http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/ en Copyright 2007 Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:16:54 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/080307-bowdoin-lmu.html http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/080307-university-disaster-recovery-project.html http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/08/04/200232.shtml The following is a list of projects, tasks and initiatives that the Systems staff members are working on and/or talking about during Summer 2007. Set up new CS Gold server for this week's upgrade (Tim) New Blade for CMS (Tim, Done 8/3) Adam is benchmark testing. VI3 (Tim, 9/1) Mail Lists/Mail Man Migration from Sun to Linux (Chris, 8/17) Sunmail Retirement (Mike) MIIS Project/Move mail list from LDAP to AD (Exchange- Mike/Owen) Oracle Rebuild/Bb staging server (Chris, Done 7/30) David Francis has it now. FTP Service for 1-800 We Answer (Chris) Back end done; communicating with We Answer. Chris is ensuring they can receive data, then he will "flip the switch". IPTel Unity Messaging Server (Mike) Back-Ups (Tim) Web Infrastructure Takeover (Chris) HR Account Termination Process (Mike) Mike is collaborating with Juli Haugen on this. Disks & Dependencies Analysis (Tim) RE Upgrade August & October (Steve) FE Upgrade September (Steve) Security Implementation (Steve) All_Employee bounces (Mike) Replacement SQL cluster (Mike) Mimosa Mail Archiving (Mike) GMT Upgrade (Chris) Tools for Help Desk (Mike) Academic Sandbox (Chris) Communication with Work Orders (Rebecca)  Rebecca F. Sandlin | Deputy CIO Bowdoin College 9600 College Station Brunswick, ME 04011 207.725.3388 tel 207.798.7033 fax http://www.bowdoin.edu ]]> http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/08/systems-staff-projects-task-an-1.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/08/systems-staff-projects-task-an-1.shtml Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:16:54 -0500 At 12:30PM Tuesday, June 26, one of the College's core network file systems, "The Microwave", experienced a critical failure. One of the eight storage arrays attached to the Microwave experienced a failure in its hard drive storage shelf. This caused all of the disks within the shelf to lose contact with the rest of the storage array. As a result, the Microwave went offline and IT quickly began the process of replacing the storage shelf. The hard drives themselves were not affected, and we were able to re-introduce them back into the overall file system. The reconstruction of the affected volumes took several hours, and contributed most to the extended downtime. However, because we were able to reconstruct the volumes with the same drives, we were able to retain all data that had been saved onto the Microwave up to the point of failure. As of 2:00 PM June 27th, the Microwave has been fully restored to the point before failure. Total downtime was just over 23 hours, with the data stores affected nearly 5 Tb in size. Examples of affected services were: home directories, dept drives, web, academic, course and research shared drives, as well as affecting several other services that rely on the shared content from those locations. We thank everyone for their patience with us as we worked through the night to bring file services back online for the community. http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/06/recovery-of-the-microwave-netw.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/06/recovery-of-the-microwave-netw.shtml Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:06:19 -0500 Rebecca had particularly good luck during the conference, winning a bike from the vendor raffle and a video ipod from the NERCOMP raffle. Tina Finneran Acting Manager of Education & Research Consulting]]> http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/03/nercomp-2007-worcester-ma.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/03/nercomp-2007-worcester-ma.shtml Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:50:33 -0500
EDUCAUSE2006 EDUCAUSE CONNECT - Technology In Academia -- Connect @ - EDUCAUSE2006 Podcast: Server Consolidation]]> http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/03/tim-on-server-consolidation-at.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/03/tim-on-server-consolidation-at.shtml Tue, 13 Mar 2007 16:50:55 -0500 Sills 205, 207, 107, 109 and Hubbard 22 will be renovated and a number of other classrooms will have the technology upgraded this summer. The technology is improving but there are still classrooms that have older technology and continue to experience problems. Bowdoin approved an effort by IT to spend the next five years upgrading classroom technology. Along with this effort, projectors and laptops were added to the loaner pool so that faculty could check out this equipment for the semester. This enabled faculty to still use technology in classroom when it was not available. To solve some of the faculty support issues surrounding the older technology in classrooms, Faculty indicated a ten minute response time for classroom emergencies would be acceptable. IT came up with the 5 minute response solution. This solution took the combined support of the Help Desk and AV to make it happen. When a faculty calls the help desk everything is focused on solving their classroom emergency. IT is just beginning its 3rd year of the classroom technology upgrade project. The College recognizes that some classrooms don’t meet faculty or IT performance expectations, but IT is doing everything it can to provide you the support and systems you need to successfully teach your labs and classes. This is not the perfect solution by any means, but it is where Bowdoin is today. Most AV systems are still mechanical in nature. They are going to break, switches won’t work, cables will be taken, equipment will fail, and how we work together to resolve these problems in the heat of the moment says a lot about who we are. Mitch Davis CIO Bowdoin College http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/classrooms-and-support.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/classrooms-and-support.shtml Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:49:15 -0500 Lately I have been hearing from faculty and some staff that IT does not care about Mac people. Some have even said they have given up all hope. This is so far from the truth that I decided to do some investigation into how anyone would begin to think this way. After I did a couple of very quick interviews, it was very clearly my fault. I have one rather annoying habit of thinking that everyone knows what I am thinking even when I haven't clearly communicated this information. I took it for granted that everyone knew that my technology plan included making Mac and OSX as a viable solution at Bowdoin and across all of higher education. I am trying to put together a solution with Apple and VMware on a project with Loyola Marymount to completely replicate our essential business systems on Apple hardware using VMWare ESX 3.0. This would help Apple prove that a campus could cost effectively run its whole operation on Apple hardware and give Bowdoin an amazing Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity solution. I have said to some of you that for the Mac integration to happen the vendors providing the applications to run Bowdoin need a reason. We are one of those reasons. I am sometimes the lone voice in the room speaking at length to Cisco, TimePro, Ceridian, and Blackbaud about how they need to work with Mozilla for them to be competitive in the education market. I have told some of you that it will take time but as the Apple market grows at about 60% each year in higher ed, so will the vendors recognize to be competitive they need to "think differently". Exchange 2007 will be Mozilla compliant by this summer, Ceridian is working to fix its site, TimePro will soon be updated, and Cisco just released a native Mac VoIP client. All of this is part of the plan that I thought was understood. If you trust that I started supporting Apple at Bowdoin because I saw many people who were under served for many years, then I would hope you would know that I am working very hard to make sure that Apple is supported on all applications across the College. It is not going to happen over night. If you are patient and I am diligent everything will work together as planned. Mitch Davis CIO Bowdoin College http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/apple-osx-and-the-message.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/apple-osx-and-the-message.shtml Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:03:58 -0500 IT was approved to do the VoIP project this summer. IT has been in talks with Ericcson, CISCO, PingTel and Avaya for over 12 months. We are getting very close to selecting the right company and vendor to partner with on the project. The goal is to integrate the phone, email, calendaring and wireless into one communications network. In the future, this communications network will tie into all our business and education systems. Mitch Davis CIO Bowdoin College http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/voip-the-first-of-many-message.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/voip-the-first-of-many-message.shtml Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:17 -0500 Both Luree Horgan and Randy Pelliteer have left Bowdoin. Luree wanted to be closer to her family and Randy was looking to expand his role as a DBA. It is sad to see them go. I will really miss Luree and her way making even the most boring of meetings somehow seem humorous. I am sure Randy will not miss my late night weekend calls just to let him know that email was not working. After doing this a number of times, Randy said that he didn't need to install a warning system because he had me :-) I would hope that everyone would join me in wishing them the best of luck. After a comprehensive search this Friday IT hired a new communications manager. Her name is Suzann Stewart and she has recently moved back to Maine with her husband and two children. She has an extensive telecommunications background in both landline and wireless, along with additional experience in project management, public relations and communication. She will be helping IT better shape our messages to the client. The hiring committee: Mitch, Rebecca, Sue, Sarah and Mike Roux were surprised to find someone with Suzann's skills and talents available and living in Brunswick. She starts on March 12. Please stop by her office and say hi. We will be hosting some kind of get together once she is situated. IT will be adding one new person to our staff this July. This new position will report to the Help Desk Manager and will be taking over 50% of Mike Bowden and Steve Blanc responsibilities. This will permit Mike to focus on maintaining the Exchange email and calendaring systems plus provide backup for Tim. He is going to very busy this summer upgrading to Exchange 2007 and updating all his Windows and UNIX certifications over the next two years. Additionally, Steve will become the College's first CISO and boy is he going to be busy. He is already preparing to begin a security analysis of all Bowdoin’s data security processes and do a vulnerability scan of its systems. He will be working with Forrester Research to make this happen. This project will launch the beginning of writing of a Security Strategic Plan that will drive all IT efforts to secure the College and all its data over the next three years. Networking is still looking for a person who will be working with Jason. This search is proving to be very difficult. I am sure the right person is out there. IT is also looking for a UNIX systems admin that has extensive experience maintaining and managing SUN, Red Hat, HPUX, AIX systems and hardware. Additionally, it would be a real plus if they also had similar experience running Windows. If you know anyone who has this kind of experience and they would like to work with us at Bowdoin, please ask them apply. Mitch Davis CIO Bowdoin College http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/it-staffing-changes-at-bowdoin.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/it-staffing-changes-at-bowdoin.shtml Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:41:54 -0500 President George W. Bush signed the energy Policy Act of 2005 in August 2005. This decision moved the date the start date for Daylight Saving Time. Starting in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report back to the Congress about the impact of this move. Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving time Schedule once the DOE study is completed. http://www.ferc.gov/legal/maj-ord-reg/fed-sta/ene-pol-act.asp This year DST will start on March 11 instead of April 1. This could create some unspecified problems with the timing of some Bowdoin systems. Each operating system has or is promising to come out with patches to upgrade the operating systems so they function correctly. Bowdoin has some fairly old systems so there may be some additional problems for any software that has date/time specifications. IT has been testing software patches to make sure that everything still works after they are installed. Everyone in IT is going to be looking for time/date inconsistencies. If anyone happens to notice a time/date problem with one of Bowdoin's systems, please report it to the help desk. Sometimes the fun just never ends! Mitch Davis CIO Bowdoin College http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/daylight-savings-time.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2007/02/daylight-savings-time.shtml Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:35:04 -0500 The arms of the world's tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs, state media and an aquarium official said Thursday. The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province. Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins' stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, the China Daily newspaper reported. Veterinarians then decided to ask for help from Bao Xishun, a 7-feet-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia with 41.7-inch arms, state media said. Bao, 54, was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest living man. Chen Lujun, the manager of the Royal Jidi Ocean World aquarium, told The Associated Press that the shape of the dolphins' stomachs made it difficult to push an instrument very far in without hurting the animals. People with shorter arms could not reach the plastic, he said. "When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday," Chen said. "The two dolphins are in very good condition now."]]> http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/12/common-sense-creative-thinking.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/12/common-sense-creative-thinking.shtml Thu, 14 Dec 2006 18:29:24 -0500 If you didn't know, I am on the Governor's ConnectME Authority and it is charged with locating and possibly funding entrepreneurial companies that could successfully provide broadband Internet access to rural Maine. http://www.maine.gov/connectme/law/index.htm Over the holidays, I visited Axiom in Machias to talk with CEO, Nelson Geel and CFO, Susan Corbett who are already providing broadband Internet access to rural Maine. What I learned was that Axiom is using a variety of DSL, 5.3, 2.4 and 900 Mhz wireless attenna and services to cost-effectively provide broadband Internet access to these unserved or under-served areas. Today 98% of broadband providers are either cable or phone companies. The deployment model used to create and manage those saturation levels is based on building out systems in concentrated communities. Wireless is a cost effective alternative solution that is already bringing these services to rural Maine today. Wireless still requires long haul large capacity connections but the right wireless companies with the skills necessary to build, maintain and service these connections to the last mile is what Maine needs to bring broadband to rural Maine. If there was one book that everyone on the ConnectME authority, the senate, and in the govener's office, it should be the Wealth of Networks, How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom, by Yochai Benkler. This book is a good start to understanding why Maine needs to push forward and provide Broadband access to the whole state of Maine and come to a better understanding of the business and social reasons why this has to be done. Benkler.org wiki http://www.benkler.org/wealth_of_networks/index.php/Main_Page Yale University Press http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=0300110561 Open Business Interview http://www.openbusiness.cc/2006/04/24/the-wealth-of-networks Happy Holidays! Mitch Davis CIO http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/rural-maine-axiom-connectme-au.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/rural-maine-axiom-connectme-au.shtml Mon, 27 Nov 2006 10:03:05 -0500 This measurement tool is part of the IT strategic plan: Change Mgmt Graphic The purpose of IT communications and marketing is to create an understanding and support for a service or product before it is offered. It is also a change management process that prepares a company or client to absorb and quickly benefit from a change. For example, Apple creates new products and change faster than perhaps any other computer company. But Apple creates the demand before the product is launched, and the customers eagerly accept and enjoy this fast-changing process. In fact, many Apple customers get upset when Apple doesn't change fast enough. As a CIO, I want everyone to know that IT is not changing things for the sake of change. The client needs to know that every product or service change was designed to make their jobs easier and the College more successful. The success of any service or system will hang on how invested the clients are in that solution. IT should view any new system or service from the client perspective. We need to see how clients see IT services and technology. Do they think we are credible? Do they trust us? Will they accept us in a leadership or consulting role? If they don't, then it is our responsibility to get them there. IT staff need to see and treat each other as clients. We all need to understand how an IT staff views his/her role in IT and at Bowdoin. Are they excited about working in IT at Bowdoin? Do they think you are credible? Do they trust you? Are they ready to support your efforts to make IT a better more productive division at the College? If they are on the fence or not getting involved then it is everyone's job to bring them along. Currently IT has established some credibility and trust with our clients but there is still work to done. Communication in IT and with the rest of the College requires constant attention. As the technology skills, sophistication and request for services of our clients grow, so must IT staff skills, solutions, systems and knowledge. We are all learning to master the art of living with constant and hopefully beneficial change. Follow these very simple rules and you will be successful in IT at Bowdoin: 1. Every IT decision is made to make the College more successful and the client more productive. 2. Never buy or create technology that does not achieve these two goals. 3. If we need technology that helps IT work better but doesn't provide any noticeable benefit to the client then the client should not feel the change. 4. Build and replace older systems with integrated and optimized solutions so that maintaining them reduces cost and takes less time and effort. 5. Communicate everything clearly and often. The next three years should be very exciting and interesting for everyone at the College and IT. Bowdoin is an amazing place and my hope is that IT has what it takes to be part of that extended effort to make it even better. Mitch Davis CIO ]]> http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/ideas-on-change-and-client-cre.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/ideas-on-change-and-client-cre.shtml Fri, 24 Nov 2006 20:09:06 -0500 1. Exchange will quickly push your email to your phone and synchronize contacts and calendar remotely. 2. The ability to sync with other calendars that are iCal compliant. 3. It is standards based so it supports any IMAP email client like Mac Mail, Thunderbird, and Eudora. 4. It will help Bowdion manage and protect mobile devices through an extensive set of policy enforcement tools. 5. Not perfect but better email SPAM management. 6. Larger mailbox storage options. 7. Clustered servers to provide a more resliant and reliable email and calendar solution for the College. 8. Access your campus email contact list remotely and securely. 9. Migration has been fully tested and we are working with a group that has done this before. 10. It will provide a solution for the students that is better than anything they are using today. Bonus Reason # 11: 11. Exchange and Outlook are integrated into many of the applications that Bowdoin presently uses to run the College. Mitch Davis CIO Bowdoin College http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/top-10-reasons-why-bowdoin-is.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/top-10-reasons-why-bowdoin-is.shtml Fri, 24 Nov 2006 18:02:24 -0500 VPN Documentation for more information. Jason Lavoie Manager of Networking ]]> http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/new-vpn-service.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/new-vpn-service.shtml Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:04:16 -0500 In the summary statement from the reaccreditation committee today (less than one hour), the excellent service from the Teaching Emergency line was specifically mentioned as something the faculty noted. Kudos to the Help Desk and Equipment Services! Tina Finneran Acting Manager of Education & Research Consulting http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/recognition-of-good-service-wi.shtml http://www.bowdoin.edu/it/blog/2006/11/recognition-of-good-service-wi.shtml Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:06:07 -0500