Executive Summary

University of Virginia
August 2006

Robert E. Reynolds, M.D., Dr. P.H.
Vice President and Chief Information Officer

During 2005-06, staff in the Department of Information Technology and Communication (ITC) broadened partnerships begun in previous years to plan for, create, and implement innovative IT solutions that further the institution's missions. Computation-intensive research programs are being advanced with the activation of U.Va.'s regional connection to the National LambdaRail. Teaching, learning, and scholarship are being enriched with integration of Sakai Project collaboration software. IT support for students and faculty is being streamlined and enhanced through partnerships between Library personnel and ITC staff. New education, technology, and policy initiatives are bolstering the University's defenses against network security vulnerabilities. Also during the year, ITC staff moved to protect students through the elimination of Social Security Numbers in the Instructional Toolkit, improved the performance of ISIS, and developed policies required by the state's higher education restructuring legislation. Below are highlights of these and other projects.

DEPARTMENTAL PRIORITIES AND PLANNING

Executive Succession
Following seven years of leading ITC, Vice President and CIO Robert Reynolds, M.D., returned to his roles in the School of Medicine as Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences and the William Hobson Professor in Information Sciences. Dr. Reynolds is devoting the majority of his efforts to the Department of Public Health Sciences, beginning as acting chair of that department on July 1, 2006. Succeeding Dr. Reynolds is James L. Hilton, previously associate provost for academic, information, and instructional technology affairs and a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.

Higher Education Restructuring Policies
As part of the requirements associated with the state's higher education restructuring legislation, ITC's director of security coordination and policy worked with colleagues from Virginia Tech and William & Mary on new policies related to information technology. New policies being adopted by each university define performance measures and industry-benchmarked practices related to IT security; project management; accessibility; and infrastructure, architecture, and operations.

Internal Communications Improvements
In fall 2005, ITC evaluated its internal communications and cross-divisional project processes. After reviewing suggestions from staff, ITC directors implemented several improvements, including sending project updates to the ITC-all e-mail list, requiring cross-divisional project and standing committee updates to directors every six months, and beginning a new series of meetings between managers and directors.

GROUNDS-WIDE PLANNING

IT Advisory Committees
During 2005-06, the University Committee on Information Technology continued work begun the previous year to formulate a "case statement" for resources needed to fund the University's unmet current and future IT needs. The product of this work will be merged with other information as the foundation for a capital campaign case statement for information technology. In 2005-06, the pan-University Deans Technology Council discussed mobile computing support, ISIS performance issues, higher education restructuring, classroom technology support, and the MyUVa portal, among other topics.

Framework for Supporting Digital Scholarship and Research
Staff from ITC and the Library have been collaborating since fall 2005 on a proposal for an institution-wide strategy to support digital scholarship. The draft report recommends enhancements to the University's technical infrastructure, technology and support services, and pertinent policies. During spring 2006, staff made presentations about the proposal to various groups and academic departments.

IT Security Risk Management Program
Implementation continued through the year on the University-wide IT Security Risk Management Program. Several dozen departments have completed the program, which includes ongoing security assessments and standardized continuity planning for critical business functions during restoration of any compromised services.

DIGITAL SECURITY AND PRIVACY

Network Registration
A Grounds-wide network registration program that began in spring 2005 was completed in June 2006. The system, which replaced the residence area registration system and the wireless network account system, increases the security of the U.Va. network by enabling ITC to contact and assist users experiencing problems and, if necessary, disconnect affected devices from the network until the issues are resolved.

Online Training for Employees
As part of its comprehensive security-education program, ITC developed a new online training module to build awareness of computer security and responsible use issues among employees. Implementation began in 2005, and as of June 2006 some 10,000 employees have been trained.

Educause Award for VA SCAN
In fall 2005, the Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing and Networking (VA SCAN) received the Award for Excellence in Information Technology Solutions from Educause. VA SCAN is a partnership among several Virginia universities, including U.Va., that offers IT security assessments, training programs, consultation, and Web-based security-enhancing tools.

Middleware Initiatives and Authentication
ITC staff have made numerous upgrades to the electronic directory services to improve services and to lay the foundation for use of the electronic Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory as a key resource for application authorization decisions. Beginning July 2006, users are able to use LDAP groups to create on-demand mailing lists, share disk storage, facilitate enhanced Web authorization control, and deploy new directory group-enabled applications.

Wireless Availability on the More Secure Network
During 2005-06, ITC staff completed design work for a faculty and staff-only encrypted wireless network providing access to the More Secure Network. Initial department-based testing has succeeded, and the network is being rolled out in the summer to all persons authorized to access the More Secure Network.

SUPPORT FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

MyUVa Portal and Sakai Educational Partners Program
In fall 2005, ITC introduced the newest version of the MyUVa portal, which provides single-login access to e-mail, Home Directory, courses, calendars, library, and other resources. ITC staff are continuing to implement the Sakai Project's Web-based collaboration tools into MyUVa, creating an online home for collaborations among committees, research groups, and project teams. To allow non-U.Va. persons to participate in collaborative endeavors, staff designed a Web-based system that contacts users via e-mail and enables them to enter necessary information online.

Instructional Toolkit
Substantial enhancements were made to the Instructional Toolkit in spring 2006. One major change is eliminating the display of students' Social Security Numbers. Individual students now are identified by their U.Va. computing IDs. In spring 2006, some 5,500 courses used the Toolkit, up from 4,000 courses in spring 2005.

STUDENT-CENTERED SUPPORT

Mobile Computing Support
ITC and Library staff expanded the collaborative shared mobile support program that began in 2004. Through the program, combined IT technical support and traditional library resources assistance are available at the Brown Science and Engineering Library, Clemons Library, and Alderman Library.

Desktop Computing Initiative
Beginning in summer 2006, only laptop computers are being offered for student purchase through the Desktop Computing Initiative. During the past few years, increasing numbers of students have begun bringing laptop computers to the Grounds. In fall 2005, roughly 92 percent of incoming students brought laptops, compared to 70 percent two years earlier. Both laptops and desktops are available for faculty and staff.

SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH

High-performance Computing Platforms
In summer 2006, ITC is acquiring another high-performance Linux cluster with 200 nodes, the largest to date at U.Va., replacing the first 48-node Linux cluster installed in fall 2002. This new cluster will nearly double the total number of high-performance research computing nodes.

Research Computing Support
In summer 2006, ITC's Research Computing Support Group is relocating to Brown and Alderman libraries to leverage the combined expertise of ITC and Library research support staffs. These new support areas are intended as "magnets" to draw scholars of varied backgrounds and abilities into new collaborative relationships with each other and with technical experts from the Library and ITC.

SUPPORT FOR ADMINISTRATION

SOURCE
In July 2005, ITC implemented the new U.Va.-wide centralized scheduling program known as SOURCE (System of University Reservations and Calendar of Events). The system, which was created in partnership with the Registrar's Office, provides a single point of contact for room usage information, a simplified process to request space, and improved potential to maximize space usage.

Enhancing Diversity
During the past year, ITC helped to advance the University's efforts in recruiting and hiring a diverse faculty by collaborating with the Provost's Office to create a Web-based tutorial about diversity matters for faculty search committee members. ITC staff members also helped to create U.Va.'s new Bias Reporting Web site.

Streamlining Equal Opportunities Programs Office Procedures
ITC staff created two systems that streamline processes coordinated by the Equal Opportunities Programs (EOP) Office. One project is a tutorial that educates search committee members about the legal regulations under which the University conducts applicant searches. The other is a hiring and recruitment tracking system that provides a mechanism to secure organization-level and EOP approval for such things as search committee membership and recruiting plans.

Database Creation
Among the many Web-based solutions ITC staff create in concert with persons from other U.Va. departments is one for the Cancer Center. Staff have worked for the past four years to develop, maintain, and refine a database that Cancer Center staff use to track their research programs. The project was extended to other medical facilities nationwide in 2005-06.

INTEGRATED SYSTEMS & ISIS

Integrated Systems Support
ITC staff continue to maintain the Integrated Systems infrastructure equipment and operating system, resolve technical problems, perform other system administration and security authorization, and manage the Oracle database instances. Staff from ITC provide support for Integrated Systems production, development, and training instances, as well as technical and planning assistance and policy development. ITC staff are working closely with Integrated Systems staff on development of the Student Information System replacement project.

ISIS Enhancements
Despite continuous improvements to ISIS, the system has been unable to keep pace with increasing demands. During spring and summer 2006, ITC staff are making numerous enhancements to improve the system's performance for fall and spring registration. In addition, a Grounds-wide committee is developing recommendations for non-technical policies and procedures that will help alleviate strain on the system.

NETWORK AND E-MAIL ENHANCEMENTS

National LambdaRail Initiative
In early spring 2006, U.Va.'s connection to the National LambdaRail (NLR) initiative was activated, enabling researchers to access the high-performance national research network. The system uses transcontinental optical circuits to transport large datasets over fiber-optic cable. Former Vice President and CIO Bob Reynolds helped to organize and lead the regional consortium of NLR members.

Network Upgrades
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. Also during the year, Internet access capacity for the residence areas was increased 100 percent, to 100 megabits per second. Additional increases are planned.

Central Mail Service and WebMail Upgrades
A Storage Area Network was added to the Central Mail Service (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 was upgraded to address performance issues. During the summer, a clustering solution is being deployed and Web Mail will have a new interface.

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. 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.

ADDITIONAL FUNDAMENTAL SERVICES

New Storage Services
ITC, working with Alderman Library, made available a new large-scale hierarchical storage management system that will be used to store the library's critical digital assets. The first departments taking advantage of the system are Alderman Library's Digital Library Production Services and Rare Materials Digital Services. Those departments are archiving thousands of single-master copies of DVDs containing digital material. The technology selected for this deployment is designed to integrate into and support the joint ITC/Library vision for an enterprise-wide storage infrastructure that can facilitate digital scholarship and still meet the needs of other applications and services across the enterprise.

Disaster Recovery
During 2005-06, ITC began leasing a server that will provide critical emergency information should an event occur that disconnects all network access to U.Va. To further prepare for such an emergency, ITC has arranged for satellite phones so that select University staff could communicate with one another and have access to the server. The server is housed at the vendor's out-of-state location.

Home Directory Upgrade
The Home Directory Service 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. 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.

U.Va. Paging System
In 2005, ITC implemented a 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 reduces the number of paging calls handled by operators and frees them to handle the ever-increasing volume of other calls without requiring additional staff.

U.Va. Anywhere Lite
In late summer 2005, ITC introduced the U.Va. Anywhere Lite Web VPN. Because it does not protect non-Web applications such as Mulberry and Corporate Time, U.Va. Anywhere Lite is designed for users who only access Web-based resources from off-Grounds computers and is not a replacement for the standard U.Va. Anywhere.

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OIT/ITC

August 2006