Present: Arlene Allen, Eric Brody, Polly Bustillos, Glenn Davis, Saturnino Doctor, Doug Drury, Elise Meyer, Bruce Miller, Alan Moses, Joan Murdoch, Stan Nicholson, Dan Ringwald, Glenn Schiferl, Kevin Schmidt, Deborah Scott, Jan Smith, Chris Sneathen, Jamie Sonsini, Heidi Straub, Craig Welsh
AuthDir
The group meeting to develop the RFP for the Authorization Software has finished their discussions regarding the technology. They are now developing the evaluation criteria for the RFP, soon to be followed by the text for the RFP. Meetings are being held to identify the criteria and evaluation matrix for a Request for Proposal for Authorization Software. Rather than specifying a list of mandatory requirements, the RFP will instead solicit the vendors to describe the details of their solutions, which will then be evaluated according to UCSB’s needs.
Wireless
Kevin Schmidt is developing a white paper to address many of the user and technical issues surrounding wireless data networking. Concerns include user privacy, user notification/education regarding privacy issues, and how to authenticate users, i.e., no open access points. It is important to be able to identify wireless users, in case of viruses or cyber abuses.
Investigation of other universities has found many common themes and concerns. Technology is rapidly evolving; equipment purchased today would be expected to be out of date in six months. Registration processes, conflict resolution, types of deployment (i.e., frequencies, antennas), and device restrictions are also considerations needing scrutiny. Authentication is the largest concern, and still does not solve the issue of user privacy. There are different modes of operation, and no system exists without some wired infrastructure behind it. Access point connections are very different from point-to-point connections such as those used to provide a backbone connection to Embarcadero Hall. There does not seem to be accepted SSID naming conventions, and there were more bans of access points than endorsements. Interference potential from cell phones, RF emissions, etc., is undetermined. Deployment to common areas would cause problems with frequency overlap from nearby departmental areas, and a frequency cloud map would need to be developed to show such overlaps. Many campuses prohibit Network Address Translation (NAT), since it is another technology that makes identifying users extremely difficult. Other issues include roaming support; can it occur, and how do we meet the high degree of coordination it would require? Goals for campus implementation need to be defined, and rules for wireless on delegated subnets must be worked up. The technology is changing so fast that it should be understood that there will be no grandfathering of any equipment purchased, and that there is no adequate privacy protection. A wild guess is that there are approximately 60 wireless installations on campus at present, and most seem to be faculty users for lab access. Housing and Residential is beginning to look into a wireless project of their own.
Comments for Kevin’s white paper are encouraged. Please forward comments, thoughts, and/or preferences to him as soon as possible.
ONI
The target date for the coastal route connection (LA-SB-SLO) is May 1. The campus obtained an excellent deal on the fiber for the Los Carneros and El Collegio route from the vendor, the upgrades to the Communications Services switch room for the network connection are being done, and the CENIC/Cisco equipment agreement is in place. There is a delay in the route from HRC to the railroad tracks due to dealings with the new City of Goleta. This is the first UCSB project with the new city government, and details regarding liability language, permits, easements, right-of-way, etc. need to be worked out, requiring meetings with the city. A temporary backup plan using our current CalREN fiber duct may be employed; however, this route is not safe from the scheduled Caltrans seismic safety work.
Cisco has an official contract with the UC system offering a 40% discount based on having a minimum number of purchases. Purchasing Cisco equipment through E&I includes an additional 5% refund, but they require using IBM for equipment maintenance. Cisco is currently matching the extra 5% discount through January, but previous attempts to get the 45% discount from Cisco were denied because they involved equipment trade-ins. After January 31, Cisco will run a number of different promotions. Interest was expressed in knowing what they might be and when those promotions might run.
JOG Meeting
All UCOP funding of the New Business Architecture is dead due to the state budget situation. Some campuses are combining resources to continue projects such as E-Procurement and HRIS.
SB1386 will become law on July 1, 2003. It concerns the notifications required when systems that contain names and personal identification information are compromised. UCOP is developing a system-wide policy for such required notifications, and UCSB will need to develop associated guidelines. There is another bill coming up that states social security numbers cannot be used as an identifier, and information related to social security numbers cannot be posted. Social security numbers can be used in the normal course of business only, and printing of lists and reports including social security numbers is to be avoided.
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