October 2008 Archives

The Educause Evolving Technologies Committee earlier today released their annual report on technology trends to watch in the coming year. This year's reported titled Glimpses of Our IT Future: What's Green, Mobile, and Regulated All Over? highlighted enterprise green computing, location aware computing, virtual worlds, business process management, and regulatory compliance as key issues to watch for the coming year. the full article can be found on the Educause Web site at: http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/GlimpsesofOurITFutureWhat/47448

Educause and the New Media Consortium publish another annual report on technologies that are likely to impact higher education in three to five years. The 2008 Horizon Report can be found on the New Media Consortium Web site at: http://www.nmc.org/horizon/2007/report

Stephen Landry, CIO

Matthew Stevenson, IT Architect in University IT Services, gave a presentation on SHU's server and storage virtualization initiatives earlier today at Educause 2008.

Matt's presentation can be found on the Educause Web site at:
http://connect.educause.edu/Library/Abstract/StorageandServerVirtualiz/47601

Server and storage virtualization is a technology that enables systems to run on fewer servers, reducing purchase cost, power consumption, heat, and space.

Educuase is the largest association of higher education technology professionals. Educause seeks to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.

Steve Landry, CIO

As previously announced, the University is planning to move from the current Lotus Notes email system to an email system based on Microsoft Exchange. This move is being planned for the Spring 2009 semester. Yesterday University IT Services began a series of open forums discuss the current plans to move the campus to MS Exchange and obtain feedback from the University community as these plans are being refined.

The discussion document outlining plans and options for the campus move to MS Exchange can be found at:

SHU Email Planning BAAAG 20081113 FINAL.pdf

Stephen Landry, CIO

From Systems Support

Summary: University IT Services (UITS) has implemented redundant servers for the Law School and South Orange faculty, staff, and administrators. This provides you with a backup server containing all your mail files. If you are using email and there is a problem with the mail server, you can simply restart Lotus Notes (or restart your Web browser if you are using Webmail) to automatically connect to the backup server.

The PirateNet portal debuts today!

Visit piratenet.shu.edu, Seton Hall's new campus-wide authenticated, personalized community webspace, to test drive the new portal.

For a while PirateNet will run along side myweb.shu.edu (the Blackboard portal), giving you an opportunity to become familiar with the new portal's layout and features. Take advantage of PirateNet's debut and let us know your thoughts; send your questions or drop us a suggestion at piratenet@shu.edu.

Nancy Mustachio, Director, UITS Application Support

This is a reminder to the University community that several legacy systems are scheduled to be decommissioned in the next few months.

The Plus administrative system is at end of life. Licensing for this system expires on December 31, 2008. The system will be removed shortly after that date. For more information about the planned decommissioning of the Plus system, see the article in the IT News and Announcements blog: tltc.shu.edu/blogs/projects/DoIT/2008/07/plus_system_being_decommissioned.html

The Microsoft Frontpage Web server is beyond end of life, and is no longer supported by Microsoft. This system is scheduled to be decommissioned on March 31, 2009. Prior to decommissioning, Web sites on that server will be archived for the use of the site authors, but that server itself will be turned off after that date. For more information about the planned decommissioning of the MS Frontpage servers, see the article in the IT News and Announcements blog: tltc.shu.edu/blogs/projects/DoIT/2008/09/uits_announces_schedule_for_decomissioning_ms_fron.html

The Plus system has been replaced by the Banner administrative system. If there is data in the Plus system you need for your work, please contact the appropriate data stewards in Enrollment Services, Finance, or HR to arrange access to that data in Banner or through the University's data warehouse.

Microsoft Frontpage is being replaced by a combination of the CommonSpot Web Content Management System and Microsoft Web Expressions. If you have Web pages on the MS Frontpage servers, please contact Marie Somers (somersma@shu.edu) to ensure your page is scheduled to be moved to one of the new University Web servers.

Stephen Landry, CIO

Summary: University IT Services (UITS) is planning to switch the campus email system to Microsoft Exchange beginning in early January. UITS, in collaboration with the University's Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR), has scheduled a series of meetings to get input regarding these plans. The first two of these focus groups will be held on Thursday, October 23rd, from 12:00 Noon - 1:30 PM for faculty, staff, and administrators, and from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM for students. Members of the University community who have questions or concerns regarding the campus move to Microsoft Exchange email are encouraged to attend.

On Monday, October 20th, the University will achieve another milestone in the project to revamp the University's Web site, email system, and network infrastructure with the launch of PirateNet, the new campus portal.

PirateNet will provide students, faculty, and employees seamless access to a variety of technology services, including Blackboard, Banner Self Service, and the campus email system. PirateNet takes advantage of predefined channels into the University's Banner administrative system, providing easy access to important personal information. PirateNet also serves as a communication hub for campus news, announcements, and events, replacing broadcast email as the primary communication method for important campus information.

On Monday, October 20th, members of the University community will receive instructions on how to access PirateNet. For the next few months PirateNet will run in parallel with the University's current portal. The current portal will be decommissioned after the Winter Break. In the meantime, members of the University community are invited to "test drive" PirateNet and send their comments and suggestions to the PirateNet development team at: piratenet@shu.edu

This is an important step enabling the University to begin moving to the new campus email system. The current plan is to move all students to the new email system on or about January 5th, 2009, with faculty and employees to follow over the spring semester.

More information about PirateNet and the University's plans to move to Microsoft Exchange email can be found at http://www.shu.edu/offices/technology/improving-technology.cfm

Steve Landry, CIO

Beginning approximately 8:00 AM this morning, Sunday, October 12, University IT Services began receiving reports that some campus systems were not available, including the campus Web site (www.shu.edu) and Blackboard.

Testing showed that the outage was intermittent and depended on users' Internet Service Provider (ISP). Users of Comcast and Verizon were able to access campus servers from off campus, while users of AT&T and Optimum Online were not. Blackboard login was affected by this intermittant outage.

The University's Internet vendor, Level3, identified a problem with one of their circuits, and corrected the problem. Full service was restored approximately 1:30 PM this afternoon.

Steve Landry, CIO

This is a reminder that system maintenance will take place this coming Sunday, October 12th, between 12:01 AM and 7:00 AM. Email for faculty, staff, and administrators will not be available during that period. Other systems, including Blackboard, Banner, and email for students and the Law School, should be available. Keep in mind, however, that during this maintenance period any system may be brought down at any time without notice. Please plan your work accordingly.

More information about this maintenance can be found in the post:
http://tltc.shu.edu/blogs/projects/DoIT/2008/10/important_announcement_-_new_schedule_for_data_cen.html

Stephen Landry, CIO

As previously posted September 15, September 25, and September 28, University IT Services will be performing a major upgrade to the data center network beginning this weekend.

Due to the amount of work required, this weekends' work needs to begin in advance of the University's normal weekly maintenance window. Except for Blackboard (myweb.shu.edu) and the University's Web site (www.shu.edu), most IT systems will be down beginning Saturday, October 4th, at 5:00 PM, through Sunday, October 5th, at 8:00 AM. Note that email and Banner will not be available during this period. Blackboard and the University's Web site will be available throughout this maintenance. Please plan your work accordingly.

We apologize for any inconvenience this extended maintenance window may cause. This upgrade is required to enable the clustering of servers to provide redundancy in the event one server fails. Providing IT services that are highly available is an objective of UITS and is increasingly expected by the University community.

Please call the Technology Help Desk at 973-275-2222 if you have any questions or concerns regarding this maintenance, or for any questions related to the University's technology systems and services.

Steve Landry, CIO