NUIT 2003 Annual Report - Northwestern University Information ...

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Data Center The NUIT Data Center has undergone a tremendous transition during the last six years from a mainframe data center to a facility with 139 enterprise servers and 51 departmental servers, a 16% increase from last year. A number of these servers were replaced during 2003 and converted to a more stable operating system. Throughout 2003, NUIT continued to support University-wide and departmental business critical applications. Production environments are monitored round-the-clock for performance standards, reliability, and availability. Data is protected with nightly backups, and all backup media and important documentation is stored offsite at a state-of-theart facility. The better than 99% uptime experienced in 2003 once again demonstrates the dedication of NUIT staff to providing 24x7 access to information systems. Directory Services NUIT began creating an Enterprise Directory approach to authorize persons for access to various applications. This directory structure will serve a number of purposes for applications within the University network and represents a move away from an outdated system to a worldwide standard. This upgrade will facilitate future growth of directory services that will focus on improved security functions and will be completed by the fall of 2004. 100 80 60 40 20 Firewall service Firewalls are one component of a strategy to combat malicious activities and assaults on computing resources and network-accessible information. NUIT announced comprehensive firewall protection recommendations for departments and schools during 2003. NUIT has recommended that the University adopt a systematic approach to this security issue and is offering an enterprisescale firewall service to meet the needs of the University community. In addition to implementing firewalls on its main servers, NUIT made available to departments and schools a fee-based firewall service that includes installation, management and maintenance services for network firewalls in departments. Since its launch this summer, several schools and administrative departments have expressed interest in signing up for this service. The University will benefit from having vital computers protected in this professionally run environment. Campus infrastructure upgrades Backbone upgrades are an ongoing initiative to keep the University network at the forefront of speed and technology and enabling deployment of next-generation applications. They allow NUIT to offer new services and advanced applications, schools and departments to communicate more quickly, and faculty, staff and students to enjoy improvements in reliability and bandwidth. Continuing network improvements include a new gigabit Ethernet Evanston-Chicago link which replaces existing circuits and provides approximately ten times the current bandwidth. With the completion of the latest upgrades, NUIT is in a position to proceed with converging voice, video and data networks for the institution. 0 2002 2003 Central Server Uptime (Percent) 16 Security Initiatives
Partnerships allow the Information Technology division to explore emerging technologies and create innovative solutions for Northwestern University. PARTNERSHIPS 17
Page 1 and 2: N O R T H W E S T E R N U N I V E R
Page 3 and 4: We support the Northwestern Univers
Page 5 and 6: The dynamic nature of information t
Page 7 and 8: Smart Classroom Upgrades As faculty
Page 9 and 10: Knowledge management tools and serv
Page 11 and 12: NUIT is committed to providing the
Page 13 and 14: Maintaining and enhancing the campu
Page 15: A comprehensive approach is vital t
Page 19 and 20: iGRID - An International Grid for g
Page 21 and 22: The International Center for Advanc
Page 23 and 24: COMMITTEES 23
Page 25 and 26: Technology Officer, to address spec
Page 27 and 28: Morteza Rahimi Vice President and C

NUIT 2003 Annual Report - Northwestern University Information ...

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