Computing Services Annual Report, 1996-97

Michael R. Sherer, Director of Computing Services
July 29, 1997

The 1996-97 academic year was a time of significant change for the Computing Services Department. In addition to routine responsibilities such as system placements, faculty/staff support and student training, changes in facilities and staffing consumed a significant amount of energy over the year, while new initiatives approved in the spring promise to reshape the information technology environment at the college. While not always trouble-free, these changes add up to a significantly improved computing environment for students, faculty and staff alike.

During the summer of '96, Computing Services undertook two very significant projects. The first was moving Computing Services from its former location in High Park dorm to newly renovated quarters in the lower level of the College Union building. While time-consuming, the move brought Computing Services closer to the center of campus and provided improved facilities for student computer labs and classrooms, enlarged hardware repair space and additional office space. The second project involved modernization of the existing campus network. Funded by one-time, $100,000 budget allocation, the project consisted of upgrading the campus fiber optic backbone to 100 MB switched Ethernet, and adding six Cabletron SmartSwitches to the existing network infrastructure. While one step short of providing switched Ethernet to the desktop, the upgrade gives the college a state-of-the-art network design, significantly improved network performance and reliability, and laid an excellent foundation for future service growth and subsequent upgrades.

Starting in the fall, students were required to authenticate using name and password before using a lab PC. While that caused some initial confusion, long-term it has enabled two important new services: 1) personal file space on the ACS-1 file server, and 2) metered laser printing to lab printers. Personal file space was universally well received and reduced or eliminated the need for students to use floppy disks to store their work. Metered printing was less popular, but students are aware of the need to eliminate wasteful printing and have accepted the system. The allocation of free printing has been raised from 100 to 200 pages per semester starting fall 97 in response to student feedback and due to the elimination of free dot-matrix printing in the labs.

Also during the fall, the administration accepted John Glick's request that he be relieved of his director responsibilities effective January 1, 1997 so that he could focus full-time energy on administrative data systems. A search committee consisting of faculty and staff was formed to hire a new director and in February 1997 Michael Sherer, a 1982 GC grad, was hired. Kevin Gross assumed the role of acting director during January and February and two interns, Joel Ewy and Naela Saras, were hired to assist with day-to-day responsibilities during the transition. Ewy and Saras have since moved on to other assignments.

In March 1997, the ad hoc Technology Equipment Committee, chaired by Michael Sherer, submitted three "Urgent Priorities" to the administration. These priorities, which covered desktop computing, residential computing and classroom, were approved and funded by the Board of Overseers in April 1997. Furthermore, a plan was put in place to add maintenance for these areas into the Computing Services budget over the next five years.

The final four months of the academic year were marked by a significant amount of activity on multiple fronts. Key accomplishments through June 30 included:

• The dorm wiring project was approximately 50% complete, with a projected completion date of mid-August.

• Uninterruptable Power Supplies (UPSs) were acquired for all active network components to improve network reliability during power fluctuations and brief outages.

• The Computing Services WWW page was put into production service.

• Using Lilly grant money, the Mac Graphics lab was upgraded by spring term and used by Marvin Bartel's Digital Photography class and Floyd Saner's introduction to Java class.

• The campus standard PC was upgraded to a 200 MHz Pentium multimedia system with 32 MB RAM. This is up from a P100 with 16 MB RAM. The campus standard Macintosh was upgraded to a 225 MHz PowerPC.

• Dubbed the "MSU" for Massive System Upgrade, the central upgrading of approximately 170 systems was well underway. The MSU is part of an overall strategy to centralize the planning, deployment and maintenance of desktop computing hardware and software on campus.

• A template for Windows 95-based desktop PC's was created and a streamlined process for building and deploying PC and Macs created.

• A software metering mechanism called KeyServer was implemented. KeyServer allowed Computing Services to deploy a wide range of application on the local hard drive of newly placed computers.

• A license for a variety of Adobe products was procured. Teamed with KeyServer, these products can now be deployed campus-wide on GC-owned Macs and PCs at a very low cost.

• The M: drive was introduced on newly placed PC's. The M: drive is a network drive that contains a user's Eudora folder and Documents folder. This architecture will make it easier to recover from hardware failures, simplify subsequent upgrades and means user files will be backed up nightly.

• Bill-backs to departments for routine computing services have been eliminated.

• The ad hoc Printing Committee submitted a series of recommendations aimed at eliminating waste and improving efficiency and service quality. Many of those recommendations have already been implemented by Computing Services, including the elimination of dot matrix printing in labs, increased free pages for laser printing for students, a de-emphasis on inkjet printers for personal printing in offices, increased numbers of workgroup laser printers, etc.

• Personal WWW publishing for students, faculty and staff entered a testing phase on w3.goshen.edu in the spring and is due to enter production phase in the fall.

• With the help of Physical Plant, brought back computing services under generator power during the major power outage in April.

• Research and development began on a LDAP directory server, USENET server, a new mail server, an email listserver, an internet audio server, a calendar server, and Linux-based file servers for Macs and PC's. These services will enter production as they approach production quality.

• A dual-processor Pentium Pro server was acquired to be the new www.goshen.edu

• The DCC (Departmental Computing Consultant) program was introduced to faculty and staff as a means of improving support to departments and offices.

• Using money from the Lilly grants, Gordon Bontrager was hired to do admissions-related database application development.

• Two new tools, Tango and Oracle Developer/2000 were acquired for three-tier and client/server database development. These new tools will increase productivity and turn-around time for new application development.

• Created a web page that queries registrar data and returns course-related information. This will allow students, faculty and prospective students to access current information on course offerings including enrollment and waiting list information.

• A DEC AlphaServer 3000 was acquired as a development machine for administrative applications. The new server will speed development and testing of changes and new development on administrative systems.

• A seven-digit ID proposal was submitted to President's Council and passed. The proposal is a key plank in making the GC administrative systems year 2000-compliant.

• The church offices and several other rooms in the College Church chapel were networked at the request of the provost.

• Added a www/java-based chat server and a Web Crossings server.

Entering the new academic year, Goshen College finds itself in a significantly stronger position than in previous years with respect to technology. An information technology infrastructure is now in place that can support the development of enterprise-wide services over the coming years. Briefly stated, that infrastructure includes the following components:

• A modern, high-speed network that reaches all primary buildings on campus.

• A user community equipped with GUI-based (Graphical User Interface) operating systems, web browsers and email clients.

• A user community where the minimum hardware platform is a 486 PC or a 60 MHz PowerMac.

• A support infrastructure that is localized and less dependent on Computing Services full-time staff.

• Production and development Oracle database environments for administrative systems and modernized development tools.

• Institutional file space and web publishing space.

Additionally, numerous areas of concern from last year's report have been resolved or are in the process of being addressed.

1) While there are still long-term concerns about staffing levels, creative use of student and short-term employees has improved our situation markedly.

2) Allocation of funds for desktop computing, classrooms and dorms is in large part solved for the foreseeable future. Funding for basic operations and administrative systems will be addressed in the next fiscal year.

3) Administrative development software has been upgraded and Computing Services staff are bringing themselves up to speed on it and planning strategy for its broader application.

4) Security mechanisms employing Oracle and internet technologies are in test mode.

5) Standard desktop computers are being equipped with multimedia development software, though training and support will be an issue. Computer integration with telecommunications technology remains weak. Computing Services has a test PPP line in place, though plans for implementation remain unclear.

6) Residence Halls are being networked for fall of 97, though access from faculty/staff residences and off-campus student housing requires use of a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP)

7) Key classrooms are being wired for computing and projection, and an educational technology internship position is being explored as a means of supporting and assisting professors using technology in these classrooms.

In the new academic year, we project that Computing Service staff time will be targeted in the following areas:

1) The ongoing transformation of Computing Service into a customer service operation.

2) Development and deployment of enterprise-wide services

3) Maintaining service quality while doubling the size of our network and customer base without significantly increasing FTE.

4) Information Technology Infrastructure development and modernization

5) Administrative Systems modernization

The challenges are not small, but the Computing Services staff is dedicated and talented, and has already accomplished much under the new Showalter administration. We anticipate the 1997-98 will be the year in which users begin to experience the positive impact of all the technological improvements we have been working toward.