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© University of Reading 2008 www.reading.ac.uk
IT Services
Key developmentsStephen GoughAssistant Director of IT Services
9 April 2008
Review of developments for 2007-8
• technical changes– migration of staff email to Exchange Service– exploitation of Data Vault– identity management– virtualisation
• service changes– ITS Help and the Student Services Centre– ITS Support for IT Supporters
2
Migration of staff email to Microsoft Exchange
• goals - reminder– separation from student email– enhanced functionality
• global and shareable address books• rapid message distribution/delivery• calendar, to-do lists and meeting-making tools• shareable folders for messages or other documents• a global proprietary standard
3
Migration to Exchange - update
• all new staff registered on Exchange
• most of phase 1 now complete
• more complex cases next
• Anton Lawrence giving update later today
4
File store
• exploitation of Vault for Data
• potential to raise file store allocations to multi-GB levels
• more available
• may be chargeable
• Update:– file store Vault not implemented– NetApp upgrade 2008 – more later in this talk
5
Identity management• UK Access Management Federation formed 2007
• sets national standard for – authentication - who is this?– authorisation - what are they allowed to do?
• the standard is known as Shibboleth
• replaces Athens as A&A method for UK HE e-resources
• native Athens unfunded from 31/7/08
• attributes beyond those embedded in University Username may need to be passed
• work needed to integrate Shibboleth and Globus A&A
6
Identity management - update
• live from May/June 2008
• new format usernames for new personal accounts– 2 random letters followed by 4 random digits
• ADAM (Active Directory Application Mode) to replace NIS– available soon for testing– parallel running for a while
• replacement for ‘person’– test version end of April
• Shibboleth– during next session– OpenAthens for 3 years from 1/8/08
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Virtualisation
• multiple physical servers become multiple virtual servers within one large physical server (cf mainframe)
• faster provisioning
• easier DR
• easier management
• lower power consumption
8
Virtualisation – update
• audit of ITS servers completed
• prioritised list of servers being drawn up
• some servers already migrated
• would like to be able to offer chargeable service later
9
ITS Help and Student Services Centre
• counter service at Bulmershe to cease September 2007 – done
• counter service at Whiteknights Library to move to S@il from Summer 2007– done
• counter service at Whiteknights to move to new Student Services Centre from January 2008– decided not appropriate
• SSC will offer interactive advice and enquiry logging system. The latter will include IT FAQs– done
10
ITS Support for IT Supporters
• ITS will discover from HR who is employed in an IT support role
• ITS will work with HR and others to develop standardised job descriptions (HERA/SFIA)
• ITS will publish a Service Catalogue to replace the SLA
• ITS will explore the opportunities for managing CPD records in the IT context (Trent/BCS)
• ITS will expand the Remedy workflow system and induct IT supporters into its use
• ITS will explore the possibilities of a ‘hotline’11
ITS Support for IT Supporters – update
• Service Catalogue available– more information needed
• self-service available in Trent
• Remedy available to IT support staff– had 2 lunchtime sessions– more later today
12
Review of directorates
• IT Services will be in Academic Services Directorate from 1 Aug 2008
• alongside:– Library– CDOTL– CSTD– Timetabling and Room Bookings– Faculty Offices– and others
13
Research Data
• Mike Proven, Quality Assurance in Research Officer
• looking at:– requirements of funders, e.g. research councils– quantify amount of data to be preserved
14
Research requirements
• University Board for Research workshop on what information services the University requires over next 5-10 years
• SCRI– Sub-Committee on Research Infrastructure
• requests for space for deptl/school racks– http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/its/help/its-help-for
ms/requestlylespace.asp
15
Net App • upgrade summer 2008• new filer head units• move from max 28TB to:
– max 100TB with fast disks– max 336TB with SATA disks– between 100TB & 336TB with a mix– need to buy disks to increase current capacity
• capability for research data to be centrally stored– mirrored across 2 sites & backed up– schools can buy in
• won’t be cheap but compare to buying/hosting/maintaining alternatives
• expect some major research centres to buy-in
• use Enterprise Vault for files & Exchange– moves items to slower disk
16
JANETtalk trial• http://www.ja.net/development/voip/janettalktrial.ht
ml• collaborative tool
– video conferencing– messaging– file transfer– shared whiteboard
• UoR to join the trial in May 2008• will be testing with
– e-learning• CDOTL
– e-science• David Spence
– e-admin
17
e-science
• www.reading.ac.uk/e-science
• David Spence doing session later
• survey of activities
• Reading grid
18
Pharos
• print queue, no accounting, no statistics– cf prthost– free
• print queue, standard charging, print release station, re-charge to school– £100 one off set up– £100 pa for admin of doing quarterly credits to school– £60 for image maintenance for print release station
19
Curriculum application delivery
• looking at options for badly behaved apps– ones that can’t easily be converted to MSI format and
delivered with SMS
20
Migration to Vista on communal PCs
• not for 2008 in PC classrooms
• very few other HE insts migrating– UCISA survey, 50 responses
• 6 moving to Vista for staff PCs• 4 moving to Vista for classroom PCs
• Dell cannot supply XP after 1/7/08– MS restriction– can get XP via Reading Image
• support for staff using Vista
21
Office 2007
• planning to move to Office 2007 for:– classroom PCs for 2008/9 session– Reading Image for summer purchases
• more from Mark Stephens later
22
VDI trial
• thin clients
• thick clients– full PCs
• “diet” clients– older, lower spec PCs
• servers & SAN needed
• cheaper clients but need to spend on servers & SAN
• possible cost savings?
• easier to maintain
• during 2008/923
INUK freewire trial
• IPTV
• freewire channels– c.f. FreeView– some radio stations
• can subscribe to some other channels
• can subscribe to telephone service
• trial on readingConnect– summer term
• roll-out for new session
• requires multicast to Internet
24
Site-licensed software
• renewed:– ESRI ArcGIS
• 3 and a bit years (1/3/08 – 31/7/11)– Uniras (includes Gsharp)
• 3 years (1/4/08 – 31/3/11)
• expire 31/7/08 – will renew for 3 years:– NAG– SAS– Microsoft Campus
• expire 31/7/09 – will determine usage– Erdas Imagine– Exceed & Maestro
25
Sophos
• Sophos 6 support ends 31/5/08– need to move to Sophos 7– email gone to IT Supporters– need to advertise more widely
• Current licence expires 10/7/10– need to decide what to do during a/y 2008-9
26