Present: Arlene Allen, Debbie Anglin, Art Battson, Bill Doering, Gail Johnson, Bill Koseluk, Ed Mehlschau, Alan Moses, Joan Murdoch, Larry Murdock, Stan Nicholson, Lisa Peppin, John Vasi
Not Present: Kevin Barron, Ken Bowers, George Gregg, Chuck Haines, Phil Handley, Rick Johnson, Tom Lawton, Tom Marazita, Kevin Schmidt, Deborah Scott, Vince Sefcik, Jamie Sonsini
BEG has formed two working groups. The first, chaired by Larry Murdock and David Chapman, is considering campus wiring standards. Representatives of Budget & Planning and Facilities Management are participating. It was suggested that this group send a memo to deans and provosts requesting input on wiring standards. The issue of consultation will be important when the time comes to prioritize projects. This memo would outline key issues such as use of conduits/raceways, port densities and preferred media. When projects have been defined a plan will be brought back to ITPG for review and recommendation.
The second BEG working group, chaired by Kevin Schmidt, is developing an RFP for NGB Phase I equipment.
The Authentication/Directory workgroup reported several items. A three-person group is working on a message to unit heads introducing the new process of managing email addresses in departments. Secondly, the process of merging email address files from campus service providers with those in the telephone directory has been completed. Thirdly, a refreshed feed from UCOP has been merged with existing data resulting in 4000 additional entries. Some problems with data quality have been observed. Next, a "commonly used" name field was added to establish compatibility with CorporateTime. This field is planned to be a "self-edit." A new version (4.11) of the Netscape LDAP software with the merged data and authentication turned on was scheduled for production on March 3. Matt Dunham and Lisa Peppin have volunteered to consider fields required to add student data to the directory.
The Administrative Systems Integration Group (ASIG) presented a handout showing workstation requirements for access to the new BARC system. It was noted that the back-level browsers available on Macintosh make this platform unsuitable for BARC access. The chairs plan to recruit a group to review configurations and generalize for distribution. Send a note to Gail Johnson at IS&C if you want to participate.
Bill K. and Deborah met with the Student Fee Advisory Committee to discuss replacing NetStations with Thin-Client technology. The idea was reportedly well received.
On the survey front, it was reported that the faculty survey has been keyed and is ready for number crunching. Results will go to ITPG and then to ITB. Pilot testing of templates for key entry of student surveys is underway. Volunteers will be recruited.
In response to concerns previously expressed about the time required to conduct background searches on candidates for the security programmer position, it was noted that HR is working with Campus Police to shorten the cycle.
The Network Funding Model Group reported on the presentation of a "discussion plan" to ITB. The intent was to lay out the parameters of the ensuing discussion and recruit participants to the process. Premises include: (1) a need to account for all costs, no matter how they are presently covered, (2) a need for scalability in the face of rapid growth, 3) a need for alignment with institutional goals. Additional topics include the notion of "service levels" that would permit units to buy in at various points in location and time, centralization versus distribution of funding, and required policies and procedures.
A joint committee of ITB and ITPG members was proposed. ITPG might be especially helpful in developing techniques to be used for estimating the total number of ports needed and evaluating the impact of various models on different areas of campus.
It was noted that the model might have a time constraint on both ends. If it doesn’t ramp up quickly enough, it could be overtaken by the implementation of wireless networks. Review of the model is thought to be a future OIT activity.
Speaking of the OIT, the then pending announcement was discussed. The OIT Transition Team (OITTT) reported the intention to develop a mission statement and a task list with notation of which services are likely to be free and which are likely to be recharged by the new organization. A search for space is underway. Job descriptions for new positions are in draft and search committees will be formed. Communicate your interest in participating to Bob Sugar.
It was noted that significant new IT funding in the governor’s budget would be helpful in getting the OIT started.
Those attending the previous ITB meeting reported on the continuing discussion of ITPG proposals. The three proposals related to services provided by Instructional Computing (support for instructional use of web and related technologies, additional help for maintenance of laboratory workstations and addition of a multi-media lab) were tabled pending the completion of a program review currently underway. PKI was also discussed with ITB members asking questions and expressing support for the concept. It was agreed that UCOP be informed of our support for the initiative and our understanding that funding it off the top might promote a quicker implementation. The network funding model will likely be on the agenda for the next ITB meeting.
The group then considered three proposals from Communications Services. It was quickly agreed that DOV service could be dropped and, when alternatives were available, ISDN should be phased out as well. ITPG members also endorsed the proposal to increase the speed of the Frame Relay circuit now used for peering with local Internet Service Providers.
The Library presented a new issue for ITPG. The Association of Research Libraries is planning to conduct a survey and would like a random sample of email addresses for 600 faculty, 600 staff and 600 students. Ethical issues surrounding the use of campus email directories for this purpose were discussed. John will pursue the issue with campus policy coordinators.
A second new issue regards "growing our own" pool of system administrator candidates. A formal program combining attendance at extension classes with some form of internship leading to certification was discussed. Other ideas included advertising our web pages and articulating the competencies that we are having difficulty recruiting. Bill K. volunteered to contact Extension about visiting a future ITPG meeting to discuss applicable course offerings.
The final discussion included concern regarding the campus web presence. Broken links and missing pieces have been noted by some. Further, in times of crises such as the recent hacker incident, asking the chief security programmer to be responsible for adding breaking news to the campus web page while in the middle of responding to the attack is problematic. It was suggested that this issue be discussed at a future meeting with the notion of possibly formulating a recommendation for ITB.
Next meeting of ITPG will be held on Wednesday, March 15, at 10:00 a.m. in North Hall 1131.
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