and students can download U.Va. Anywhere from the product's Web site. It is available for use with Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

In summer 2005, ITC introduced U.Va. Anywhere Lite for users who only access Web-based resources from their off-Grounds computers and do not need the standard U.Va. Anywhere. U.Va. Anywhere Lite makes it unnecessary to use a proxy server to connect to U.Va.-restricted Web sites, and it encrypts information sent and received using a Web browser. No client software is required, but users must install a U.Va. personal certificate on their off-Grounds computers. Because it does not protect non-Web applications such as Mulberry and Corporate Time, the new product is not a full replacement for the standard U.Va. Anywhere, and users are cautioned to use it only to access Web-based resources.

Remote Access Services

To assure that faculty, staff, and students are able to accomplish their work from home and while traveling, ITC has long worked with commercial providers of high-speed Internet services to provide favorable services and rates for U.Va.-affiliated persons. Several companies now provide service plans specifically for educational and non-profit organizations. ITC recommends contracting for high-speed Internet services only with those companies that have implemented a direct connection to the University network. Without a direct connection, much of the speed is lost while data flows through other regional Internet hubs instead of remaining local to Charlottesville.

Hardware and Service Retirements

ITC works with an internal standing committee, external advisory groups, Local Support Partners, and others to determine which software and hardware should be retired to enable the department to undertake new projects. Decisions to retire products and services are based on evolving technologies, changing user needs, and the amount of ITC staff time required to support older technologies. During 2005-06, the following products and services were retired:

Software:

Hardware:

Central Mail Service and E-mail Enhancements

Several enhancements were made during 2005-06 to both the Central Mail Service (CMS) and U.Va.'s e-mail systems. A Storage Area Network was added to the CMS in summer 2005 to enable ITC to increase e-mail quotas and the individual message size limit. In spring 2006, the hardware and software for the CMS were upgraded to address performance issues. A clustering solution is being deployed in summer 2006.

Also during the year, staff lengthened the inactivity timeout limit on U.Va.'s Web Mail from 30 minutes to one hour. Users composing messages can still use the reset button on the Compose screen to reset the timeout clock if additional time is required. The Web Mail timeout limit now matches the current off-Grounds timeout for NetBadge. In addition, Web Mail is receiving a new look in summer 2006 with the introduction of a new interface.

As part of its ongoing work to ensure that e-mail to and from members of the U.Va. community is delivered in a timely manner, ITC changed its method for handling vacation e-mail messages. In spring 2006, ITC began routing all vacation (out-of-office auto-response) e-mail messages through a single e-mail server that is not responsible for other incoming and outgoing e-mail traffic. Staff made this change because some anti-spam services outside the University had begun blocklisting ITC's central e-mail servers due to automatically generated replies sent by U.Va. servers in response to spam messages. The blocklisting resulted in delays or outright rejection of some U.Va. e-mail by outside sites that use the anti-spam services. With the new routing system, only vacation messages outbound from the University will be delayed or stopped if the vacation mail server becomes blocklisted. Non-vacation e-mail will continue to be delivered.

Review of Electronic Mail Desktop Software Offerings

During 2005-06, a cross-divisional project team evaluated commercial e-mail options and solicited advice from faculty, staff, and students regarding desired features in a potential new e-mail package. The team concluded that no currently available e-mail client is compatible with the University's existing systems and provides all of the features desired. The Mulberry program presently in use and supported by ITC provides the widest range of desired features and greatest degree of compatibility, but because the company that develops the program is bankrupt, alternatives must be planned. ITC will continue to support Mulberry until technical developments render Mulberry untenable. As alternatives that meet most desired features, Thunderbird and Apple Mail will have full ITC support in fall 2007.

Premium Server Service

During the six years since it was introduced, ITC's Premium Server Service has grown tremendously, both in storage usage and the breadth of the project's scope. The Premium Server Service provides professionally managed file and print services to departments and groups that share files extensively. As of summer 2006, ITC leases some 800 gigabytes of storage to several dozens departments and groups - roughly double the storage capacity used the previous year. ITC staff will work during 2006-07 to migrate the service to a SANS-based architecture.

The project has expanded and now includes several components: Premium Server for standard data, Eservices Special Data Services for sensitive academic information or those data protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and Eservices Special Medical Data Service for data protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The standard Premium Desktop offering is a secure, modular desktop with common U.Va. software, although additional specialized applications can be added to accommodate a department's needs. The program reduces technical support problems and increases stability and security.

Home Directory Service

The Home Directory Service (HDS) clustered file servers were upgraded substantially in fall 2005, allowing ITC to increase disk storage quotas for all students, faculty, and staff to 1 gigabyte per person. A central file repository for storing and accessing files from any networked Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or Unix computer, the HDS has been offered and managed by ITC for several years. The service eliminates the inconvenience and risks of lost data associated with storing files on disks. Files on the HDS are backed up nightly. The Home Directory also can be used as a Web server, enabling users to publish Web pages without a Unix account.

Also during the year, the authentication process was switched to Eservices Active Directory, providing more secure authentication. The change will simplify the transition to a system that enables users to manage passwords via a single Web interface. ITC began research and planning for this system in spring 2006.

Software Central

U.Va.'s students, faculty, and staff are provided access to free and site-licensed software through ITC's Software Central website. Among the applications available for download from the site are several Microsoft products, e-mail packages, Virtual Private Network clients, and calendar programs. Users can download software directly to their hard drives or load it to diskettes. To assure access is granted only to University-affiliated persons, users must use a proxy server account. Applications available through Software Central change as new software is released and usage patterns shift. Additional site-licensed or low-cost software is available through such sources as the research-computing licensed software database and the University's Microsoft Select contract.

Videoconferencing

During the past year, ITC staff continued their support for the University's use of videoconferencing. Videoconferencing is used by faculty to co-teach courses with other institutions, and by faculty and staff for job interviews and meetings with colleagues elsewhere. In support of this work, ITC offers videoconferencing consulting and equipment for loan. Departments are able to install dedicated facilities making use of full-screen video at a fast frame rate over a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network connection. Faculty and staff also may use conference rooms at each of ITC's major sites, which are equipped with a system that provides full-screen video at a fast frame rate over a TCP/IP network connection. In addition, ITC maintains two Multipoint Control Units for loan to faculty and staff, so that videoconferences may include more than two sites.

ITC staff are researching the future direction of high-level video applications that will enable videoconferences to be streamed for unlimited numbers of participants. Investigations are furthered through the University's participation in VIDE, the Video Development Initiative, which promotes the deployment of digital video in research and higher education through the use of interoperable, standardized, and cost-effective technologies.

Telephone System

Managed by the Communication Services Group of ITC's Communication and Systems Division, the telephone system includes regular phone service, operator-assisted services, and paging. ITC's 22 telephone system operators field calls 24 hours a day, every day of the year, out of an operations office in McKim Hall. During 2005-06, they answered an average of 4,800 calls and 7,000 paging requests daily.

Paging continues to be a primary means of contacting individuals, particularly in the Medical Center. In June 2005, ITC implemented the Smart Web text paging system that enables persons to send a text message to one or more individuals through the University paging system from the Web, thereby eliminating the need to call an operator or the paging system. This change reduced the number of paging calls handled by operators and freed them to handle the ever-increasing volume of other calls without requiring additional staff. Prior to 2004-05, users had two options: calling an operator to send a text message, or calling the paging system to send an individual page with a call-back number only. To better serve users, ITC will introduce in 2006-07 an application known as "Email2page" that will read e-mails sent from U.Va. on-Grounds e-mail client servers and send them to users in the Amcom database as pages.

In 2005-06, the Communication Services Group continued to expand the on-Grounds phone service to off-Grounds locations as groups relocate to obtain needed space. Staff worked to ensure that these groups have the same voice services as those available to on-Grounds users, where feasible. With limited space available on-Grounds, movement to off-Grounds locations is expected to continue, resulting in an increased workload for ITC staff.

The Communication Services Group, which operates as a state auxiliary enterprise, is also responsible for managing basic telephone services for the existing 4,000 residence hall lines, as well as the 19,500 faculty and staff lines. During 2005-06, faculty and staff placed 8.55 million long-distance calls, which are billed monthly.

Voice over IP Service Expansion

For the past several years, Communications and Systems staff have worked to investigate, pilot, and deploy production systems using Voice over IP (Internet Protocol) technology for voice transport. Voice over IP efficiently integrates voice, data, and video transport services into a single common and unified infrastructure. In 2005-06, staff members stepped up their efforts to deploy Voice over IP services, primarily in the Health Systems area. To date, ITC staff have installed Voice over IP services in such locations as the U.Va. Research Park, the Radiology and Surgery Billing facilities on Pantops, the Hospital Expansion Project, Malcom W. Cole Child Care Center, One Morton Drive (Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, Cavalier Computers and Environmental Health and Safety), the newly constructed U.Va. Clinical Laboratory at 112 11th Street, Piedmont Centre, the Patent Foundation, and the Albemarle Hotel. Staff are working on Voice over IP projects at the Psychology Department's off-Grounds location at 1023 Millmont, Wilsdorf Hall, and a leased building at 10th and Grove streets.

Call Processing for Health System Clinics

During the past year, staff in ITC's Communications and Systems Division continued their partnership with staff in the Clinical Care Service area and the outpatient clinics to redesign the way incoming calls are processed through implementing a more standardized application of automatic call distributor (ACD) and call processing services. Call processing provides the option menu that callers often hear when they place a call to a clinic or medical office, while ACD ensures that incoming calls are distributed efficiently among persons answering the calls. Together, these services improve efficiency and enable the production of reports describing such things as how many phone calls a given clinic received each hour and how quickly calls were answered. The aim of the project is to help make the patient service experience consistent across all clinics.

Goal V Appendix

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OIT/ITC

August 2006