March 2007 IT News

Campus Backbone Network Assessment to Change

The funding model for the Campus Backbone Network (CBN) is changing. Currently the CBN charges are assessed based on the number of telephone sets billed in March 2005. Starting in July 2007, the CBN charges will be billed based in part on the number of employees in a department (FTE, or Full-Time Equivalent). This will occur over a two year period.

Current CBN Allocation: 100% based on number of telephone lines.
FY2008 CBN Allocation: 50% based on telephone lines, 50% based on FTE employees.
FY2009 CBN Allocation: 100% based on FTE employees.

Why change?

Because of cellular telephones, voice over IP, and other factors, the telephone industry is volatile. This volatility makes it difficult to guarantee adequate funding for the Campus Backbone Network, which is the infrastructure that connects your department’s computers to the rest of campus and to the Internet. This resource has become critical to the mission and operation of the University. This change will ensure that the network will meet current and future demand for network bandwidth.

Until now, telephone charges have been confusing and artificially high. Separating the network charge from telephones will allow a department to understand its true telephone costs, apart from what it pays for the Campus Backbone Network. Understanding the true cost of telephone service will enable you to pursue the best telephone solutions for your organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this an additional charge on my phone bill? No. While the "Backbone Network" charge already appears as a separate item on your telephone bill, the amount will likely change beginning on your July 2007 billing.

Will my total bill increase or decrease? This varies depending on your current ratio of telephones to FTE employees. For a specific answer for your department, please contact Michelle Foulger at 1-5520.

Are telephone rates changing? No.

For More Information

This charge will be posted on your monthly telephone bills as "Backbone Network." For department contacts who have registered to use the CMS Portal, you can see your bill at https://cms.netcom.utah.edu/cms/app/web/dept/maindept.login.pshtml. If you have specific Backbone questions, call Michelle Foulger directly at 1-5520.

New Campus IT Strategic Plan initiatives

In its February ITC Meeting, the Information Technology Council approved amendments to the Campus IT Strategic Plan. The amendments focus in 4 specific areas.

Permanent Data Center Planning

The campus is close to exhausting the space necessary for the secure and reliable operation of computers. The Campus Data Center in Research Park was full almost as soon as it opened. IT staff members have been working to reclaim and recondition existing space, but this is a short term solution. The campus Cyber-infrastructure committee report says that campus should, “Initiate the planning process for fund raising, design and construction of a state-of-the-art data center, with the goal of having the facility operational in less than four years.” The campus master plan now includes a new, 100,000 square foot data center. While the primary focus is on research computing, the proposed center will also house academic, health care, and administrative computing systems.

Unification of Authentication Directories/Identity Management

The scope of this project is to architect and redesign University systems that store information about individuals on campus. These systems support uNID authentication, provide information for "telephone" directory lookups, and store information about what applications users can access. The primary results of this initiative will be better password management, automatic and timely enabling of IT services for new students and employees, and automatic and immediate disabling of services for departing students and employees. The service provisioning capability reaches beyond the ability to log on to new services; the system will know enough about your role at the University to automatically grant access to services and applications that are required for you to do your job. Other benefits of this project will be improved directory look-up functionality, individualized delivery of portal and web information, and a foundation for implementing technology driven business processes.

Campus Portal Services – Workplace Architecture

This initiative is focused on delivering personalized information and services to faculty, staff, and students, based on their specific roles. This project will attempt to simplify access to services by bringing various information sources together into one customized user interface. The focus of this effort is not on the technology. The idea is that you should expect easy access to the information and services that you want, not the ones that IT groups think you want.

Data Warehouse/Data Mart Functions

Data Warehouses and Data Marts are authoritative sources of accurate and up-to-date institutional data. An ITC sub-committee will focus on studying various philosophies and system architectures. The committee is expected to recommend the most efficient ways to make information and data available to support business decision making, to improve business processes, to generate various reports, and to facilitate other data-intensive functions.

The full, updated Campus IT Strategic Plan dated February 2007 can be found at www.it.utah.edu/leadership/policies/FY2007_Campus_Strategic_Plan.pdf.

Peer to peer (P2P) file sharing issues

Peer-2-peer sharing of copyrighted media continues to be an issue at the U. The Office of Information Technology has seen a marked increase in industry complaints since the beginning of 2007, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has initiated a new wave of legal action for copyright infringement using peer-to-peer technologies. A recent letter sent to University presidents from the RIAA can be viewed at http://tk.publicaster.com/DC/ctr.aspx?lad=gySNQq3VXY4=&sbr=1692&typ=ht&f=0.

On March 2nd, VP for Student Affairs, Barb Snyder, sent an email message to all students with information on sharing copyrighted files and a request for responsible behavior. Posters with information on P2P consequences have been placed in student areas, particularly those where P2P sharing may occur. It is the hope of the Office of Information Technology that these warnings will reduce future violations and subsequent litigation.