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HelpUCSF Campus Report April 2004
UC Information Technology Leadership Council
April 26-27, 2004
Administrative Systems Advisory Committee (ASAC) Project: UCSF Link
Work continues on this campus-wide initiative that includes research administration, distributed processing of selected financial functions and asset management. Since our last ITLC update, efforts have been focused on:
- Go-live preparation and post implementation support for distributed journals
in PeopleSoft
- Successful go-live across the campus on 4/12/04
- Leveraged on-line training using WebCT to train over 900 journals preparers and approvers
- Supported establishment of a customer support functional call center
- Supporting post implementation user and application issues
- Detailed functional and technical design analysis and documentation for the research administration processes in scope; go-live still estimated for July 2005
- Addition of Accounts Receivable to project scope. The implementation of A/R will bring significant benefits to the campus in sponsored project cost recovery/cashflow
- Finalizing the build phase for Assets in order to begin the testing and implementation phases; Assets is scheduled to go live in August 2004
For more information, please visit the website for this project http://ucsflink.ucsf.edu or contact Mara Fellouris, Project Leader
Data Center Consolidation
The evaluation of a possible co-location of the Campus and Medical Center Data Centers continues. ITS and Medical Center IT have worked with a consultant to examine the options available for consolidation of the data centers and a cost/benefit analysis is currently being reviewed.
Infrastructure Projects – Current Status
- Common Individual Identifier Project
Background: This project seeks to unify identity management at UCSF by connecting all applications systems which store human identity information to a common identity management system. This entails the establishment of a single identifier namespace for all UCSF-affiliated persons.
Status: The Individual Identifier System (IID, released by UCOP in 1994 in support of the on-line component of the Payroll/Personnel System) has been extensively modified to support a web service interface. Work is under way to connect the Student Information System (SIS) to IID via this web service. Other application systems will subsequently be connected. The IID population will serve as the superset of identities available to the UCSF enterprise directory.
- Enterprise Directory Project
Background: This project involves collection of more contact and directory-type information on UCSF-affiliated persons and deployment of an LDAP-compliant enterprise directory to make that data available to individuals and applications.
Status: A prototype directory is under construction using IBM Directory Server software. Decisions are pending concerning UCSF-specific extensions to the standard LDAP schema. The schema has already been extended to include the eduPerson and eduOrg objects, as specified by Internet2 and EDUCAUSE.
- Uniform Organizational Structure/Department Server Project
Background: This project seeks to extend to all campus-wide administrative application systems a common identifier for organizational entities and a common repository for information about those entities and their interrelationships.
Status: Extensive modification of the Department Database (DEP) structure is nearing completion. This work both increases the flexibility of the DEP system and enables the storage of additional information about organization entities and the organizational hierarchy. These changes will be implemented in production in Spring 2004.
- Authentication and Authorization Project
Status: David Mischel was hired in January to lead this project. The project website is http://www.ucsf.edu/its/planning/authnz/.
- Over 45 stakeholder application systems have submitted surveys which identify requirements.
- Draft requirements have been written and shared with stakeholders for comment.
- The project team has been formed with members from ITS and the UCSF Link team project management office.
- Draft work has begun on a password standard for the project.
- A presentation will be made to IT Governance Committee’s CIO Group in May and will include project approach and governance.
Joint Services RFP
The joint services RFP process has been completed by the Campus and Medical Center and new rates are now in effect for long distance and calling cards. The award of a new pager contract has been delayed.
Mission Bay Campus
Progress on the construction of the Mission Bay campus continues:
- Relocation of faculty and staff to Genentech Hall, the first building on the Mission Bay campus, has been completed.
- The second building (Genetics, Development & Behavioral Sciences Building) has been turned over for occupancy. Relocation of faculty and staff has begun and will continue through May 2004.
- QB3 (a research facility connected to Genentech Hall) is under construction with an anticipated occupancy date of February 2005.
- Construction on the Student Housing project (which consists of 750 apartments) has begun with an anticipated occupancy date of June 2005.
- A 900-space parking structure is under construction with an anticipated completion date of August 2005.
- The Helen Diller Family Cancer Research facility is in the design phase with an anticipated completion date of late 2007.
NGMAN: Next Generation Metropolitan Area Network
The Next Generation Metropolitan Area Network (NGMAN) RFPs and RFQs were released in September 2003. Just prior to award in April 2004, it was learned that a recent California PUC ruling provided more competitive fiber options. The procurement vehicles were rewritten and placed back out for bid the same month. The IP-only NGMAN will be DWDM and 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet based. It will replace the current UCSF SONET-based ATM MAN. Migration to the new network is expected to begin in Spring 2005.
Out-of-Band Management
In February, ITS Enterprise Network Services implemented Phase I of the Out-of-Band Management Project. This is a network management scheme that uses the same communication path to communicate between the managing device and the managed element. Phase I included all UCSF Campus core routers. The second phase is in progress at all other ATM connected sites. This should be completed by June 1, 2004.
ITS “Shopping Cart”
ITS Enterprise Network Services is planning a new web-based ordering system that will allow customers to review and select voice and data services on-line and place them in a virtual “shopping cart”. Customers will be able to identify the products and services that best fit their needs and access information on the costs associated with those products and services before placing an order
The goal is to simplify the process for ordering these services. To accomplish this, a user interface will be designed that feeds our existing billing system and is:
- Practical
- Informative
- Easy to use
This system is expected to be rolled out in Fall 2004.
Recruitment
Recruitment was successfully completed for the new position of UCSF Information Security Officer (ISO), a Director-level position reporting to Assistant Vice Chancellor and Campus CIO Ken Orgill. Carl Tianen was appointed as ISO effective April 15. Tianen, who is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), comes to UCSF from Levi Strauss and Company where he held the position of Vice President, Global Information Security: For more information, see http://pub.ucsf.edu/today/news.php?news_id=200404133
Recruitment continues for a Director of Administrative Computing.
Secure IT Conference
The SecureIT 2004 Conference presented by UC and CSU is scheduled to begin on April 27. See http://www.secureitconf.com/ for details.
Security
PricewaterhouseCoopers was hired in January 2004 to assist with security projects on a time and materials basis. The first project, implementation of Phase I of a firewall for the campus data center, was successfully completed in March.
Phase I offers some basic security to the data center, and serves as a proof of concept to the campus that firewalls can be implemented in phases without disruption to service levels.
ITS continues to work on ways to be more proactive in identifying attacks and intrusions including more robust IDS systems and quicker response to unreasonably high traffic patterns.
Voice Communications Consulting Services
ITS has engaged Western Telecommunications Consulting Group (WTC) to recommend alternatives to renewing UCSF’s SBC Centrex contract that expires in January 2005. Part of WTC’s engagement will be devoted to an assessment of the current infrastructure in terms of its readiness for a converged voice and data network (VOIP). The purpose of the assessment is to offer short- and long-term recommendations that will support UCSF’s strategic goals.