2006 ITS Key Projects

During 2006, ITS focused on the following key projects. We provided services and initiated projects in many areas not listed below, but the following were of the highest priority and received our dedicated time and efforts.

A brief description of each project is given below, with a status of the project at the end of the year. Follow the links given in each description to view more detailed information about each project.

Campus Focused Projects

• Begin new Student Information System Implementation-Project MAUI ( Made At The University of Iowa)  [more...]

• Implement a new Course Management System-ICON (Iowa Courses Online)  [more...]

• Conduct a campus-wide review of IT  [more...]

• Improve support for electronic communications [more...]

• Improve disaster recovery plans and data centers [more...]

• Develop data storage services to meet campus needs [more...]

• Enhance identity and access management [more...]

• Clarify ITS service offerings for customers [more...]

• Improve IT support models across campus [more...]

• Collaborate with customers in IT decisions and directions [more...]

• Extend the campus wireless network [more...]

• Improve ITS support for Apple systems [more...]

• Participate in building and operating a Regional Optical Network for the upper Midwest-BOREAS Project [more...]

• Assess the campus need for an institutional repository [more...]

• Enhance IT security practices on campus [more...]

• Upgrade and expand campus PeopleSoft Financials infrastructure [more...]

Internally Focused Projects

• Relocate ITS staff from Lindquist Center , Quadrangle, and University Services Building to Old Capitol Town Center and lower level Lindquist Center [more...]
• Improve organizational effectiveness through metrics [more...]
• Improve internal communication by implementing ITS Communications Team recommendations [more...]
• Improve management skills in ITS [more...]

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Campus Focused Initiatives

Begin new Student Information System Implementation - Project MAUI (Made at The University of Iowa)

 

Implement a new Course Management System- ICON ( Iowa Courses Online)

Project Director: Molly Langstaff

One of the recommendations from the Fall 2003 E-Learning Assessment project was that the University should adopt a single, centrally supported course management system with full enterprise integration. Following a thorough evaluation process with broad campus participation, The University of Iowa selected Desire2Learn as the University's enterprise learning management system.

Branded ICON (Iowa Courses Online), the system was installed on campus in spring 2005 and pilot users began testing the system during spring and summer 2005. The system was open to all of campus beginning with the Fall 2005 semester. Over 900 ICON course sites are currently being used by instructors and students, with college-wide adoption by Business and Engineering.

The implementation project will continue through December 2006, as more colleges and instructors migrate their course sites to ICON, and ICON is integrated with other campus information systems, including Evaluation & Exam Services and the University Libraries.

 

Conduct a campus-wide review of IT

Project Director: Steve Fleagle

President Skorton has requested a campus wide review of Information Technology . Provost Hogan and Vice President True have appointed a committee to undertake this task. The committee is currently focusing on:

• IT snapshot (infrastructure, services, financial and personnel)
• IT security
• IT support of research, scholarly and creative works
• IT support of teaching and learning
• Balance between centrally and locally provided services

The IT Review Committee is currently collecting quantitative and qualitative information about IT and The University of Iowa. The quantitative data is initially being gathered from the General Ledger and Human Resources systems with corrections and updates from discussions with departments. The qualitative information is being gathered through group discussions and small group interviews with key stakeholders on campus. After the information is gathered it will be analyzed and recommendations developed. The final report will be written based on these recommendations. Both the recommendations and the report will be shared with the campus IT community and advisory groups in draft form before it is finalized.

 

Improve support for electronic communications

Project Director: Rex Pruess

In July 2005, ITS convened a small, multi-collegiate team to identify current and future requirements for electronic communications , especially focusing on email. The team charge included:

• Gather the broad range of requirements for electronic communications by conducting focus groups, open forums, and surveys.
• Identify the top themes describing the campus attitudes about electronic communications.
• Recommend solutions (PDF), particularly with regard to email.

ITS will review the team's recommendations and act upon them as resources permit.

 

Improve disaster recovery plans and data centers

Project Director: Rex Pruess

Information Technology (IT) disaster recovery is the ability to restore one or more IT services to a point in time prior to a disaster. Disaster recovery is a crucial component of risk management and is essential for business continuity . Our current efforts to minimize the impact of a disaster and to prepare for disaster recovery include

• Enhance electrical power and cooling capability in our primary data center
  • Explore the cost and feasibility of acquiring a motor generator
  • Explore the cost and feasibility of adding an alternate cooling source
• Enhance electrical power and cooling capability in our secondary data center
  • Add capacity to the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
  • Explore the cost and feasibility of adding an alternate cooling source
• Develop specifications for a new, hardened data center
• Create a tape vaulting service for housing backup media for campus partners
• Continue efforts to mirror data between data centers

Year-End Status

Although we were unsuccessful in acquiring a motor generator for our primary data center due to funding and environmental reasons, we were successful in supplementing our glycol-based cooling units with chilled-water cooling units.

We completed an investigation with a design and consulting firm regarding the need for a modern data center, and we presented the findings to the campus master projects planning committee. We are cautiously optimistic that a new data center will be designed and constructed.

A tape vaulting service for the housing of backup media has been created, and it is being used by a few campus partners.

 

Develop data storage services to meet campus needs

Project Director: Rex Pruess

Data storage demands continue to grow dramatically across all of our services. Administrative units continue to convert paper and microfiche records to disk storage, and faculty continue to make greater use of technology, such as with Course Management Systems. New services almost always place greater demands on storage capacity.

Research data is growing exponentially. Currently, there is no central research data storage infrastructure. Creating such an infrastructure could serve as a data protection mechanism for all of the research data created on campus.

Our storage initiatives include:

• Investigate campus attitudes regarding storage
• Increase capacity of our online storage
• Grow enterprise backup storage to meet demands
• Recommend desktop backup options
• Define storage service policies , especially for the file/print service

Year-End Status

We more than doubled our online storage in 2006 by adding additional storage arrays to our Storage Array Network (SAN). To improve storage throughput, we replaced several medium-size SAN switches with two enterprise-class switches. We also grew our enterprise backup service to support the growth of our online storage.

Based on various meetings and consultations, it is clear that the campus expects dramatic storage growth. Because of this expectation, storage and data management will continue to be an ITS Key Initiative for 2007.

 

Enhance identity and access management

Project Director: Chris Pruess

An Identity and Access Management (IAM) infrastructure is an integrated system of policies, procedures, business rules, and technologies used to manage the provisioning lifecycle (i.e., account management). The fundamental goal is to provide the right services to the right people at the right time in a secure manner.

IAM concepts include trust, authentication, provisioning, authorization, and directories.

Major aspects of the UI IAM infrastructure include:

• Enterprise Directory Services
• Enterprise Authentication
• Active Directory
• Web Services
• Service Provisioning
• Tools for Administration and Self-Service
• Security, Compliance and Audit
• Policy

Initiatives planned to extend the IAM infrastructure include:

1. Replacement of back-end directory management processes with current technologies
2. Improve framework for delivery of data, provisioning
3. Strengthen Active Directory password policies for administrators, service accounts
4. Improve and extend enterprise authentication service
5. Improve operational delivery of University ID Card information
6. Support University ID number as mechanism for protection of Social Security Number
7. Provide authentication to support collaboration (federation, guest accounts)

Year-End Status

We made significant process improvements as we began our efforts to replace our legacy back-end directory management services with current technologies. Using Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) management agents and Web Services, we were able to improve security and provide enhanced functionality.

We continued to improve IT security by implementing stronger password enforcement settings for administrator accounts, enhancing auditing processes, and improving and extending our enterprise authentication service.

As part of the University initiative to protect Social Security Numbers, we were able to leverage directory services to facilitate the migration to University ID numbers.

 

Clarify ITS service offerings for customers

Project Director: Marc Franke

ITS offers a wide variety of services to our campus customers and partners (directly to users, at times support for infrastructure and also in partnership with campus units) but they are not all collected in one easy to find place. The Technology Guide we provide for incoming students is the closest we have to a "catalog of services." This project will involve several activities:

• Collect information for an easy-to-use, web published summary of existing services
• Work with campus partners to be sure that all services are clear
  • What does the user get?
  • How to request additional services?
  • How is the decision made for the request?
  • Are service expectations clear on both sides?
  • Is a Service Level Agreement (SLA) available or needed?
• Work with ITS service providers as necessary for additional clarity

This process could very likely reveal additional services desired by campus and might lead to follow up projects or service reviews. The IT Review might also provide valuable input into this consideration of services.

 

Improve IT support models across campus

Project Co-Directors: Marc Franke and Molly Langstaff

Basic IT support resources for students, staff and faculty to use and understand valuable IT services are not uniformly available across campus. Some areas are "haves" and some are "have nots." ITS can play a role to improve the general level of support across all units on campus. Some existing ITS programs like the SITA program from AT and the "student staffed web services" group in CS provide some models for increasing IT support through student services. This project will begin with:

• Involving campus partners to determine where improvement is needed
• Ideas on how support can best be increased
• Recommendations with campus partners for specific programs

The IT Review might also provide valuable input into campus support models.

 

Collaborate with customers in IT decisions and directions

Project Director: Molly Langstaff

In recent years, IT has become more successful by working collaboratively with customers. In order to make IT as effective as it can be, we must continue to work collaboratively with users to ensure IT services are meeting their needs. In addition, many units on campus-departmental and collegiate as well as central-are providing IT services. In order to make IT an even more important enabler of teaching, research and service, it is important that decisions and directions for IT involve users as well as the variety of service providers on campus.

The methods used in the E-Learning Project to lead the campus toward selecting a single course management system provided an effective model for involving stakeholders in making a large campus-wide decision. This project will pursue adapting those methods to a wider variety of decisions, combining those techniques to those used in other successful projects and developing best practices for applying the recommended methods to a variety of projects.

 

Expand the campus wireless network

Project Director: Mark Katsouros

Wireless network service is an enabling and facilitating technology providing convenient access to network resources beyond wired boundaries.

The use of wireless network technology to support a broader diversity of locale on The University of Iowa campus is steadily increasing. Access to networked resources through a wireless connection is expected to become more strategic to teaching, learning, research, and the business of the University.

ITS has provided wireless network access on campus at some limited level for approximately four years under pilot initiatives while testing various technologies. The thrust of the service to date has been to provide coverage in high visibility areas (libraries, student gathering areas, conference spaces) and some classrooms and labs primarily to support faculty and students.

The goal of the campus wireless network expansion initiative is to offer broader service coverage that continues to augment the campus wired network service as quickly as is possible. Key to broader service expansion is:

• Getting from the current service to a better defined and supported campus-wide service by establishing a wireless service advisory group representing faculty, students, staff and technologists.
• Settling on an architecture and solution that provides the functionality and supportability needed today with potential to evolve to meet the needs of the campus in the next few years.

 

Improve ITS support for Apple systems

Project Co-Directors: Marc Franke and Molly Langstaff

The different levels of user adoption of Apple systems represent a challenge to our various services as to how deeply support should be provided. There are examples today of ITS services where support and service features for Mac users are dissimilar and might not be sufficiently useful. The first steps in the process will be:

• Engaging Mac users and providers of IT services in discussions about the issue of Mac support
• Exploring how Mac support can best be provided to the campus
• Joining with campus partners to recommend specific programs

 

Participate in building and operating a Regional Optical Network for the upper Midwest-BOREAS Project

Project Co-Directors: Mark Katsouros and Molly Langstaff

BOREAS is the Broadband Optical Research Education and Sciences Network (BOREAS-Net), a multi-state consortium of leading research institutions in the upper Midwest . The purpose of the BOREAS project is to build and operate a Regional Optical Network (RON) to service the advanced production and experimental network requirements of the research and education institutions of the upper Midwest . A RON is considered essential cyberinfrastructure needed for the region's research and education community to collaborate with peers throughout the United States and the world, thus allowing them to successfully compete for funding. The BOREAS collaborators view this as critical not only to the ability of their institutions to recruit and retain top research faculty, but also for the region's ability to lead and participate in high-technology and biotechnology research projects. Founding members of BOREAS include the University of Minnesota , the University of Wisconsin , Iowa State University and The University of Iowa.

Year-End Status

The BOREAS network is in place and operational, but with only the following live links as of Mar 21, 2007:

• Madison-Chicago for U Wisc <> OmniPoP
• IowaCity-Chicago for uiowa <> OmniPoP

The following BOREAS activities are yet to be completed (as of Mar 21, 2007):

• Refine & complete operational monitoring... practices
• Activate remote hands&eyes service by Level3
• Provision & activate other member waves
• Rework Kansas City upper-layer connectivity by iastate... to use BOREAS transport

The following are University of Iowa specific activities to be completed:

• Finish deployment of uiowa DC power gear & return loaned wisc DC gear
• Upgrade uiowa border & core routers, adding internal & external 10 GE links
• Move uiowa-Chicago connectivity from McLeod transport to BOREAS transport, then decommission McLeod uiowa-Chicago GigEther service
• Bring up uiowa-iastate 10 GE link via BOREAS

For additional information about the project, click here http://boreas.net and http://boreas.uiowa.edu.

 

Assess the campus need for an an institutional repository

Project Director: Molly Langstaff

Much of the intellectual output of the University's faculty, staff and students is information, and in today's environment, most of that information is in, or needs to be in, digital form. Part of the University's mission is to disseminate this information to our campus community, to other academic institutions, and to the general public. The purpose of this project is to consider how The University of Iowa might benefit from establishing an institutional repository as a method for disseminating the University's intellectual output.

 

Enhance IT security practices on campus

Project Director: Jane Drews

Security as it applies to information technology has become a very important part of the technology environment. The University of Iowa has made great strides to improve our ability to avoid or react to security incidents. But this effort must continue. The goals of this initiative are to study:

• Firewall and network access control
• Policy awareness and enforcement
• Physical security and the availability of secure space for servers
• End user device protection
• Two-factor authentication

The evaluation might result in recommendations to move forward to implementation in some, or all, of these areas.

 

Upgrade and expand campus PeopleSoft Financials infrastructure

Project Director: Lati Modarressi

 

Internally Focused Initiatives

Relocate ITS staff from Lindquist Center , Quadrangle, and University Services Building to Old Capitol Town Center & lower level Lindquist Center

Project Co-Directors: Steve Fleagle and Nancy Grout

Several events have come together to allow for the relocation of most ITS staff to central locations on campus. ITS staff currently located in Lindquist and Quadrangle will move to the Old Capitol Town Center . Most of the ITS staff located on the third floor of the University Services Building will move to the Old Capitol Town Center, and some will move to lower level of Lindquist.

As a result of the relocations, ITS staff will be housed in the following facilities:

• Old Capitol Town Center
  • CIO Office (CIO)
  • Academic Technologies (ITS-AT)
  • Administrative Information Systems (ITS-AIS)
  • Campus Services (ITS-CS)
• Lindquist Center Lower Level
  • Systems & Platform Administration (ITS-SPA)
  • Telecommunication & Network Services - Video (ITS-TNS)
• North Hall
  • Telecommunication & Network Services (ITS-TNS)
• Jessup Hall
  • Systems & Platform Administration - Operations (ITS-SPA)

ITS will vacate most of first floor Lindquist Center, Quadrangle, and third floor University Services Building, thereby freeing that space for other University needs.

The University will ask for final permission to move ahead at the February meeting of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. If all goes as planned, construction will begin in March. We anticipate that we will relocate our offices during the fall or early October of 2006.

 

Improve organizational effectiveness through metrics

Metrics can provide valuable information in planning for new services and in assessing how current services are performing and meeting customer needs. ITS currently gathers quantitative information in some areas, but not consistently across all services. This effort is to understand what metrics are needed and develop plans to start collecting the needed information. The process is expected to follow these general steps:

• Identify what metrics are currently available
• Identify what metrics are needed
• Examine the gaps between available and desired and decide what new metrics to gather
• Develop reporting mechanisms for the metrics

 

Improve internal communication by implementing ITS Communications Team recommendations

Project Director: Steve Fleagle

The ITS Communications Team was formed in February 2005 to assist the ITS Directors in ensuring effective two-way communication within ITS. The team was asked to make recommendations for improving communications between

• Leadership & staff
• Supervisors and staff
• Peers, departments, and work groups

The team formed three committees to focus on the following areas of communication:

• Communication Best Practices
• ITS Inter-Departmental Communication
• Project Communication

The ITS Directors and the ITS Communications Team intend to implement and promote the recommendations.

Year-End Status

As of the end of the year, the ITS Communications Team had accomplished the following:

• Assembled a top-ten list of communication best practices and promoted the list throughout ITS
• Created a recurring ITS Spotlight event to highlight ITS projects, services, and technologies for ITS staff
• Initiated the Project Management Task Force (PMTF) to develop a project management framework for ITS, and instituted quick changes to improve project management in the short-term
• Identified the need for an improved ITS Intranet/Portal; work on this project will continue as resources become available

 

Improve management skills in ITS

Project Directors: Karen Shemanski and ITS Directors

The relationship between employees and their managers is of utmost importance. Studies have shown that it is a key component of job satisfaction and organizational effectiveness. Given the importance of this relationship, we, as an organization, need to pay attention to it and strive to improve it. Given the wide variation of roles and responsibilities within ITS and the various styles of management, this is unlikely to be a "one size fits all" solution. The goal of this effort is to:

• Help ITS managers understand the importance of these relationships
• Provide ITS managers with the tools, techniques and support they need to be successful.

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