Accomplishments
UVic connects to the outside world through BCNET, the provider of Internet and high-performance research networks for the higher education community in B.C. When recent successes caused BCNET to outgrow its facilities in downtown Victoria, the university’s Enterprise Data Centre (EDC2) was chosen as the new location for the VicTX (Victoria Transit Exchange: network hub for the Capital Region). Months of detailed planning culminated in a very busy week in mid-July when the core BCNET Engineering Team from Vancouver joined forces with UVic Network Services staff to migrate the facility onto campus. After several long days and much hard work, the VicTX is now successfully operating out of EDC2. One final bit of work is required to complete the migration – in late August, CANARIE (provider of Canada’s national high-performance research network backbone) will move their gear to EDC2 from downtown. Congratulations and a big thanks to Marilyn Hay and Jane Godfrey (managers, respectively, of the BCNET Engineering and Network Services teams) for ensuring B.C higher-ed continues to enjoy world class network connectivity.
A new “Personal and account profile” page was launched within the MyPage portal as a deliverable of PC0612-Contact Update Prompts. This new page makes it much easer for students, faculty and staff to manage their personal information, including preferred name, address, email address, phone number, emergency contacts, login passphrase and online waivers. The primary goal with this new page is to improve the accuracy of contact information, to ensure that the University is reliably able to contact individuals with important information, or in the event of an emergency.
Personal and account profile screen shot. Screen shot credit: Dave Wolowicz
The protection of confidential and highly confidential information is very important to the University. Therefore, we have introduced a new set of procedures and tools that removes Social Insurance Numbers (SINs) for inactive students and employees from our Banner Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, while still ensuring that we can meet our statutory requirements and are able to serve these individuals should they chose to return to the University at a later date. This work is the key deliverable of PC0545-Social Insurance Numbers in Banner.
Around Campus
Summer preventative maintenance in all academic teaching classrooms is underway. This round includes a top-to-bottom test of every device in every classroom to proactively find and resolve hardware problems before September classes begin. Client Technologies also upgraded 7 classrooms with High Definition digital teaching technologies and began the implementation and programming for a large lecture theatre upgrade. There are more than 200 classrooms on campus including large lecture theatres!
We started work to refresh the SEOS student computing lab and their student use fleet of laptops. This includes developing a new Windows 10 image (was Windows 7) and switching to the SCCM deployment system (was Symantec Ghost).
We produced a short video to be shown during a School of Business graduation event, to recruit students for the Master of Global Business Program at the Sardul S. Gill Graduate School of Business.
Client Technologies used SCCM to deploy an updated version of Java to >2600 workstations and Adobe Reader to >600 workstations. Furthermore, Symantec Endpoint Protection was used to update SEP on >4100 workstations. These processes are demonstrating large reductions in the time support staff would have had to expend if manual deployment had to occur.
Systems Policies
The PCard Policy was approved and posted to the Systems Connect site.
Project Management Office
Our Project Managers were busy writing Closeout Reports in July. We closed 14 projects including Jason Castor’s PC0478-Testing Infrastructure Enhancement Phase 1, John Foxgord’s PC0509-Netdrive Replacement Expansion, and Marc Thoma’s PC0602-Network Traffic Analysis Technology Upgrade.
Training and Conferences
Have you recently attended a training session or conference? If so, you’re encouraged to contact Kristen Ficke about sharing what you learned through the Lunch and Learn series! Kristen can be contacted at kficke@uvic.ca.