UC Davis is soliciting bids from qualified vendors for a Network Threat, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (TVRA) to identify existing and potential threats to the campus data network and critical Tier 1 administrative applications (from a network perspective). Other purposes of the TVRA are to detail potential and existing vulnerabilities to identified threats and identify methodologies (policies, procedures, hardware, firmware, or software) to mitigate, minimize, or eliminate the risk of those vulnerabilities. The outcome of the TVRA will form the basis for the Campus Security, Disaster Recovery and Emergency Preparedness Plan(s).The recruitment for a new security coordinator has been successfully completed and should accelerate progress on achieving compliance with Business & Finance Bulletin IS-3, Electronic Information Security and other campus network and information security issues.
The SWAN project will establish a network hub site for Calren2, 4Cnet, DCP, UC Davis and the UC Davis Medical Center. The location for the hub has been identified on 9th Street in Sacramento, and the lease has been negotiated. The space is designed to hold 16 network racks and will have sufficient space to serve the needs of additional network initiatives, like the Digital California Project. The initial design work has been completed. We are working with the City of Sacramento to secure some of their existing infrastructure to allow dark fiber between the telecommunications building on L. Street, where Qwest Communications is located, and the new hub. As soon as we can get a commitment from the City of Sacramento, the project will move into the full construction phase, which is estimated to last three months.
In December 2000, we (CR) delivered to Architects and Engineers (A&E) the first large-scale plan to deploy Next Generation Digital Loop Carrier (NGDLC) voice technology for new projects in the Health Sciences District. Current plans for the rollout are being closely coordinated with A&E and include an operational system by late 2002 (which is when the first new Health Sciences facility is scheduled to open for business). The new deployment frees the District from the severe construction time and cost constraints that would otherwise complicate all planned and future development for the School of Medicine and the School of Veterinary Medicine. This new deployment also represents a significant shift away from existing copper-based voice technologies and services to a fiber-based technology that offers a great deal more expansion capability and cost effectiveness.We intend to devote a larger share of its expertise and resources to the increased exploration of wireless systems and services. A rapidly increasing demand for mobility throughout the campus community is shifting focus to wireless voice and data solutions capable of performing many of the basic functions currently anchored to the desktop. New plans are being developed and implemented to reorganize and realign resources to allow a more aggressive pursuit of new wireless technologies that meet our clients' needs. Later this year, we will begin to recommend new wireless systems and equipment for implementation.
Starting November 1 DHCP was offered to campus departments as a service. DHCP aims to reduce the work necessary to administer a large IP network while providing a flexible environment for the increasing mobile computing population on campus, especially faculty. In addition, DHCP provides one solution for network security: managing access to the physical network. DHCP is accepted as one of the standard connection protocols and is available on all platforms without the installation of special software.Four training sessions for DHCP were held to prepare campus network administrators and technology support coordinators to sign up for and manage the transition to campus DHCP services. To date, approximately 30% of campus departments have adopted the new service, with more clients expected to roll to campuswide DHCP at the conclusion of the academic year. Refer to the DHCP Web site for more information: http://netaccess.ucdavis.edu/.
This project is intended to provide greater mobile computing convenience, thereby relieving some of the pressure on overcrowded general access computing labs. Installation of approximately 250 network ports in public and general access areas was completed in October 2000. The selected access points are distributed through five buildings: Shields Library, the Health Sciences Library, the Physical Sciences Library, a classroom (102 Wellman Hall), and a public area (the Memorial Union King Lounge).
The successful Wireless Pilot Program transitioned to a production service January 1. This Instructional Technology Fund project was intended to run through June 2001, but an increase in campus demand for wireless services prompted the offering of wireless access to more campus users. The future of wireless service offerings on campus will now be explored through an Information and Educational Technology's Advanced Technology Project (see http://vpiet.ucdavis.edu/advancedprojects/index.html).UC Davis has moved rapidly from a wireless technology pilot project to a wireless production network supporting seven access points and approximately 250 clients. A strong need surfaced to move from pilot to production as campus departments moved forward with their own wireless implementations. In an effort to contain and manage the wireless frequency spectrum, level of service, and client expectations, the pilot project was completed in January and moved to a rapid deployment and support model for existing and future clients.
Two groups are focusing on the issues associated with a campus wireless offering. One group is focusing on the technology and security aspects, while a second is concentrating on industry trends, business, and support models. The two groups will report to the Vice Provost of IET this month. The results of these reports will form the basis of discussion for a campus committee for wireless service offerings.
In the ongoing search for a long-term solution to the campus's remote access needs, UC Davis is conducting a pilot project for remote access services (56 Kbps) through the CALNET contract. Pacific Bell was chosen as the pilot vendor following a solicited bid for remote access services. The Virtual Point-of-Presence (VPOP) services pilot program, which began in December, is underway for 90 days to evaluate the service as either a replacement for or augmentation to existing campus remote access dial-in services.To ensure the proposed service and support meet or exceed our current campus commitment, UC Davis is testing two calling areas. These calling areas were chosen to provide toll-free access from the Sacramento regional area and East Bay area.
Call use, trouble reports, and client feedback are used to evaluate this new service. The determination to replace and/or expand existing remote access services, the design of the funding model, and future migration to higher speed technologies will be the focus of executive and campus constituency discussions over the coming months. More information about this pilot is available on the Web at http://access.ucdavis.edu/pilot2000.cfm.
ACD service was introduced to campus in September. Four call groups installed the system and brought on 34 "agents" (individual users). We continue to receive serious inquiries about ACD from campus clients. One or two more call groups with approximately 19 agents are expected to adopt ACD this quarter.
IET-CR collaborated with Student Housing to develop a way for dorm residents to order phone service prior to coming to campus. The result was a Web-based application that enabled a residence hall student to establish in-room phone service and to select features (i.e., call waiting, voice mail, etc.) for that phone. Data collected through this Web site was then imported into the telemanagement system where the phone service and features were activated. The Student Web Interface project succeeded in collecting the residential phone service requests.However, there were issues with how to seamlessly migrate the compiled data into the Pinnacle billing system. Importing the data correctly for monthly billing required extensive programming intervention. Broadening the application to allow other clients (not just students) to request service adds, changes, and cancellations via the Web will be possible once the application is retooled. We anticipate a new version will be implemented by fall quarter 2001. The upgraded application will initially be rolled out to UC Davis students and subsequently available to staff and faculty.
CR infused its Application Development Services (ADS) unit with new skills during fall quarter 2000. Building upon the infrastructure changes made to support its operational systems this past summer/fall, ADS has begun the evaluation of business processes to better organize data and data repositories (i.e., inventory) and to introduce new applications that will promote improvements in productivity, decrease expenses, and expand capabilities. Any new application development will be geared toward Web-based tools and services. One example of these changes is the development of summarized bills that can be printed or emailed, with a link to a Web site for authorized viewing of detailed phone records. Other developments include a new process for viewing Web-based archives of phone record data; an automated number pooling function; and direct electronic feeds of client and phone information to the campus phone directory system and the campus' Web-based central directory LDAP server. The synergy between our Project Management Office and ADS will result in a host of new functional and operational activities and potentially new services available to CR and the campus community.
The current UC Davis phone directory resides on a VAX and was custom written for UC Davis. Amcom Software has been chosen as the phone directory replacement for UC Davis. The software integrates telephony for operators with the UC Davis's SL100 phone switch. The system is written in Oracle and will be completely installed by the beginning of February 2001.
A voice recognition system will be implemented at UC Davis to enhance the current service by providing an extended hours telephone directory service and by allowing additional populations to be cross-referenced by this system. The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the voice recognition system was submitted to the purchasing department in December. Purchasing has released the RFP to vendors. UC Davis has established a proposal requirement that each vendor demonstrate its voice recognition system on the UC Davis campus. The installation of these test systems will be scheduled after the vendors have responded to the RFP.
Implementing Khameleon v6.0 (eBusiness Management Application Software) is expected to increase efficiency and reduce the amount of manual administrative management in here in CR. In addition, a DaFIS interface will eliminate the need for duplicate financial entries. The new system will allow departments to track project time and expenses. It will also provide accurate and timely reporting to management.Our Project Management and Application Development groups will utilize the project accounting module to track project time and expenses starting April 2001. There is yet no tool in place to track this data. The Systems Engineering group will follow shortly after the initial launch with the conversion from their existing tool for project accounting and billing to the Khameleon software application. The Khameleon inventory module is being assessed to determine if is robust enough to support the whole department.
The UCDNet2 Project, the expansion of the Network 21 network infrastructure into the outlying areas of the campus, continues as planned. Three of seven subprojects will go to bid this winter quarter and the Underground Infrastructure is in the process of being awarded. The Distribution Facilities Renovations subproject is scheduled to go out for bid in February. The subproject for the construction of two Controlled Environment Facilities (CEFs) has a bid date of February 27. The other four subprojects will open for bidding as the UCDNet2 project progresses. The entire UCDNet2 project is scheduled for completion May 31, 2002.The Fiber Optics study mentioned in the September CPG Report has been completed. After analysis of the report, the decision was reached not to install fiber cable to the desktop at this time.
The Voice Over IP CalRen2 pilot is underway. IP phones are working on and between the Stanford and Berkeley campuses. UC Irvine is set to be next, and then on to the other campuses. After phones are installed, the assessment process begins. The list of issues to be investigated is very long but centers on the primary issues of performance, reliability, resiliency, billing, call control, configuration management, security, and interoperability with legacy systems.On the UC Davis campus, Voice Over IP was recently considered as a utility infrastructure project for serving the Health Sciences District. However, the Voice Over IP option was dismissed because it would not scale to serve the entire district while preserving key voice system functionalities (e.g., 911 caller location identification and operation) during power outages. The only system that could be provisioned to meet these requirements also required the replacement of the existing data network electronics in the district.
In-building communication studies are complete. A Request for Funding has been approved to augment the 800 Mhz trunked radio system; it includes facilities already equipped and those scheduled to be either completed or started near term. A Request for Proposal (RFP) closed on January 26, 2001. The in-building communications RFP outlines the requirements of an in-building communication amplification system with specifications for a combination of repeater, amplifier, and fiber optic/coaxial connectivity devices. The goal is to eliminate or significantly reduce signal loss of transmitted and received critical communications by life safety personnel (fire, police and emergency services) in fringe areas subject to building interference.In-building communication requirements/standards/specifications for new construction have been submitted to the campus Architects and Engineering department for inclusion in their construction documents. The 800 MHz standards are also on the Web at http://cr.ucdavis.edu/policies/800mhz.html. These specifications provide guidance to planners, estimators, and construction vendors tasked with providing in-building communication needs assessments, system design, and associated costs for the new and planned construction.