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Annual Report 2003-2004

PrincetonUniversity

2003-2004 Annual Report Page 1

Office of Information Technology

Annual Report 2003-2004PrincetonUniversity

Page 2 Office of Information Technology

Produced by the staff of the Office of Information Technology.Office of Information Technology, 315 Nassau Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.Copyright © 2004, Office of Information Technology, Princeton University. All rights reserved.Printed by the Office of Printing and Mailing, Princeton University.


Table of Contents

Letter from the Vice President ................................................................................ 5

OIT Mission and Goals .......................................................................................... 7

FY04 OIT Timeline .................................................................................................. 8

OIT by the Numbers, FY04 .................................................................................... 12

OIT Organization .................................................................................................... 13

IT Decision-Making Process Map ........................................................................ 14

Senior Advisory Group on IT ................................................................................ 15

Administrative Systems Planning Group .............................................................. 16

Project Managers Team ......................................................................................... 17

Committee on Academic Technology .................................................................... 18

Research Computing Advisory Group .................................................................. 20

Desktop Systems Council ...................................................................................... 22

Ambassador Program ............................................................................................. 24

Academic Services ................................................................................................. 26

Administrative Information Services .................................................................... 32

Enterprise Infrastructure Services ........................................................................ 36

Finance, Administration and Planning .................................................................. 41

Support Services .................................................................................................... 44

OIT in the News ..................................................................................................... 51


Letter from the Vice President

Three and a half years ago I joined the Princeton University community. Since that timeI have had a chance to work with, and among, a unique community of people. I havebeen given the rare opportunity to oversee an organization as it is changing andevolving to meet the needs of the greater community it serves, while striving to create awork environment that supports the strengths of its individual members. This annualreport for FY04, OIT’s third full year, summarizes and celebrates our continuing effortsto support the University’s information technology needs. Among the variousachievements of this past year I would like to highlight a few of those that can be foundwithin the pages of this report.

At the beginning of the academic year, OIT opened the OIT Solutions Center in arepurposed OIT space on the main floor of the Frist Campus Center. With the goal ofmoving customer support closer to our customers, the Solutions Center providesgeneral computing support, hardware repair, account management, telephony services,software sales, and support for the Blackboard course management system. During itsfirst year, more than 8,000 customers were helped in the software clinic and customerspurchased more than 700 software packages.

In the area of academic services, we renewed our license for the Blackboard CourseManagement System (CMS). The new license includes a “content system” which meetsa long-standing need in the area of content distribution and re-use. The content systemfacilitates the uploading of large numbers of documents into course web sites andprovides space for sharing documents among faculty and students.

In the area of administrative services, this fall, for the first time, the entireundergraduate admission application is available via the web. In addition, during FY05,PeopleSoft Student Administration for undergraduate students will replace the existinglegacy-based Student Records system. The completion of this implementation insummer 2005 will create a unified data and computing environment for the primaryadministrative system functions across the campus including, human resources,financial systems and undergraduate and graduate student records management.

In the area of infrastructure services, this past year, OIT began implementing anIntrusion Prevention system that will serve as a “first line of defense” for attacksagainst campus desktop and server computers. At the same time, OIT is expandingsupport for departmental firewalls to provide secondary protection that will coordinatewith core University firewalls. Swift action by OIT staff this fall also held off atremendous volume of incoming “SoBig” viruses, which threatened to overwhelm theUniversity’s e-mail systems. Following this event, OIT implemented tools to combatviruses that check for updates on an hourly basis. During FY04, the antivirus systemused to protect e-mail messages from viruses and worms removed more than 2,330,000virus/worm-laden messages.

In the area of OIT administration and planning, important strides have been made thisyear to improve OIT’s organizational effectiveness. A set of core values was identifiedfor the organization in order to help staff work more effectively with OIT colleagues andwith our customers. Our expanded use of the Princeton Project ManagementMethodology (PPMM) has proved to be a tremendous success, and our post-project


reviews have helped us to learn from our successes and challenges. An OIT “DoingMore with Less” task force has identified opportunities to save money, to increaserevenue streams for new and/or premium services, and to streamline processes.

In these pages, we have tried to capture the breadth and diversity of our ITinitiatives, and to highlight both our accomplishments and future efforts. I remaingrateful to OIT’s staff, a group of technically proficient individuals who are dedicatedto providing the best possible support for information technology at Princeton.

Betty LeydonVice President for Information Technologyand Chief Information Officer


OIT Mission and Goals

The mission of OIT is to enable the effective use of information technology insupport of the University. In pursuit of this mission, OIT’s goals are to

• Deliver information technology products and services that meet the needs ofthe University community and achieve the highest levels of customersatisfaction;

• Support the use and development of information technology to enableinnovation in teaching, learning, research, and scholarship;

• Provide leadership in planning for the effective use of technology;

• Provide a robust, reliable, and secure information technology infrastructure;

• Attract, develop, and retain quality information technology professionals;

• Enable communication and collaboration among information technologyprofessionals and users of information technology at the University.


FY04 OIT Timeline

July 2003

As part of a multi-year campusnetwork wiring upgrade project, OITupgrades the network wiring andelectronics within the EngineeringQuad, Dickinson Hall, and McCormickHall, and 100 new data cables areadded in the Lewis-Sigler Institute.OIT also extends the network to theresidences at the Butler and the newLawrence Apartments.

In the COFHE survey of Princetonseniors, information technology onceagain rates highly, placing secondamong all University services.

A new online purchasing site for theStudent Computing Initiative expandsoptions for students and eases theordering procedures.

Apple donates fifteen Macintoshcomputers for use in the Frist StudentCenter as information kiosks.

OIT acquires a 32-node Beowulfcomputing cluster in June 2003,providing high-performancecomputing cycles for teaching,prototyping, and research.

OIT installs a new version of thePeopleSoft Human ResourcesManagement and StudentAdministration Systems. The changeoffers significant new functionalityfor users of the Human ResourcesManagement System, the CourseInformation System (CIS), GraduateAdmission, and Graduate StudentRecords.

OIT deploys an online business cardordering application on the newPrinting and Mailing website. Thenew system simplifies the orderingprocess for the standardized carddesigned by the Office ofCommunications.

Hardware Support establisheswireless computing zones in theCenter for Jewish Life, Bowen Hall, 5Ivy Lane, Colonial Club, Wu andWilcox Halls, Forbes College, 1879Hall, Marx Hall, Firestone Library, andProspect House.

August 2003

In the most significant increase ofcentral campus computing support inthe past decade, OIT opens the OITSolutions Center in a repurposedspace on the main floor of the FristCampus Center. The Solutions Centerprovides general computing support,hardware repair, account management,telephony services, software sales,and support for the Blackboardcourse management system. Duringits first year, more than 8,000customers are helped in the softwareclinic and customers purchaseapproximately 700 packages ofsoftware.

In preparation for the start of the2003-2004 school year, OIT upgrades66 PCs, 21 iMacs, and 9 printers incomputer cluster locations.

OIT successfully upgrades theBlackboard course managementsystem and assists faculty in creatingmore than 500 course web sites forthe fall semester.

With the approval of the Treasurer’sOffice, the DeSC program adds aspecial fee to the price of adminis-trative computers and uses theadditional revenue to purchasesoftware that can be shared by allDeSC computers through a central“key server.”

ETC releases Game Theory, a newcourse module that reflects ProfessorAvenash Dixit’s popular textbook,Games of Strategy. Drawing uponvideo interviews with Princetonfaculty, including John Nash *50, theonline course offers observations onreal-world applications and onPrinceton’s role in the discipline.

OIT begins a migration from Netscapeto Internet Explorer, a web browserthat is more reliable and morecompatible with existing applications.

An all-OIT presentation focuses onorganizational strengths, results of anOIT Manager survey, a realignment ofthe organization, and the goals forFY2004.

September 2003

To help protect the Universitycomputing environment, the OITHelp Desk creates a CD that patchesinfected Windows computers. OITdistributes more than 4,000 of theseCD’s at all undergraduate andgraduate registration events, atspecial outposts in the ResidentialColleges, and at the OIT SolutionsCenter.

Thirty-two students begin work asResidential Computing Consultants(RCC’s) to provide network andcomputing support for students inthe dormitories.. The RCC’s assistOIT activities at the Frist CampusCenter during the start-up of theacademic year and provide helpsessions at every residential collegeduring the first week of classes.

The first issue of OIT’s newsletter itmatters for the academic year focuseson Research Computing, the NewMedia Center, and tips for faculty.

The Lunch ’n Learn series beginswith the presentation PersonalComputer Security.

Following a serious Labor Day poweroutage, the University acquiresadditional UPS capacity. Newprocedures notify staff promptlyduring outages and automate theorderly shutdown of the more than300 units in the machine room.

OIT adds two new Cross FunctionalTeams: Video Coordination and ITPolicy and Security.

OIT adds technical forums to itsexpanding Blackboard site.

The Student Computer Initiativeprogram sells a total of 1,493machines: 1067 Dell PCs and 221Apple computers.


October 2003

OIT begins training classes forMicrosoft Office, including hands-onclasses for experienced Word, Excel,and PowerPoint users.

IT training workshops for facultyand students include Digital ImageEditing: Photoshop as a CreativeTool; Creative Web Design usingDreamweaver and Fireworks;Managing Your Dissertation withWord; and an Introduction to HTML.

OIT distributes an Academic ServicesBrochure that describes academiccomputing services available tofaculty and students.

The online undergraduate admissionsapplication goes live.

OIT begins the re-architecting of theLoans and Receivables system, aphased project expected to take fouryears.

Classics Professor Christian Wildbergexamines classical inscriptions onUniversity structures in PrincetonEpigraphy: Classical Inscriptions onCampus, a new release from the ETC.For this courseware, the campusinscriptions are photographed,translated, and placed within a widerhistorical context.

Lunch ’n Learn sessions include:Searching the Web Effectively withGoogle; Customizing yourBlackboard site; Image Databases;and Building PDF forms.

A new OIT training web site includesa comprehensive view of all ITtraining opportunities and integratesa much improved registration process.A new web site consolidates andpermits easy searching of all userdocumentation for the administrativesystems and the other businessapplications implemented acrosscampus.

November 2003

OIT opens a new Language ResourceCenter in the Andlinger HumanitiesCenter (basement of East Pyne). Thisstate-of-the-art facility will help sustainthe University’s preeminence in foreignlanguage instruction. The facilityincludes a language laboratory, twovideo viewing rooms, and an electronicclassroom.

In partnership with the ResearchComputing Advisory Group (RCAG)and Computing in Academic &Research Computing (CARD), OITintroduces the Princeton SoftwareRepository. This new online facilitymakes available third-party softwarepackages that have been built andconfigured to work in the University’sSolaris 9 and Red Hat Linux computingenvironments.

The first meeting of the HumanitiesComputing Advisory Group considersplans for academic technologystrategic planning.

The Lunch ’n Learn series continueswith: Teaching with the Internet,Blogging; and Text, Audio, and VideoReserves.

OIT Telecommunications upgradesthe Private Branch Exchange (PBX)equipment telephony server, in orderto enhance reliability and introducenew telephone capabilities.

OIT expands the CONDOR pool ofcomputing cycles used for researchprojects with the addition of 250Windows workstations. Condor is apublic computing service that uses acomputing pool made up of a numberof OIT computers by making use ofidle processor time to performcomputations.

OIT installs a major new release ofthe Resource/Schedule25 event andcourse scheduling software, andupgrades the SEVIS system, whichmaintains contact and addressinformation required by governmentagencies for the 2,128 foreign studentsand faculty who reside at Princeton.

OIT begins to provide training for theusers of the new PeopleSoft GraduateAdmissions system.

December 2003

To safeguard University computersfrom a growing number of computerviruses, OIT implements Microsoft’sSoftware Update Service. Softwareupdates from Microsoft are nowautomatically sent to a Universityserver which in turn distributes themthroughout the campus. The servicesafeguards all DeSC machines, as wellas those in departments thatsubscribe.

ETC announces a new coursewareoffering, Unwilling Moderns: TheNazarene Artists. Emeritus ProfessorLionel Gossman of the Department ofRomance Languages and Literaturesexplores the goals, motivations, andachievements of the so-called“Nazarene” artists of the earlynineteenth century and offers histhoughts on how they came to besidelined in the narrative of thehistory of art.

To improve and secure theUniversity’s backup and restoreservice, OIT streamlines theregistration process and encrypts allcommunication with the server.

Following a careful review, OITrecommends that the Universityobtain a three-year license renewal ofthe Blackboard course managementsystem. SAGIT reviews and approvesthe recommendation. As a result, theUniversity is licensed to use theBlackboard product through FY2007.

The latest OIT Help Desk video,“Research Reloaded,” prepared as ajoint project between the Library andOIT, highlights research resourcesavailable for students at FirestoneLibrary.

OIT increases the default Unix quotato 40MB for all faculty, staff, andstudents. Requests for increases upto 100MB will also be accepted.


January 2004

The Lunch ’n Learn seminars featureProject Management and TechnologyTools for Academic Writers

A Web Content Managementselection team begins work on theevaluation of products that willhelp organize and structure thedevelopment and maintenance ofUniversity web pages and webcontent.

New procedures allow OIT to improveits ability to block internet viruses.During the year, the antivirus systemused to protect e-mail messages fromviruses and worms removes morethan 2,330,000 messages containingviruses/worms.

OIT announces a significantimprovement to the Faculty ComputerProgram. The change formalizes theeligibility of instructors and seniorlecturers and changes the eligibilityof non-tenured faculty from onecomputer during the tenure cycle toa regular four-year cycle.

A new brochure, “Distributed LinuxSupport” outlines supplementalsupport for Linux. A queue within theHelp Desk’s problem resolutionsystem will assist volunteers fromboth OIT and the campus Linuxcommunity system in tracking andresolving Linux questions.

OIT stabilizes the Labor Accountingsystem on a single version that meetsthe needs of all campus users. Theconsolidation simplifies maintenanceand support of the system and offerssignificant new functionality and amajor improvement in reliability.

OIT completes two new initiatives forHuman Resources. The HR SolutionCenter helps to manage and track allsupport requests and simplifies alarge set of functions within thedepartment. eProfile, a self-servicefacility, permits faculty and staff toview and update demographic datastored in the PeopleSoft system.

February 2004

Lunch ’n Learn seminars include:Copyright and Copywrong: Fair Usefor Educators and Researchers andThe New Media Center: ProvidingDigital Answers to the Analog World.

An upgrade to the Stripes AlumniDevelopment system involves anupgrade to the software, a change inthe development language, and adatabase platform change fromSybase to Oracle. Following theupgrade, 51,842 gifts, 4,438 pledges,2,952 matching gifts, 19,460 newsolicitation plans, and 77,018 new ormodified addresses are entered intothe system.

OIT Academic Services announcesthe availability of a new database ofacademic IT web resources for facultywho engage in online teaching andlearning activities. The database haslinks to more than 80 web sitesoffering information and tools in mostacademic disciplines.

The February issue of it mattersprovides tips on dealing with virusesand help in accessing networkresources from off-campus.

OIT improves the reliability of theExchange e-mail infrastructure byinstalling an additional server withspecial software to facilitate datareplication. By the end of the year,more than 950 customers are usingthe Exchange service.

The OnBase Document ImagingSystem allows departments to storedocuments electronically. Workingin partnership with the Treasurer’sOffice, OIT upgrades the OnBaseapplication to a more robust platform.All OnBase applications are migratedto the new environment andenhanced backup/restore proceduresare implemented.

OIT enhances the BlackBoard CourseManagement System by adding a newsearch feature and a tool that allowsstudents to add content more easily.

March 2004

To align OIT staff and serviceswith customer needs, OIT createsthree new OIT groups: DesktopApplication Services, Educationand Outreach Services, and OITCommunications Services.

OIT doubles the available Internet2bandwidth in response to theincreasing number or researchers forwhom high performance computing iscritical.

OIT purchases Microsoft’s PremierSupport for its core software productsand Symantec’s Platinum support foranti-virus products. These servicesprovide increased access to technicalresources and faster on-siteassistance.

New functionality to the online toolResource and Schedule 25 allowsmembers of the campus community tosearch for and reserve appropriateclassroom and teaching areas.

Lunch ’n Learn topics are: The DataWarehouse, Searching the Webeffectively with Google and PDAsand other small devices.

New custom processes for GraduateReadmission “go live.” 1,971 graduatestudents use this self-service systemto submit their readmissionapplications.

As part of a disaster recovery plan,OIT installs high-speed AT&Tconnectivity to New South, movesredundant critical servers to thatlocation, and completes the creationof a campus ring network.

OIT launches a project to create acomprehensive Princeton DataWarehouse to replace the currentseries of Data Stores in the Data Mall.The Princeton Data Warehouse willserve as the University’s primaryreporting environment foradministrative information.


April 2004

The University successfullyrenegotiates its Oracle databaselicense. Starting July 1, 2004,University departments will be ableto use the Oracle database enginecampus-wide with any applicationfor any number of users, withoutlimitation. The new agreement alsosupports off-campus users who wantto use the University’s Oracle-basedapplications via the Web.

A “Virus Summit” results in twoadditional steps to combat viruses:scanning for machines that are notfully password protected andverifying that all machines haveNorton AntiVirus properly installed.

OIT creates a peer-nominated OITAchievement Award that carries withit a $1,000 cash bonus. Awards willbe given to OIT staff whose effortshave contributed significantly to thesuccess of their departments and OIT.

Thirty-six OIT children attend TakeYour Children to Work Day.

Lunch ’n Learn talks areFubswrjudskb Ghfubswhg, or,Cryptography Decrypted;WebMedia: Streaming Multimedia toPrinceton and Beyond; and WirelessComputing at Princeton.

it matters focuses upon accessinglibrary resources and new ways tosearch for books.

OIT Training classes includePeopleSoft Financials, WebMedia,Dreamweaver, Access, and OutlookE-mail.

OIT continues to resolve copyrightinfringement complaints filed with theUniversity, receiving more this month(212) than in all last year (187).

May 2004

The University selects Cognos asthe standard Enterprise ReportingTool for the University’sadministrative applications. Thisflexible and powerful web-basedreport development and presentationtool will replace up to eight reportingtools and will be the standard for theDataMall, all of the University’scustom administrative applications,and PeopleSoft.

OIT pushes critical software patchesto undergraduates who log into thePrinceton network. The USG stronglysupports the initiative. Within first 24hours, 2,000 computers are patched.

Following an extensive selectionprocess, a University-wide teamunanimously selects the RoxenContent Management System. TheUniversity will use Roxen to redesignits core web site with a targeted “golive” date of fall 2004.

The Lunch ’n Learn series spotlightsGeographical Information Systems.

The University hosts theAdministrative Information Servicesgroups from the Ivy+ universities.AIS representatives from Brown,Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth,Duke, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, theUniversity of Chicago, the Universityof Pennsylvania, and Yale convenedon campus for three days ofdiscussions and presentations.

The OIT Software Coordination Teamcompletes the PC migration fromNetscape to Outlook.

OIT upgrades PeopleSoft Financialsfrom client/server version 7.5 to web-based version 8.4. The web-basedarchitecture of the new releaseprovides far more flexibility, enhancedfunctionality, and a much improveduser interface.

June 2004

OIT and Princeton host ResNet 2004,an international symposium forprofessionals who provide computingand information technology supportfor students in higher education.Professor Ed Felten gives the openingaddress, “The Future of File Sharing.”More than 300 computingprofessionals from 152 collegesand universities around the worldparticipate in 48 presentations.

OIT forms a task force to identifyopportunities to reduce OIToperating expenses for FY06 andbeyond. The “Doing More withLess” Task Force reaches out toeach OIT department for cost-saving and revenue-generatingideas, as well as opportunities tostreamline processes. The group willconsolidate the suggestions andsubmit a report in early FY05.

OIT initiates a Core Valuesdevelopment process, facilitated bythe University Ombuds Office.

A new account management pagesupports “one stop shopping” forall personal data updates. The webpage links to appropriate systems forupdating (e.g., SCORE, eProfile) andwill improve the accuracy of theCampus Community system, whichgenerates both the UniversityDirectory and Register.

The University’s popular TSMBackup and Restore Service backs upnearly 100 Terabytes of data duringthe academic year.


OIT by the Numbers, FY04

Unlimited Concurrent users permitted under the University’s new Oracle database license100,000,000,000,000 Bytes of data on the 8,000 machines backed up by the University’s TSM service

35,000,000 Hits from 450,000 unique IP addresses to the OIT Knowledge Base20,350,125 Total telephone calls with a system reliability of 99.9998%16,500,000 Copies on University photocopy machines

6,563,648 Pages printed in the public computer clusters2,330,000 Viruses and worms removed from University e-mail

712,724 Logins to 370 computers available to students in campus computer clusters500,000 E-mail messages processed on average every day400,000 CPU hours utilized in the new Beowulf high-performance computing cluster225,000 Impressions per month through Printing’s all-digital, on-demand network153,722 Payroll checks processed

52,994 Phone inquiries and 24,902 e-mail inquiries to the OIT Help Desk51,842 Gifts to the University processed in the Stripes Alumni Development system22,577 Campus network connections15,000 ID Cards with proximity chips and magnetic strips created and distributed13,000 Voice mailboxes set up for individuals11,590 W2s forms processed by the new version of the PeopleSoft HR system9,574 Mobile IP addresses (including wireless access)8,248 Academic and administrative phone lines managed7,952 Visits to the new OIT Solutions Center7,246 Visits during the spring semester to the new Language Resource Center4,000 CDs distributed to patch infected Windows computers3,698 Customers using OIT’s Spam filtering service2,964 AV jobs undertaken by Media Services2,750 Videos in the University’s video collection2,453 Participants in 256 Training courses2,391 Visits to the New Media Center (up from 1,047 last year)2,149 Work orders processed for telephone work and voice mailboxes1,971 Graduates students using the new Graduate Readmission self-service system1,493 Computers sold to students through the Student Computer Initiative1,390 Videos placed on reserve by faculty1,388 Requests for assistance handled by 32 Residential Computing Consultants1,211 Dormnet video connections installed1,121 Registered network-attached printers

950 Subscribers to the Exchange 2000 integrated e-mail and calendaring service860 Job streams scheduled weekly by the Tivoli Workload Scheduler300 Servers maintained in the OIT Machine Room174 Unix machines monitored by the Tivoli system monitoring software136 Classes using the OIT Video server130 Database applications administrated by OIT128 Employee recognition awards distributed46 OIT projects using Princeton project methodology to manage activities46 Children participating in OIT’s first “Take your Children to Work Day”22 OIT employees certified in CPR/First Aid16 iMACs donated by Apple for use as Kiosks in the Frist Campus Center

6 Peer recognition awards presented2 OIT CIO Awards to honor outstanding service to OIT and Princeton2 Special editions of it matters on passwords and common campus desktop applications1 Telephone number to call (258-HELP) for OIT support


Betty LeydonVice President for Information

Technology & CIO

Nancy CostaAssociate CIO & Director,

Finance, Admin. & Planning

Daniel OberstDirector, Enterprise

Infrastructure Services

Colin CurrieDirector,

Administrative Information Services

Steven SatherAssociate CIO & Director,

Support Services

Serge GoldsteinDirector,

Academic Services

Rafael AlvaradoHumanities Computing

Research Support

Curt HillegasResearch & Academic Applications Support

David HopkinsNew Media Center

Don AlburyMedia Services

Marianne CrusiusLanguage

Resource Center

Janet TemosEducational

Technologies Center

David HerringtonDesktop Application

Services

Kim HoeritzStudent Systems

Ted BrossData Warehousing

and Integration

Patty GertzCustom

Software Solutions

Russell WellsPackaged

Software Solutions

Janice GuarnieriTraining

Laura StricklerProcess Improvement

Hetty BaizProject Office

Jon EdwardsCommunications

Specialist

Andy RosenauHuman Resources &

Administration

Chuck AugustineSystems & Data Mgmt. Services

Lee VarianIT Architecture

Donna TatroCollaboration &

Systems Services

Frank FerraraTelecommunications

Leila ShahbenderStudent Computing

Services

Rebecca GoodmanSoftware Services

Rita SaltzIT Policy

Peter OlenickNetworking

Jen WhitingCustomer Service

Evelyne RoachDistributed Computing

Support

Dave MorrealeDesktop Support

Leah TargonExecutive Assistant


Revised 10/7/2004

Lorene LavoraEducation &

Outreach Services

Andy RosenauAssistant to the Vice President

for Special Projects

Shane FarrellBudget & Finance


IT Governance Model

Academic ManagersGroup(AMG)

AdministrativeDepartments

DeSc

Senior AdvisoryGroup on IT

(SAGIT)

Project ManagersTeam(PMT)

Committee onAcademic Technology

(CAT)

Administrative SystemsPlanning Group

(ASPG)

Faculty Committeeon the Library & Computing

(FCLC)

Research ComputingAdvisory Group

(RCAG)

Provost


Senior Advisory Group on IT

The Senior Advisory Group on IT (SAGIT), advises the Provost on administrativesystems projects that have been endorsed by the Administrative Systems PlanningGroup (ASPG). SAGIT’s specific charge is to:

• Evaluate administrative systems project proposals that require one-timefunding and recommend appropriate funding;

• Assess steady-state costs of maintaining current administrative systems;• Identify administrative systems opportunities that should be evaluated;• Advise the Provost at any given time regarding projects that are worth

funding.

During FY04, members of SAGIT were:

Amy Gutmann, Provost (Chair)David Dobkin, Dean of the FacultyLaurel Harvey for the Senior Vice President for AdministrationBetty Leydon, Vice President for Information Technology and CIOJed Marsh, Vice Provost for Institutional ResearchChris McCrudden, Treasurer

Highlights

During FY04, to support the IT decision-making process, the Provost broadened thepurview of SAGIT and ASPG from a focus upon administrative systems to includeacademic systems and IT infrastructure initiatives. During the year under review,SAGIT funded seven major projects that were reviewed and endorsed by the ASPG:

• Human Resources initiatives, including the implementation of PeopleSofteProfile, PeopleSoft Case Management/Knowledgebase, PeopleAdminRecruiting, new Leave Accrual processing, and the redesign of the HR website.

• A three-year extension for the Blackboard course management system.• Re-initiation and implementation of PeopleSoft Student Records.• Implementation of PeopleSoft Admissions for Undergraduates, including

an expansion of the Princeton online application and the addition of theCommon Application.

• Implementation of the T2 parking system.• Implementation of the Cognos suite of business intelligence tools.• Implementation of a web content management system and the redesign of

the Princeton University core web site.


Administrative Systems Planning Group

The Administrative Systems Planning Group (ASPG) critically assesses alladministrative systems efforts, determines existing needs, and identifies keyopportunities to leverage our administrative systems investments. The specificcharge of this group is to:

• Evaluate the University’s current administrative systems to identifygaps, needs, and opportunities;

• Recommend the appropriate distribution of resources for newmaintenance, upgrades, and development efforts that will enhance theUniversity’s administrative systems;

• Ensure that the University’s administrative systems meet the needs offaculty, staff, and students;

• Endorse project proposals requiring funding and pass them to theSenior Advisory Group on IT (SAGIT) for further review.

During FY04, members of the ASPG were:

Greg Bressler, Director of Facilities Administrative ServicesJanet Dickerson, Vice President for Campus LifeKathleen DiMeglio, representing the Academic Managers GroupJoe Greenberg, RegistrarBen Hammond, Manager for Administrative ServicesKaren Jezierny for Bob Durkee, Vice President and SecretaryNancy Malkiel, Dean of the CollegeJed Marsh, Vice Provost for Institutional ResearchChris McCrudden, TreasurerMike McKay, Vice President for FacilitiesJulie Shadle for Brian McDonald, Vice President for DevelopmentSandra Mawhinney for Bill Russel, Dean of the Graduate SchoolKris Miller for David Dobkin, Dean of the FacultyMaureen Nash, Vice President for Human ResourcesDan Scheiner, Director of Benefits, Compensation, and Systems, Human ResourcesKarin Trainer, University Librarian

Ex Officio:Nancy Costa, Director, Finance, Administration and Planning, OITColin Currie, Director, Administrative Information Services, OITBetty Leydon, Vice President for Information Technology and CIO

Highlights

In FY04, the ASPG reviewed and endorsed seven major projects that were thenpassed on to the Senior Advisory Group on IT (SAGIT) for funding. Continuing theannual planning process, the ASPG endorsed a FY05 administrative systems projectslate, as well as future projects through FY06.


Project Managers Team

The Project Managers Team (PMT) provides leadership and guidance on thedelivery of administrative products and services and continues to support theapplication and data management principles established under Partnership 2000.The PMT acts as the “working group” in support of the efforts of the AdministrativeSystems Planning Group (ASPG). The specific charge of this group is to:

• Identify, assess, and prioritize mandatory maintenance (regulatoryupdates, software upgrades, service packs) and enhancements (to fillgaps in current functionality and/or deliver new functionality) toadministrative systems;

• Coordinate administrative requirements across offices anddepartments;

• Facilitate activities that foster the improved use of administrativeproducts and services at the University;

• Achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction in meeting the needsof the University community.

During FY04, members of the PMT were:

Marvin Bielawski, Deputy University LibrarianMaria Bizzarri, Bursar and Director, Loans and ReceivablesTed Bross, Manager, Data Warehousing and Integration, OITMichelle Christy, Director, Research and Project AdministrationNancy Costa, Director, Finance, Administration and Planning, OITKristie Covey, Director, Development Information SystemsColin Currie, Director, Administrative Information Services, OITDavid Etherton, Project Manager, Academic Department ServicesPatty Gertz, Manager, Custom Software Solutions, OITKim Hoeritz, Project Manager, Student Systems, OITKris Miller, Senior Systems Manager, Office of the Dean of the FacultyCraig Richmond, Director, University Financial SystemsDan Scheiner, Director of Benefits, Compensation, and Systems, Human ResourcesLee Varian, Director, IT Architecture, OITRussell Wells, Manager, Packaged Software Solutions, OITMike Williamson, IT Manager, Facilities

Highlights

In collaboration with all administrative offices and academic departments, PMTmembers assembled a comprehensive list of project proposals. The list summarizedall mandatory maintenance, process improvement efforts, opportunities forenhancements, and the deployment of new administrative systems capabilities.Working with the Academic Managers Group, the group identified and addressedkey gaps in the Financial, Human Resource, and Student Administration systemsthrough the Standard Business Model (SBM) process.


Committee on Academic Technology

The Committee on Academic Technology (CAT) facilitates communication andcollaboration between IT providers and the University offices most directlyresponsible for the curriculum. The specific charge of the committee is to:

• Serve as an information clearinghouse, so that those responsible fortechnology and the curriculum are well-informed of each other’sinitiatives;

• Develop new initiatives that may enhance the curriculum throughinformation technology;

• Help evaluate IT initiatives that affect the curriculum and prioritize thedistribution of resources;

• Take leadership to assure that the use of academic technologies in thecurriculum receives appropriate assessment, both evaluative andformative.

The committee met five times, in September, October, November, February, and April.

During FY04, members of the CAT were:

Hank Dobin, Dean of the College (Chair)Jane Bryan, Associate University LibrarianLin Ferrand, Associate Dean, Office of the Dean of the FacultySerge Goldstein, Director, Academic Services, OITLinda Hodges, Associate Director, McGraw Center for Teaching and LearningClayton Marsh, University CounselJed Marsh, Vice Provost for Institutional ResearchDavid Redman, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Graduate SchoolJanet Temos, Director, Educational Technologies Center, OIT


Highlights

Videotaping class sessionsBeginning in FY04, CAT officially reviewed requests fromfaculty to videotape entire courses. Faculty memberssubmit proposals outlining the reasons underlying therequests; departments making the request must pay forthe taping. During the year, CAT approved the video-taping of a fall chemistry course that featured guestlecturers which resulted in questions regarding intellectualproperty and privacy. The committee drafted an agreementthat clarifies these issues and faculty will be asked to signthe agreement prior to such tapings.

Strategic planningCAT reviewed OIT’s plan for the Academic TechnologyStrategic Planning review. The committee reviewed andcommented on the proposed faculty IT survey and madea number of recommendations regarding the overall effort.

Graduate Associates in Instructional TechnologyThe Committee reviewed, critiqued, and approvedAcademic Services’ plan to create a Graduate Associatesin Instructional Technology (GAIT) program. The programwill provide IT training to a small group of graduatestudents who will then serve as IT mentors within theirdepartments. Funded jointly by OIT and the GraduateSchool, the program will commence in Fall 2004.

BlackboardCAT reviewed and approved the renewal of theBlackboard license. The Committee also reviewed thepolicies towards access to University’s Blackboardcourse web sites. Many faculty members believe thatplacing materials within such sites protects them fromany kind of copyright violation. However, Blackboardsites are publicly accessible and even when such websites are restricted to enrolled students, faculty mustabide by fair-use standards with regard to the materialsthey make available. The Committee decided thatBlackboard courses should be built as follows:

1) Guest access to the course web sites will beturned ON by default.

2) OIT will pre-build a folder within each siteintended and marked for materials available onlyto enrolled students. A separate folder willprovide publicly-available materials. Instructionswithin these folders will inform faculty about theissues involved in making materials availablethrough their course web sites.


Research Computing Advisory Group

The Research Computing Advisory Group [RCAG] advises and collaborates withOIT on matters related to research computing at the University. The specific chargeof this group is to:

• Advise OIT on the research computing needs of academicdepartments;

• Collaborate with OIT on various projects related to researchcomputing;

• Advise OIT on the software needs for research computing.

During FY04, members of the RCAG were:

Curt Hillegas, Manager, Academic Applications, OIT (Chair)Mary Lynn Baeck, Senior Technical Staff Member, Civil and EnvironmentalEngineeringRoberto Car, Professor, Chemistry and Princeton Materials InstituteKara Dolinski, Senior Technical Staff Member, Lewis-Sigler Institute for IntegrativeGenomicsBruce Draine, Professor, Astrophysical SciencesBjorn Engquist, Professor, Applied and Computational MathematicsHank Farber, Professor, EconomicsSal Fattoross, Infrastructure Operations Analyst, Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyChris Floudas, Professor, Chemical EngineeringSerge Goldstein, Director, Academic Services, OITDaniel Marlow, Professor, PhysicsPino Martin, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringJohn Matese, Senior Technical Staff Member, Lewis-Sigler Institute for IntegrativeGenomicsJosko Plazonic, Infrastructure Operations Analyst, MathematicsJim Roberts, Application Delivery Manager, Computer ScienceDaniel Trueman, Assistant Professor, MusicChris Tully, Assistant Professor, PhysicsDoug Welsh, Senior Technical Staff Member, Molecular BiologyBill Wichser, Infrastructure Operations Analyst, Princeton Materials Institute


Highlights

Linux supportDuring FY04, RCAG guided OIT in efforts to define andimplement Linux support. As a result, OIT established aPrinceton Linux Users Group and is working collabora-tively with the Elders, a University group that provides aLinux update service. OIT has also improved its supportof Linux on campus by establishing a Linux support queuein the OIT Help Desk’s problem tracking system.

Princeton Software RepositoryWorking in collaboration with RCAG, OIT deployed thePrinceton Software Repository (PSR), a web set andapplication that provides easier access to open sourcesoftware that is built, configured, and packaged for usein the University’s environment.

Internet2 bandwidthDuring FY04, RCAG worked with OIT to increase theInternet2 bandwidth available to researchers. The newapproach better meets researchers’ needs by sharingcosts among departments.


Desktop Systems Council

The Provost formed the Desktop Systems Council (DeSC) to standardize theUniversity’s administrative desktop computer environment. By choosing onehardware model and a standard software suite, the University is positioned tonegotiate better pricing and maintenance fees, and computing support staff arebetter able to provide the best possible assistance to DeSC customers. Launchedoriginally as the Princeton Desktop Initiative in 1996, the program was an essentialpart of the success of the new administrative computing applications then underdevelopment. The goals of the council are to:

• Streamline the costs associated with application development, softwareinstallation, computing support, system administration, and softwarelicensing;

• Ensure that the standard administrative computing environment issustained;

• Enhance regularly the delivery of key administrative systems andproductivity tools.

During FY04, members of the DeSC were:

Steven Sather, Director, Support Services, OIT (Chair)Charlayne Beavers, Technology Integration Specialist, OIT (DeSC Coordinator)Marvin Bielawski, Deputy University LibrarianNancy Costa, Director, Finance, Administration and Planning, OITDorothy Davis, Department Manager, Program on Science and Global Security,Woodrow Wilson SchoolKathy DiMaggio, Program Manager, Visual Arts, Creative Writing, and Theater andDanceEllen Kemp, Director, Computing Services, Woodrow Wilson School (DeSCHardware Leader)Dave Morreale, Manager, Desktop Computing Support, OITSteven Niedzwiecki, Manager, PC Systems, OITJay Plett, Manager, Application Delivery, Electrical EngineeringVikki Ridge, Senior HR Manager, Human ResourcesLeila Shahbender, Manager, Student Computing Services, OIT


Highlights

UpgradesDuring FY04, OIT Software Support continued to updateand streamline the procedure to replace or upgrade DeSCmachines. The conversion of Netscape e-mail users toOutlook for use of either IMAP or Exchange required newprocedures and considerable effort. Additional assistancewas provided for the synchronization of Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs). Updates to the group’s web site provideproactive monitoring of DeSC machines and machineaccount reporting information.

New softwareWith the approval of the Treasurer’s Office, the DeSCprogram added a special fee to the price of administrativecomputers and used the additional revenue to purchasesoftware that can be shared by all DeSC computers througha central “key server.”

Software developed, tested, and distributed to all DeSCmachines during FY04 included:

• Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition 8.1• Windows client installer• TSM 5.2.2.10• Internet Explorer• Windows XP/Office 2003• SSH 3.29• DeSC Keyserver• Acrobat Pro 6• Adobe Reader 6


Ambassador Program

OIT initiated the OIT Ambassador Program in January 2003 to improvecommunication and customer service with the University community. The program’smission is to:

• Provide an ambassador for every non-OIT department;• To ensure excellent communication between the ambassador and the

department while maintaining a high level of service and satisfaction;• Increase communication between OIT and non-OIT departments;• Represent OIT to our customers, notably by disseminating information

about OIT services;• Represent customer needs and issues to OIT by listening and

gathering information from customers.

The OIT Ambassador program is open to departments as well as certainundergraduate and graduate student groups. A total number of 67 departments andprograms are served by the program and enrollment growth is steady.

Highlights

Since the inception of the program, the number of ambassadors available todepartments has increased to 36. 17 OIT Ambassadors maintain a relationshipwith one department, 28 are affiliated with two departments, nine serve threedepartments, two are meeting with four departments, and one staff member is anambassador to five departments.

During FY04, the ambassadors worked with their departments and OIT to resolve294 problems and questions and assisted with many undocumented matters. Mostconcerns regarded upgrades, training opportunities, and conversion to newsoftware applications.

While most ambassadors initially met with their department once per month, mostnow meet once every two or three months. The decline in meeting frequency reflectsthe press of normal business in the departments as well as information over-saturation from the ambassadors. The program has assembled a list of expectationsfor ambassadors. Ambassadors are required to attend meetings, to have at leastquarterly contact with their departments, and to publish their meeting minutes.



Division Reports 2003-2004PrincetonUniversity


Academic Services

Academic Services supports the University’s use of information technology inteaching, learning, and research and brings together within a single OIT departmentthose units and staff members who are primarily involved with support of AcademicComputing.

Within Academic Services, the Education Technologies Center supports the useof instructional technology to create learning modules and other computer-basedteaching resources, including course web pages and learning modules for use inUniversity courses. Media Services supports the use of instructional technology(audio, video, overheads, slides, computer-based presentations) in the classroom.The Language Resource Center supports the use of instructional technology inlanguage courses and manages the University’s video collection and its digitizedvideo server. The New Media Center runs a laboratory that makes sophisticatedinstructional technology hardware and software available for faculty and studentuse. Research and Academic Applications Support provides support for the use ofinformation technology in science and engineering research, including the operationof a Beowulf computing cluster. Humanities Computing Research Support providessupport for the use of information technology in humanities and social scienceresearch.

Highlights

Improving the organizationLate in the year, two new groups were added to Academic Services. DesktopApplication Support will develop, document, and support desktop applications forUniversity departments. Education and Outreach Services will inform the Universitycommunity about Academic Services initiatives and provide training and instructionin the use of Academic Technology.

Fashioning a strategic planning process for academic technologyIn last year’s annual report, we defined the strategic planning process for academictechnology as one of our key initiatives for FY04. In describing this initiative, wewrote: “OIT has initiated a planning process to define a shared, coherent vision foracademic computing at the University. …One important goal of the planning processis to build stronger alliances with faculty and key academic decision makers.”

We believe that we have achieved this goal. Through a series of focus groupmeetings with key academic oversight committees (The Committee on AcademicTechnology, The Research Computing Advisory Group, The Humanities ComputingAdvisory group), as well as focus group meetings with the Library staff,undergraduate and graduate students, and individual faculty members, we haveachieved a much greater shared understanding of how information technology canserve the University in the years to come. In FY05, OIT will produce a series offocused architecture documents, essentially a framework that reflects this sharedunderstanding and upon which future endeavor will be based.

Moving the Language Resource Center to the Andlinger HumanitiesCenterIn response to growing demand for access to the highest-quality language supportmaterials and services, OIT closed the Language Resource Center in Jones Hall andopened an entirely new Language Resource Center in the Andlinger HumanitiesCenter (basement of East Pyne) in November 2003. This state-of-the-art facility willhelp sustain the University’s preeminence in foreign language instruction. The


facility includes a language laboratory, two video viewingrooms, and an electronic classroom. The facility hasalready been a great success, as evidenced by theoverwhelmingly positive reviews and the heavy use of thefacility during its first few months.

Relocating Blackboard support to the FristCampus CenterIn keeping with the goal of moving technology supportcloser to our customers, Academic Services relocated itsBlackboard customer support team to the newly-openedOIT Solutions Center in the Frist Campus Center. This is amore convenient location for faculty needing assistance toset up and use their Blackboard course web sites.

Establishing a strategic direction for theUniversity’s Course Management SystemThe license for the University’s Course ManagementSystem (CMS) expired on June 30, 2004. In the monthspreceding this expiration, OIT participated in anexamination of the University’s strategic CMS directionundertaken by the Committee on Academic Technology(CAT). After careful review of several options, it wasdecided to recommend that the University obtain a 3-yearrenewal of the Blackboard license. A proposal waspresented to SAGIT, which was approved and funded.The University is now licensed to use the Blackboardproduct through FY07.

At the same time as this license renewal was beingconsidered, OIT actively participated in the formation of amulti-University consortium which is developing an open-source CMS. This new system, named SAKAI, is beingdeveloped and should be ready for use sometime withinthe next 2-3 years. This will give the University the option,in 2007, of continuing with Blackboard, or migrating to theSAKAI system. OIT has been successfully lobbyingBlackboard to implement SAKAI functionality and inter-operability, so that whatever direction Princeton takes in2007 will be minimally disruptive to our students andfaculty.

The newly-licensed Blackboard CMS includes a newcomponent, a Content System (CS), which can be used tohelp meet long-standing needs in the area of contentdistribution and re-use. In particular, the CS can facilitatethe uploading of large numbers of files into course websites, and will be useful in providing shared documentspace to faculty members and students.

The Blackboard CMS also includes a programming API(Application Programming Interface) which will be used todevelop an application that assists departments with thelong-standing challenge of assigning of students tocourse precepts and labs in an efficient manner.

Language Resource Center

The Language Resource Center (LRC) supports the useof audio, video, and multimedia materials for specificassignments and for self directed foreign language study.The LRC runs the central language support laboratory andmanages the University’s collections of DVD, CD, andtape as well as the University’s central digitized videoserver.

Yearly activityIn its first spring in the new location, the LRC received7,246 visits (compared to 3,128 the previous spring).During the academic year, the LRC was often filled tocapacity. On several occasions, more than 100 visitorswere recorded; the highest one day attendance was 146.

Video LibraryThe use of video continues to increase on campus. Andthe University’s video collection is growing rapidly asmore faculty become aware of Firestone Library’s videoacquisition policy. During the year, the number of videosin the collection increased by 450 and DVD’s grew by 203(bringing the totals to 2,750 and 305 respectively). Thelaserdisc collection remains at 205. Faculty increased thenumber of videos on reserve from 906 in FY03 to 1,397 inFY04.

Digitized video serverThe LRC manages a digital video server that faculty use toshow film and other video materials within the classroomand for after-class viewing. Students can access the videoserver from any University classroom and from all campuscomputer clusters.

During the fall semester, 61 classes used the video server(up from 31 the previous fall) to access 245 titles (up from92 titles). During the spring, 75 classes used the server (upfrom 26 the previous spring) to access 301 titles (up from104 titles).


New Media Center

The New Media Center, located on the ground floor of 87Prospect Avenue, offers a walk-in facility where students,faculty and staff can come to work with sophisticatedcomputer and audio-visual equipment. NMC staffmembers assist customers in the use of this equipmentand the associated software. Major activities this yearincluded: creation of multi-media web pages; digitizationof text, images and video; production of short videosegments; creation of media-rich printed graphics andCD-based resources.

Owing to a concentrated advertising campaign andincreased word-of-mouth, visits to the New Media Centerjumped from 1,047 last year to 2,391 this year (a 128%increase). Of these, 171 were faculty visits, 603 staffvisits, and 1617 student visits. Detailed breakdowns areprovided in the chart below.

Staff also created a web site for chemistry professorT. Kyle Vanderlick’s research group. Her new site featureda Flash-based photo gallery and included informationabout her students, publications, and research.

NMC staff developed templates for the SIGUCCS 2004conference web site. These templates built upon a graphicidentity and logo for SIGUCCS 2004, also designed byNMC staff.

Video production and photo projectsThe NMC continued to serve as one of the prime videoproduction units for the University.

Among several major video projects during the year, staffproduced a promotional video for the Trustees on theLanguage Resource Center and the NMC. NMC Staff shotand edited a promotional video for the Community Houserobolab program. The video covered the progression of agroup of local students from their early efforts through thedisplay of their final robotics projects.

The NMC shot, edited, and streamed training videos to beused in the instruction of new Frist Campus Center staff.The NMC also produced interactive QuickTime VR moviesof multiple rooms in Frist for use on their web site.

The NMC also filmed video interviews of students andfaculty as part of a DVD testimonial praising the efforts ofthe Building Services staff. The DVD was presented at theBuilding Services Appreciation Lunch.

Education series workshopsNMC full-time staff, undergraduates, and graduatestudents taught morning and evening workshops thatwere tailored to the needs of faculty, students, and staff.

Photoshop classes served both beginner and advancedusers. Specialized web design classes concentrated onWeb Accessibility and Web Standards usingDreamweaver. Other classes involved using Final Cut Proto capture and edit videos.

The NMC worked closely with Instructors Ben Shedd andNancy Manter to instruct their Atelier Group in the use ofPhotoshop and Flash. Students in the group frequentedthe NMC and prepared their final multimedia projects withthe help of NMC staff.

Media conversionNew equipment purchased by the NMC facilitated rapidDVD recording and mass duplication of optical media forthe academic community. In addition to this walk-inservice, NMC staff also took on more sophisticated DVDcreation projects. For example, NMC staff converted aseries of Betacam broadcast tapes for Professor TheodoreRabb, archiving the collection in DVD format.

Video streamingStreaming video has become an increasingly popularoutlet for departments wishing to make videos availablefor online viewing. A new service in 2004, individuals cancreate streaming content as a walk-in service. NMC Staffworked with the School of Engineering and AppliedScience to create streaming videos of the SEAS lectureseries, resulting in a collection of 24 online lectures.

Web developmentNMC staff redesigned the Rockefeller College web site,created Dreamweaver templates based on the new design,and trained Rockefeller College staff on how to use andupdate their site. A significant feature of the new site wasa database-driven facebook of students and fellows thatcompletely replaced the print version of their facebook.


Research and AcademicApplications Support

Research and Academic Applications Support (RAAS)assists the University’s research and academic activitiesby providing services for High Performance Computing,programming, and third-party software. RAAS providescomputational hardware and software facilities for use bythe research and academic community. The group assistsother University departments to install and support theirown high performance computing facilities. RAAS alsoprovides programming assistance and training for thosedeveloping in-house research and academic applications.

Beowulf clusterDuring FY03, RAAS acquired a 32-node Beowulfcomputing cluster. During FY04, the cluster’s first full yearof operation, 47 users from 15 departments registered foraccess to the cluster. The server ran a total of 3,918 jobsutilizing nearly 400,000 CPU hours or 60% CPU utilization,close to the theoretical maximum.

RAAS added a terabyte of disk storage to meet growingdemand, and upgraded the BIOS and ERA firmware.RAAS worked directly with a number of Princeton facultymembers, including Yacine Ait-Sahalia of Economics andProf. Schwartz of Electrical Engineering, to adapt theircode to a Beowulf cluster environment.

Princeton Software RepositoryIn November, in partnership with the Research ComputingAdvisory Group and Computing in Academic & ResearchDepartments, OIT introduced the Princeton SoftwareRepository (PSR). The new online facility makes availablethird-party software packages that have been built andconfigured to work within the University’s Solaris 9 andRed Hat Linux 9 computing environments. PSR alsoprovides standard processes to register, distribute, updateand decommission packages. Details can be found athttps://psr.princeton.edu.

PSR replaced /usr/princeton with a modern technicalarchitecture. By year’s end, PSR provided the most up-to-date versions of 67 free software packages includingEmacs, gcc, Perl, teteX, OpenLDAP, OpenSSL, andOpenSSH. OIT has sponsored these initial core softwarepackages. Individuals or departments may sponsoradditional packages. The PSR web site provides astandard process to register, distribute, update, anddecommission software.

A PSR Advisory Committee was established withmembership from the University’s research community andOIT. The committee reviews policies and approvesrequests for software package sponsorship.

CONDORDeveloped by the University of Wisconsin, CONDORpermits use of spare machine cycles in support of researchactivities. During FY03, the Condor pool grew to morethan 50 cpu’s through the addition of 25 Sun Solaris

systems. During FY04, the Condor pool was expandedthrough the addition of 250 Windows workstations to theCondor pool. In addition, staff upgraded the underlyingCondor software to release 6.5.5.

Support for research applicationsDuring FY04, RAAS completed two major programmingprojects. First, staff developed a program for ProfessorPrentice (Chair of Psychology) that makes it possible forher students and her to conduct Implicit AssociationTesting (IAT) over the Web. Second, staff adapted theIAT program for Professor (and Nobel Laureate)Kahneman to support his specialized psychologicalsurveys.

Humanities Computing ResearchSupport

Humanities Computing Research Support (HCRS)supports the research interests of faculty in thehumanities and interpretive social sciences by means ofdigital technologies. HCRS helps scholars to builddatabases that store images, texts, and other media, andthe group helps to build collaborative environments thatenable teams of scholars to work on a single project.

Electronic text servicesElectronic text services comprise the core of humanitiescomputing support. HCRS helps scholars to digitize andedit electronically transcribed versions of primary andsecondary sources, according to established standards ofencoding. Once encoded, these collections may be hostedin TextGarden, a database designed to help scholars tosearch, annotate and collaboratively edit electronic textcollections.

Support for humanities researchDuring FY04, HCRS provided support to a number ofhumanities and social-science research projects.

The Omiti Project centers around a database ofethnographic survey material collected by Prof. Kreikeduring the 1990s among various farming communities inSouth Africa. The data is being used to understand therelationship between memory, language, farming andecology.

The Adolescents and Migrants in Thailand Project is adatabase of transcripts, spreadsheets and imagesassociated with the Prof. Sara Curran’s fieldwork inThailand. Built using the Almagest database, the dataconcerns the mental models that Thai adolescents andmigrants have of their “lifelines” and social mobility. Agroup of scholars located in Princeton, Washington, DC,and Thailand are editing the data.

Other projects include Shahnama (digitization of anancient Persian epic), Geniza (textual encoding of ancientArabic/Hebrew documents), Charrette (electronicrendering and markup of a French poem of the medieval


era), and Globalization (support of sociology study oneffects of globalization).

To facilitate support of text-oriented research andteaching applications, the group set up development andproduction servers (celeritas and gravitas), consisting ofApache- and Tomcat-based application developmentframeworks, as well a trial BLOG server.

Two significant grant projects were initiated this year —the Globalization Knowledge Grid (sponsored by MiguelCenteno [PIIRS] and Sara Curran [Sociology]), and theKarl Uitti Memorial Fund for Digital Philology.

The group also delivered talks and taught classes onsubjects ranging from blogging to XML, to support on-campus user-education.

Media Services

Media Services provides a full range of audio-visualequipment and technical support for University classesand events. More than just support for conventionalmedia, services include capturing and placing satellitetelevision broadcasts on the University’s cable televisionsystem, videotaping, and consulting on the design andinstallation of data projection systems.

New multimedia systemsMedia Services staff assisted in the planning andimplementation of multimedia audio-video systems inRobertson Hall (Dodds Auditorium), the School ofArchitecture (Betts Auditorium), Computer Science(Auditorium 104), as well as in 16 classrooms and lecturehalls in East Pyne. Staff coordinated the upgrading ofcontrol systems in McCosh 60, 62, 64 and 66, the MadisonHall Theater, Frick 120, and Firestone BM1 and BM3.Media Services also assisted in the planning for theopening of the Humanities Center AV systems.

Preventative maintenanceDuring FY04, Media Services instituted quality controlprocedures for the maintenance and cleaning of campusAV installations. Full time staff oversee student employeeswho monitor and report malfunctions, provide cleaning,and optimize peripheral equipment in order to reduce in-class incidents.

Event coverageMedia Services continued to provide media support for arange of non-course related events including Alumni Day,Opening Exercises, Freshman Parents Day, Reunions,Baccalaureate, Graduate Hooding Ceremonies, andCommencement. Media Services also provided coveragefor many public lectures and events, including an Octoberconference “Faith and the Challenges of Secularism;” aNovember panel discussion “Listening in the SoundKitchen;” the Martin Luther King Day celebration inJanuary; a “State of the World” conference and the“George F. Kennan Centennial Conference” in February;the “Reynolds Lecture Series” in March; the Princeton

Colloquium on Public and International Affairs” and the“James Madison Program in American Ideals andInstitutions” in April; and “How does DevelopmentHappen: A Conference in tribute to Peter Bauer” in May.

New on the WebMedia Services developed a comprehensive tool thatmembers of the campus community can use to search forappropriate classroom and teaching areas. It is nowpossible to enter into the online database specific searchcriteria for room size and required technological support.Users receive a set of rooms that match their requirements,and can then easily book the rooms, reserve neededtechnologies, and download all needed operatinginstructions.

The following table summarizes Media Services activitiesduring FY04:

Fall Spring Total

Total Jobs 1461 1503 2964

Course-support Jobs 585 438 1023

Non-course Jobs 876 1065 1941

Course Jobs RequiringOperator 140 215 355

Non-course Jobs RequiringOperator 159 175 334

Videotaping orders 77 74 151

Non-Billable Tasks

Consulting 20 38 58

Training 75 91 166

Repairs 53 111 164

Maintenance 57 20 77

Networking 10 5 15

Education Technologies Center

The Educational Technologies Center (ETC) helpsPrinceton faculty to build multimedia tools for theclassroom. ETC’s designers collaborate with facultymembers to share their scholarship with a wider audienceof students, alumni, and other members of the Universitycommunity. ETC also administers the campus Blackboardlearning management system and the Almagest multimediadatabase.

Despite numerous staff changes, ETC enjoyed anothervery productive year. In the fall, ETC released three newcourse modules online and in CD format.

When John Nash *50 received the Nobel Prize inEconomics for his work in game theory, interest in thetopic and in the “Nash Equilibrium” soared. Princeton haslong been at the center of game theory, led in Nash’sstudy time by his mentor, Professor Harold Kuhn *50.


Game Theory, a new course module, draws on ProfessorAvenish Dixit’s popular textbook, Games of Strategy.Drawing upon video interviews with Princeton faculty,including Nash and Kuhn, this course offers observationson real world applications and on Princeton’s role in thediscipline. The online version is at www.princeton.edu/almagest/courseware/games

Classics Professor Christian Wildberg examines classicalinscriptions on University structures in PrincetonEpigraphy: Classical Inscriptions on Campus. In 1938,Professor Shirley Weber published an article in thePrinceton Alumni Weekly, An Exercise in Epigraphy thattraced the history and meaning of the Latin and Greekinscriptions on the University campus. For thiscourseware, the campus inscriptions were photographed,translated, and placed within a wider historical context.The online version is at www.princeton.edu/almagest/courseware/public/epig/

In Unwilling Moderns: The Nazarene Artists, EmeritusProfessor Lionel Gossman of the Department of RomanceLanguages and Literatures explores the goals,motivations, and achievements of the so-called“Nazarene” artists of the early nineteenth century andoffers his thoughts on how they came to be sidelined inthe narrative of the history of art. The online version is atwww.princeton.edu/almagest/courseware/nazarenes/

In the spring, ETC completed African Languages taughtin the US (web-based teaching tool) and Music from theLand of the Jaguar (a joint project with the Princeton ArtMuseum). Ongoing projects include two large databaseprojects. The first documents an archaeological dig inSyria directed by Professor Thomas Leisten. The secondinvolves the digitization of the East Asian Collection, partof a plan to digitize the Art Museum’s collection and placeit on the Web.

In addition to these major courseware developments, ETClaunched a project to convert its image database/displaytool, Almagest, into open-source code and make itgenerally available for educational use. The projectinvolves a significant redesign of the Almagest databaseand a re-coding of the Almagest lecture-builder.


Administrative Information Services

Administrative Information Systems (AIS) implements, maintains, and supports theUniversity’s administrative systems. The mission of AIS is to provide the bestpossible technical foundation upon which the University’s automated businessprocesses run. Services also include project planning, design, development,integration, testing, and deployment of administrative applications. Corecompetencies include PeopleSoft, Java, and PowerBuilder applications, and theOracle relational database management system.

Administrative Information Services contains three groups, Custom SoftwareSolutions (CSS), Data Warehousing and Integration (DWI), and Packaged SoftwareSolutions (PSS).

Highlights

Delivering IT products and services that meet the needs of theUniversity communityIn Q1 2004, OIT upgraded PeopleSoft Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, andStudent Administration to version 8.0. OIT upgraded PeopleSoft Financials toversion 8.4 in Q4. The implementation of PeopleSoft Student Administration for theUndergraduate College and Undergraduate Admission was reinitiated during FY04.Both projects are on schedule for a Q1 2006 go-live. A significant new customsystem for the University, Labor Accounting, was designed and will be developedthrough FY05 and into FY06. A replacement for the Loans & Receivables system,also a custom application that will be called “Princeton Receivables,” was designedand will be developed over the course of the next several years.

Renegotiated the University’s Oracle licenseDuring FY04, the University successfully renegotiated its Oracle database license.Starting July 1, 2004, University departments will be able to use the Oracle databaseengine campus-wide with any application for any number of users without limitation.The prior agreement limited use to 1,000 concurrent users. The agreement containsno restrictions as to who can use the database or the nature of the use. As a result,the new agreement supports off-campus users who want to use the University’sOracle-based applications via the Web. The up-front costs to establish theagreement will be offset by lower annual maintenance fees. Year five of theagreement will bring to the University a lower overall cost of ownership.

Complementing the Oracle agreement, the University selected Cognos ReportNetas the standard enterprise reporting tool for University administrative applications.Once implemented, this flexible and powerful web-based report development andpresentation tool will replace up to eight reporting tools and will be the standardfor the DataMall, all of the University’s custom administrative applications, andPeopleSoft. And by standardizing on one tool, OIT will be able to provide bettersupport than for the many disparate tools that are currently in place. Initial trainingwas held during the last week in June, with additional sessions planned throughoutthe summer and into the fall. New database, application, and web servers have beenordered to support the product. The initial rollout of ReportNet in the DataWarehouse is planned for late fall 2004, and will continue for the next two to threeyears.

Cooperating and communicating with our peer institutionsThe University hosted the Administrative Information Services groups from the Ivy+universities in early May. AIS representatives from Brown, Columbia, Cornell,


Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, the Universityof Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yaleconvened on campus for three days of discussions andpresentations. Much was accomplished, and the value ofassembling was so plainly seen that all agreed to add ashorter Fall meeting to the annual agenda. Representativeswill meet at Columbia in November to continue to takeadvantage of our shared experiences.

Custom Software Solutions

Custom Software Solutions (CSS) develops, maintains,and supports the University’s custom administrativeapplications, nearly all of which are Java-based. CSSfocuses on creating a consistent computing environmentfor administrative systems.

Merit increase processDuring FY04, CSS developed a Java-based customdistribution application. With the new program, HR hassignificantly reduced the time and effort required todistribute, receive, and collate Merit Increase Processrequests from various campus departments. CSSdeveloped the application during the second quarterand implemented it in time for the annual Merit IncreaseProgram process.

Labor Accounting systemPrior to FY04, campus users with varied preferences reliedupon three different versions of the Labor AccountingSystem. During the third quarter of FY04, CSS stabilizedthe Labor Accounting system on a single version thatmeets the needs of all campus users. The consolidationwill simplify maintenance and support of the system andwill offer significant new functionality and a majorimprovement in reliability.

AIS developed the new high level Labor Accountingsystem design to address all the known issues andproblems of the existing system. The new system willprovide an entirely new approach to federal work study,resulting in a more robust and accurate system.

Princeton Online and the Common AppThe entire Undergraduate admission application will beavailable via the web for the first time starting in the fall of2004. The customized Princeton Online Application is alsodesigned to facilitate collecting relevant information aboutprospects long before the application process begins.This enhanced system will be further complimented byPrinceton’s involvement in the Common App, anundergraduate admissions application site which allowsstudents to apply to multiple Universities from a singleonline location. For Fall 2004, applicant informationreceived from the Common App will be rekeyed intoUniversity systems.

During FY05, CSS will further refine and implement thePrinceton Online Application. The back-office portion willbe enhanced to improve the functional use of the system.It will also be modified to enable its connection to the

PeopleSoft student system which will go live in theSummer 2005. It is envisioned that the Princeton OnlineApplication will be the point of entry for allUndergraduate admission information whether it isreceived online, through the Common App, or via paperapplication.

Also throughout FY05, the staff will analyze whether ornot to automate the connection from the Common App,and how to provide secured online admission decisions toapplicants.

Time CollectionDuring FY05, CSS enhanced Time Collection toaccommodate departments that use electronic time clocksto manage bi-weekly employee work schedules. Allcampus departments may choose to use the system tomanage employee time, even when a time clock is notused. The system seamlessly integrates the scheduling ofboth regular and nonproductive times with the timecollection process.

Flexible, inexpensive, and generic in its design, theelectronic time clock will replace current mechanic timeclocks. To maximize convenience, the system supportstwo different user interfaces: magnetic card readers andelectronic time collection. Through the same interfaces,managers are able to manage lunch break schedules andperform supervisor overrides in the event of clockingerrors or logging in employees who forgot their cards.

CSS also enhanced the system module for studentlongevity pay, replacing the current, arbitrary student-pay assignment practice with a batch process thatenforces University rules uniformly. The revampedsystem includes a very flexible and powerful reportinginterface that sorts by any combination of department,team, schedule, employee identification number, name,date, time of day, work area and other special attributes.

Princeton ReceivablesDuring FY04, CSS completed a high-level scoping ofPrinceton Receivables, and designed an overall approachfor a new Princeton Receivables system, while keeping theexisting Loans and Receivables system running in parallel.The current system contains serious weaknesses,including security vulnerabilities and an underlyingarchitecture that complicates maintenance. The newsystem, a four year effort, will improve business processflows and permit increased web functionality, impossiblewithin the current architecture. The project will also havelong term benefits by adding significantly to the set ofreusable modules. For example, all of the modules will usethe same logging services, user interface, and securityand authorization services.

CSS will deliver the new system in modules, one receivableat a time. New deliverables will “bridge back” to the oldsystem where appropriate. CSS is currently testing thefirst major deliverables, Client and Applicationauthorization. During FY05, CSS will complete the centraloffice client and short-term computer loans modules.


Financial AidCSS enhanced Financial Aid to permit use of differentversions of the application. The change facilitates accessto information from previous years. CSS also enhancedSassy, the system that maintains scholarship informationand rules, and optimally allocates scholarships tostudents.

Data Warehousing and Integration

Data Warehousing and Integration (DWI) organizesand manages a significant portion of the data stored inCampus Community, the Data Mall, the Interface Hub andEnterprise Reporting, and the campus’ other administrativesystems. The group is also responsible for the PrincetonUniversity Data Resource Policy, and data administration.DWI works to enhance University effectiveness by:

• Promoting a culture that values data andbusiness applications as strategic assets;

• Defining, implementing, and applying aconsistent use of data designations and valuesacross University systems;

• Making information access and its underlyingsecurity more consistent, customer friendly, andeasy to manage;

• Ensuring that data captured by existing andfuture systems is usable by those within theUniversity who need such access;

• Expanding the breadth of information in the DataWarehouse by extending its reach to additionalsystems, and by further refining the University’sdata formatting and presentation capabilities;

• Supporting an enterprise repository for peopleand organizations through Campus Community.

During FY04, staff played a notable role in framing theUniversity’s database and enterprise reporting tool needs,thereby helping to negotiating favorable deals with Oracleand Cognos. The Cognos selection was the result of anexhaustive vendor selection study that was led by, andinvolved much of DWI. The study included a broadselection of campus customers, and the tool was selectedby consensus.

Campus CommunityFollowing the migration of Campus Community to the8.0 version of PeopleSoft in August 2003, DWI staffadministered all patches posted through the beginning ofSeptember, 2003. Patches were tested in development andquality assurance and then applied to production in earlyNovember. Staff then made all necessary changes tocustomized Campus Community objects. CampusCommunity staff were also involved in testing HumanResources Bundle #3, an essential addition for the go liveof the Human Resources’ Help Desk system.

Other important enhancements to Campus Communityduring the year included the creation of a CampusCommunity Data Mall store, the design, development and

implementation of dormitory codes to improve addressprocessing for students, and the development and testingfor both the eProfile and SCORE projects for employee andstudent self-service.

Data integrationDuring FY04, DWI staff assisted the conversions of theStudent Records and Undergraduate Admissions systems.The staff also developed, managed and implemented aproject to enhance the bio/demo functionality on theAccount Management page.

Hub interfaceStaff created new hub interfaces for Ticketing, DiningServices, and the Telephone Management system. Staffalso made significant changes to the LDAP, Loans andReceivables, COEUS, and Housing interfaces. Morethan 600,000 individual transactions were propagatedsuccessfully through the hub. During FY04, the systemwas available 99.9% of the time.

In addition to hub-specific work, the group monitored themany annual feeds and loads of Campus Community data.For example, staff loaded the freshmen and freshmenparent bio/demo data for the class of 2008 into CampusCommunity. Both sets of data required substantialmodifications owing to the recent PeopleSoft upgrades.

Data Warehouse/Data MallIn FY04, AIS launched a major project, the creation ofa comprehensive Princeton Data Warehouse that willreplace the current series of Data Stores in the Data Mall,to serve as the University’s primary reporting environmentfor administrative applications. In existence since 1997,the Data Mall has provided University offices with theability to run predefined queries and reports. The DataWarehouse will minimize the redundancy of many of theexisting stores while expanding current functionality. Thefirst Data Warehouse collection will be available in lateOctober, with the completion of all collections tentativelyscheduled for spring 2005.

In support of the Data Warehouse, the University signeda contract to acquire ReportNet from COGNOS as theUniversity enterprise report writing product. TheUniversity has also ordered new database, application,and web servers to support the product. Anotheracquisition, the Human Resources RDS (Reporting DataStructure) from PeopleSoft will, along with the StudentAdministration RDS acquired in 2002, become integralparts of the Data Warehouse.

Enhancements to the current Data Mall included theconversion of all the Financials stores to PeopleSoft 8.4;new course counts reports created for the Registrar;summer room draw browses created for UndergraduateHousing; new stores created for Graduate Admissions,SEVIS, Stockrooms Ecommerce and Campus Community;and modifying all Oracle Reports drills to work withAcrobat and a new version of Internet Explorer.


Packaged Software Solutions

Packaged Software Solutions (PSS) is responsible for themaintenance, enhancement, and operational support ofvendor supplied, packaged administrative systems. Theseapplications include:

• ClassRoom Scheduling (Resource 25);• COEUS/Grants Management;• Dining Services;• FSA Atlas — SEVIS;• Housing;• ID Cards;• LockBox;• PeopleSoft Financials (UFINSI);• PeopleSoft Human Resources Management

System (HRMS);• PeopleSoft Student Administration System;• Stripes — Alumni Records;• Telephone Management;• UG Admissions.

PSS has several subgroups: PeopleSoft HR & StudentAdministration, PeopleSoft Financials, AlumniDevelopment, Telephone/Resource25/SEVIS, and Grants& Housing Management.

PeopleSoft Human Resources and StudentAdministrationOn July 31, 2003 PeopleSoft HRSA version 7.6 was shutdown. Version 8 came up on August 5. The new versionhas a completely different technical foundation, changingthe application from client/server to web-basedtechnology. The new version also provides significantnew functionality and a completely new user interface.Since going live HRSA 8.0 was used to process 23,815 jobrecords, 44,190 personal data changes, 1,400 1042s, 11,590W2s; and to print 153,722 payroll checks and advisestotaling $353M.

Two new initiatives for Human Resources, theimplementation of PeopleSoft HelpDesk and eProfile, werecompleted in Q3. The HelpDesk system assists HumanResources’s campus support activities. The system helpsto manage and track all support requests and simplifies alarge set of functions within the department. eProfile, aself-service facility, permits faculty and staff to view andupdate demographic data stored in the PeopleSoft system.

During FY05, PSS will be implementing PeopleSoftStudent Administration for the Undergraduate Collegeand Undergraduate Admissions, a replacement of theexisting legacy-based Student Records system. Thecompletion of this project in summer 2005, will permit theretirement of the old “mini mainframe” and, by placing theUndergraduate College’s records in the sameadministrative system environment as Human Resources,the Treasurer’s office and the Graduate School will createa unified data and computing environment for the primaryadministrative system functions across the campus.

Graduate ReadmissionNew custom processes for Graduate Readmission werebrought live during Q3. During FY04, 1,971 graduatestudents used this self service system to submit theirreadmission applications.

PeopleSoft FinancialsIn May, staff upgraded PeopleSoft Financials from client/server version 7.5 to web-based version 8.4. As withHRSA, the web-based architecture of the new releaseprovides far more flexibility, enhanced functionality, anda much improved user interface.

Alumni DevelopmentA major upgrade to the Stripes Alumni Developmentsystem during FY04 involved an upgrade to theapplication, a change in the development language, anda database platform change from Sybase to Oracle. Sincethat upgrade, 51,842 gifts, 4,438 pledges, 2,952 matchinggifts, 19,460 new solicitation plans, and 77,018 new ormodified addresses have been entered into the system.

Telephone/Resource25/SEVISDuring Q2, staff installed a major new release of theResource/Schedule25 event and course schedulingsoftware, and upgraded the SEVIS system, which tracks2,128 foreign students and faculty who reside atPrinceton.

Grants & housing managementDuring FY04, the University continued to play animportant part in the further development andenhancement of the COEUS Grant Management system,notably in rewriting the system in Java. Originallydeveloped by MIT, the COEUS software is an opensource system. The University shares its new contentwith others who use the software, just as theirenhancements are shared with us.

PSS also played a role in the further deployment andenhancement of the Diebold housing system bydeveloped a system for web-based room draw.


Enterprise Infrastructure Services

Enterprise Infrastructure Services (EIS) provides support for University servers andmiddleware services such as databases, e-mail and directory services, backup andrestore services, systems management, job scheduling, output management,architecture, and security.

Within EIS, Systems and Data Management Services manages the University’senterprise systems and provides backup and restore services. IT ArchitectureServices is responsible for security, research and development. Computing andSupport Services provides Unix, Windows, and collaboration services (e-mail,authentication, and directories).

Highlights

Thwarting computer virusesWith the support of the Priorities Committee, OIT added a technical security staffmember in FY04. The additional investment was crucial in thwarting an onslaughtof computer viruses that hit the campus just before classes began. OIT expandedpre-emptive activities, including scanning for vulnerabilities and providing anautomated service for updating desktop and server machines. In addition, EISsecurity staff and the Help Desk created a CD that patches infected Windowscomputers. Depending on the number of files on the computer, the CD takesbetween 20 and 60 minutes to run. OIT distributed the CD at all undergraduate andgraduate registration events, at special outposts in the Residential Colleges, and atthe OIT Solutions Center. More than 4,000 CDs were distributed.

Security staff are also implementing an Intrusion Prevention System that will serveas a “first line of defense” for attacks against campus desktop and servercomputers. They are also expanding support for departmental firewalls in order toprovide secondary protection that will coordinate with core University firewalls. Inconjunction with the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration, EISdeveloped a new IT Security Policy that has helped to guard sensitive Universitydata and information.

Rationalize Backup and Restore ServiceThe University’s TSM Backup and Restore Service backs up nearly 100 Terabytes ofdata a year, ten times the amount of data stored in the print collection of the Libraryof Congress. The implementation of a policy in July to recover costs associated withthe backup of non-personal intellectual property will place the TSM service, whichnearly became a victim of its own success, on a steady technological and financiallyself-sustaining footing.

Ensure a highly-reliable desktop computer environmentThe Desktop Systems Council (DeSC) provides standard, secure computingplatforms for members of the University community. A high level of systemmanagement guarantees that software updates and virus definitions areautomatically applied and certain “dangerous” software is prohibited from beinginstalled. The new approach helped DeSC systems to remain relatively safe andsecure during the past year despite a constant assault by hackers, viruses, andworms.

Minimizing power outagesA power outage over the Labor Day weekend revealed inadequacies in the responseto sustained outages at the 87 Prospect Avenue Computer Center. The one-hour


capacity of the uninterruptible power supply wasinsufficient, resulting in a significant effort to restore dataand services once power returned. The Universityacquired additional UPS capacity and new procedureswere implemented to notify staff reliably and to automatethe orderly shutdown of the more than 300 units in themachine room. Meetings with the Facilities departmentresulted in improved communications and a plan to keepOIT equipment “on the grid” as long as possible.

Systems and Data ManagementServices (SDMS)

Systems and Data Management Services (SDMS) hasresponsibility for backup and restore services, databaseadministration, system monitoring, job scheduling, andUnix printing.

Backup and Restore ServicesSDMS maintains the Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM)backup system for the University. By automaticallybacking up files, the popular TSM service provides animportant safety net, especially for desktop users. Anycomputer on the University network (except those ownedby undergraduates) is eligible for the service.

During FY04, the TSM system backed up approximately8,000 systems, an increase of about 1,000 over FY03. Afterstabilizing the service, the primary challenge for thebackup and restore service was to develop a financialmodel that responds to the dramatic growth in usage. Byfocusing the service on protection of personal data, andinstituting fees for services beyond that baseline, OITexpects usage growth to slow substantially and togenerate additional revenue that can fund the remaininggrowth. The new policy was developed and officiallyimplemented on July 1, 2004.

During FY04, SDMS implemented user registration on aUnix server. User registration was the last component stillon the University’s mainframe. SDMS also developed anddeployed a new self-service account management webpage.

Goals for FY05 include the implementation of a newservice and charging model to make operation of theservice more routine. The group also hopes to hire anadditional staff member and to address remainingperformance bottlenecks through hardware upgrades.

Database AdministrationThe Database Administration (DBA) group sustains arobust, secure and reliable development and productiondatabase environment. The group supports more than 40different applications, more than 130 databases (a 10%increase from FY03), two different database managementsystems (Oracle and Sybase), and the BEA Tuxedoapplication server software. These database systems runon more than 40 Sun servers (a doubling since FY03) andencompass more than a terabyte of University disk space.

Throughout FY04, the group provided highly reliableand responsive service while assisting several majorPeopleSoft upgrades, notably the PeopleSoft Financialsupgrade and implementations of the HR Helpdesk andPeopleSoft HR/SA 8. The group also trained OIT’s DBAstaff members in PeopleSoft DBA skills. PeopleTools forHR/SA was upgraded and PeopleSoft HR/SA/CC andAdvance among other applications were upgraded toOracle 9.2.

Working in partnership with the Treasurer’s Office,the group introduced the new and improved OnBaseDocument Management System. Servers werereconfigured to use Unix and Oracle, the OnBase softwarewas upgraded, all OnBase applications were migrated tothe new environment, and enhanced backup/restoreprocedures were implemented. The database componentof the OnBase imaging application was transferred fromWindows NT to Unix where it can be supported by theDBAs in the same way as all other production databases.

The primary goal for FY05 is to enhance support for theimplementation of the PeopleSoft student system byadding an additional term position and to continue thedevelopment of PeopleSoft skills for all DBA staffmembers. Upgrades to several components of the Oracledatabase software are also a high priority for next year.

Systems monitoring and managementThe Enterprise Systems Management (ESM) group isresponsible for providing proactive management ofUniversity systems. The IBM/Tivoli system monitoringsoftware is the core of the University’s system monitoringstrategy. During FY04, the group began to use Tivoli forsystem management. Tivoli currently monitors 174 Unixhosts, 30 Web sites and 22 e-mail related services. Thesenumbers appear similar to last year’s, but they do notinclude 82 Windows hosts that are now being monitoredby specialized software from Argent.

The first half of this year was devoted to hardwareupgrades. All of the Tivoli servers were replaced by newer,faster systems that will increase staff productivity. Staffinstalled version 5.1.1 of IBM Tivoli Monitoring intoproduction, and a plan was developed for reorganizingTivoli monitoring to meet more satisfactorily the needs ofthe Unix system administrators.

During FY04, the ESM staff also used the Tivoliinfrastructure to support a mass-update facility created byOIT’s Unix Systems. System administration tasks are nowautomated across all Unix hosts. ESM also extended itsweb site monitoring service to watch several e-mail relatedservices.

The primary goal for next year is to complete thereconfiguration of the Tivoli monitoring software servingthe needs of the Unix systems group, and to interfaceTivoli monitoring with a new alert notification system.


Job schedulingThe Tivoli Workload Scheduler software automaticallyschedules all administrative production jobs on 35 Unixand Windows servers. The software runs an average of860 job streams per week, some of which contain multipleindividual jobs. The goal for next year is to maintain thecurrent level of service and to upgrade software to thelatest releases.

Output managementEIS operates output services that deliver print serversand Fax Gateway services to the campus. During FY04,EIS staff moved the server for the Fax Gateway and Unixprinting from Solaris to Linux, a lower cost platform that iseasier to administer and requires less expensive hardware.Staff also upgraded the hardware, implemented version5.1.1 of Tivoli monitoring, and provided a Tivoli-basedinfrastructure on which the Unix systems group hasdeveloped automated system administration tools toimprove their productivity. Since July 2003, the printserver system processed an average of 1,600 fax jobs permonth, a decrease of about 25% since last year, and 5,725print jobs per month, an increase of nearly 90%.

IT ArchitectureThe IT Architecture group develops, disseminates, andpromotes policies, standards, and procedural guidelinesto ensure that the University’s information technologysolutions are implemented and maintained in a consistent,practical, and secure manner.

During FY04, the group took numerous actions inresponse to the growing threat from computer hackers.All institutions of higher education have beenexperiencing attacks from viruses and other practicesthat attempt to exploit system vulnerabilities and pooruser practices. Lack of user compliance with standardsfor “strong” (not easily guessable) passwords andcommunications programs (e.g. those that encrypt orscramble passwords in transit over the network), as wellas numerous groups of machines on campus that still donot take advantage of required patching and virusupdate software, remain the biggest challenges. In FY04,the group focused on three areas: improving passwordcontrols, addressing system vulnerabilities, andpreventing malicious traffic from the Internet.

First, the group undertook an effort to identify individualswhose computer accounts have easy-to-guess passwordsand to request that they select passwords that meet theUniversity’s minimum strength standards. The group hasbegun to eliminate password systems that are susceptibleto hacker attack and programs that transmit passwordsacross the network in a readable form. During FY04, thegroup installed McAfee’s IntruShield intrusion preventiondevice. By comparing network traffic against both knownattack patterns and messages that do not comply withdomestic and international standards, the device has beenassisting the University to detect and block malicioustraffic originating on the Internet.

Second, the group made significant progress in itsinvestigation of WebISO, a developing technology thatwould permit users of web applications to log in once overa defined time period for all participating applicationsrather than having to log in every time they access anapplication.

Third, to address system vulnerabilities, the groupmanaged the implementation of Microsoft’s SoftwareUpdate Service, a product that permits the University todistribute system software updates expeditiously to allparticipating University computers.

While great strides have been made in improving campusIT security, increasingly sophisticated viruses and worms,broader computer attacks, and increasing volume oflegitimate as well as non-legitimate network traffic to thecampus make this a continued focus of attention. In FY05,OIT will continue to assist departments in all levels ofprotection, including better means to keep systemspatched and updated with virus definitions andmanagement of distributed departmental and personalfirewalls to central intrusion detection and preventionsystems.

Web ServicesWeb Services provides consulting, technical support, andleadership in the creation of web-based materials and inthe implementation of web-based technologies. The groupsupports the software infrastructure that underlies theUniversity’s main web site as well as many administrativeand academic web sites.

To improve OIT’s response to growing campus demandfor web-related services, OIT reorganized the WebServices group in the spring of FY04, leaving theinfrastructure responsibility within EnterpriseInfrastructure Services, and distributing support functionsacross Academic Services, Support Services, and theOffice of Communications.

In its final year within EIS, the group nonetheless hadmany accomplishments. Web Services urged theUniversity to acquire a Web Content Management systemto help organize and structure the development andmaintenance of University web pages and web content.Early in the year, staff members were involved in theinstallation, testing, evaluation, and eventual rejection ofa web content management system. While there wasdisappointment that the vendor’s product did not meet theneeds as promised, the evaluation process proved veryuseful in the eventual selection of a replacement vendor.

Use of the web to present, access, and display informationcontinues to grow. In addition to static web pages, manyUniversity departments want to store and retrieveinformation from databases, and to create sites usingnewer dynamic scripting technologies that simplify thetransfer of data to and from databases. In the spring, OITinstalled a new scripting server that now supports manymore development environments, and a shared


departmental scripting server, with more restricted access,for use by departments who have developed their owndynamic sites. In order to satisfy the growing demand,OIT is working with a consultant to evaluate alternativesolutions.

DBToolBox remains a valuable campus tool, but its olderarchitecture would have necessitated a re-write. There is astrong desire to move to a platform and/or product withbroader support.

Collaboration and SystemsServices

Unix Systems GroupThe Unix Systems Group provides systems administrationfor the more than 200 Unix-based servers on which manyUniversity business and academic applications operate.

During FY04, the Unix Systems Group worked closely withthe Windows Systems Group to complete the installation,testing, and quality assurance for a new file servicesinfrastructure. Based on a “network attached storage”(NAS) device, or large special purpose file server, thissimplifies the maintenance, supports access from Unix,Windows, Linux, or Macintosh OS X workstations, andprovides more cost-effective file storage space for faculty,students, staff, and departmental files.

Windows Systems GroupThe Windows Systems Group provides systemsadministration for more than 100 Windows-based servers.Many University business and academic applications runon these OIT-managed servers.

During FY04, in addition to systems administration workand the NAS project (see Unix Systems Group, above),there were numerous worm and virus attacks, especiallyon Windows-based computers. The OIT WindowsSystems administrators, working with the IT SecurityGroup, established a campus service for distributingWindows system patches and security fixes. Known as“SUS” (for “System Update Service” from Microsoft), thenew service provided departments and students with aneffective means to keep their Windows workstations andservers up-to-date with security patches.

A significant amount of work for testing and qualityassurance was completed to prepare the Windows-basedinfrastructure for a software upgrade to Windows ActiveDirectory 2003 and to install Exchange systemredundancy.

Collaboration Services GroupThe Collaboration Services Group (CSG) is responsiblefor administering the infrastructure for campus e-mail,directory, and authentication services. CSG operates theUniversity’s e-mail services for receiving and sendinge-mail, and maintains the servers that provide electroniclists and directories.

Processing e-mailDuring FY04, the OIT e-mail infrastructure known as the“Postoffice” processed a half a million e-mail messages aday, an increase from last year’s average of 270,000messages a day. These were messages coming to users atprinceton.EDU as well as outgoing University mail.Overall, the servers that process e-mail performed well.Figure 1 illustrates the upward trend in volume throughoutthe year.

Figure 1: Incoming and Outgoing Messages per Minute,July 03 – June 04 by one of the “Postoffice” servers

The patterns of e-mail system usage by students, faculty,and staff mirrored the patterns observed over the past twoyears. Figures 2 and 3 below illustrate the typical highsand lows of connections to the University’s main e-mailservers.

Figure 2: Faculty and Staff Connections to the Main e-mail service, July 03 – June 04

Figure 3: Student Connections to theMain e-mail service, July 03 – June 04

In addition to the daily operations in support of thesecritical services, the group responded to a significantincrease in the volume of incoming viruses, worms, andunsolicited junk e-mail (spam).

Swift action held off the overwhelming volume ofincoming “SoBig” viruses, which threatened tooverwhelm the University’s e-mail systems. The currenttools to combat viruses check for updates on an hourlybasis. During FY04, the antivirus system used to protecte-mail messages from viruses and worms removed morethan 2,330,000 virus/worm laden messages. Figure 4illustrates the amount of spam received throughout theyear.

Spam filtering serviceStaff members continue to evaluate new technologiesthat may assist the University’s anti-spam efforts. Theunsolicited junk e-mail remained at 44% of all incoming


mail. By year’s end, 3,698 customers were using the spamfiltering service, up from 1,259 at the end of FY03.

Figure 4: Likely Spam Messages (blue line) per Minute,July 03 – June 04, on one of the “Postoffice” servers

Exchange 2000 servicesDuring FY03, in response to requests from severaldepartments, OIT began to offer an integrated e-mail andcalendaring service, Exchange 2000. OIT offered aproduction service in March 2003 that attracted more than500 customers.

During FY04, OIT improved the reliability of the Exchangee-mail infrastructure. Following two major unplannedoutages caused by multiple hardware failures, OITinstalled a spare server with special software to facilitatedata replication. By the end of FY04, more than 950customers were using the Exchange service.

Goals for FY05 include the development of an accountmaintenance system to replace the system that currentlyresides on the University’s soon-to-be-retired mainframe.


Finance, Administration and Planning

Finance, Administration and Planning (FAP) is a “catalyst” for OITorganizational change, enabling and facilitating organizational effectiveness.FAP coordinates staff assessment, development, and recognition; projectplanning and project management practices; process improvementopportunities; and financial analysis and budgeting for OIT. In addition, FAPprovides a comprehensive IT training curriculum and cost effective printingand mailing services to the University community.

The Finance, Administration and Planning group includes IT Training, OITBudget and Finance, OIT Human Resources and Administration, OIT ProcessImprovement, OIT Public Relations, the Princeton Project Office, and the Officeof Printing and Mailing.

Highlights

Improving organizational effectivenessDuring FY04, OIT pursued a range of initiatives to improve organizationaleffectiveness.

As a result of the OIT Cabinet retreat to improve teamwork and customerservice, OIT initiated an OIT Core Values process, facilitated by the UniversityOmbuds Office.

A review of OIT titles across the organization aimed to ensure that positiontitles were consistent across the organization. As a result of this process, sometitles were adjusted to reflect more accurately the individual’s role in theorganization.

During FY04, OIT continued the use of cross-functional teams to coordinatekey efforts across OIT departments. Two new cross-functional teams werecreated - the IT Policy and Security team and the Video Coordination team –joining the Communications team, Disaster Recovery team, Facilities and OfficeManagement team, IT Architecture team, Software Coordination team and theTraining team. Team charters and quarterly status reports kept OIT current withteam activities.

In addition, an OIT task force was formed to identify opportunities “to domore with less” with the goal of reducing OIT operating expenses for FY06 andbeyond. The task force of OIT volunteers reached out to each OIT departmentfor cost-saving and revenue generating ideas as well as opportunities tostreamline processes. The group consolidated the suggestionsand performed high level analysis of the projected effort, the ease ofimplementation, and the return on investment for each idea. The group willsubmit a report in early FY05.

Attracting and retaining quality information technologyprofessionalsIn FY04, OIT continued to make progress towards a comprehensiveperformance enhancement program. Efforts included the OIT staff progressreport, the OIT-wide goal setting process, piloting a staff development process,and establishing a reward and recognition program. OIT also established a newreward and recognition team that defined a fair and open rewards policy. Sixpeer recognition awards were presented during FY04. OIT also established an


employee recognition program. 128 employee recognitionawards were distributed during FY04.

In addition, OIT sponsored “Take your Children to WorkDay.” 46 children of OIT employees participated in theprogram. OIT also initiated CPR/First Aid training for OITstaff. With minimal investment, twenty-two OIT employeesacross all OIT work locations were certified in CPR/FirstAid.

Enabling communication and collaborationRegular editions of it matters continued to familiarize theUniversity community with key technology initiatives.Two special editions of it matters were also published tohighlight particular topics of interest: explaining the use ofIT passwords and reviewing on-campus choices for e-mail,web browsers, and calendaring.

During the year, we established and maintained acomprehensive OIT BlackBoard web site that assistsOIT staff to share information. The web site containscomprehensive information on OIT goals, projects,cross-functional team activities, presentations, policies,professional resources, and OIT Cabinet meeting minutes.A new OIT face book was also added to the site.

During FY04, FAP took the lead in forming the first Ivy+Group for Finance, Administration, and Planning. The firstmeeting of the group took place at Princeton in April. Themeeting gave us an opportunity to share best practices, todiscuss common issues, and to provide opportunities forcollaboration and benchmarking.

Improving the management of web-basedcontentWorking closely with the Communications Office, OITcoordinated the evaluation and selection of a new WebContent Management System to be used initially for theUniversity’s core web site. More than 100 proprietary andopen source solutions were assessed. Fifteen vendorswere invited to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP)that contained more than 200 questions regardingfunctional and technical requirements and vendorviability. As a result of the RFP responses, five vendorswere selected to come to campus to present detailedproduct demonstrations. Following the fivedemonstrations, a University-wide team unanimouslyselected the Roxen Content Management System.Software licensing, services and support agreements werenegotiated and signed. A plan to implement Roxen for theUniversity’s core web site was developed and is currentlyunderway with a targeted “go live” date of fall 2004.

IT Training

OIT continues to provide free courses on a wide rangeof IT topics for members of the University community.IT training offerings support the effective use of theUniversity’s administrative systems and desktopproductivity tools. Services include Blackboard In-office

Visits, Help Desk Technology Learning Initiatives, andLunch ’n Learn Seminars.

Participation in training courses continued to grow inFY04. New classes were developed to support themigration to Outlook e-mail and the PeopleSoft Financialsupgrade. In addition, the Training group developed newclasses in Labor Accounting and Windows XP/Office2003. The number of classes offered in FY04 increased by15% over FY03.

Type of Training # of Classes # of Attendees

Desktop Productivity Tools 65 1032

Outlook e-mail Migration 45 398

Administrative Systems 114 651

PeopleSoft Financials Upgrade 32 372

Totals 256 2453

During FY04, staff expanded the IT training web siteto include a comprehensive view of all IT trainingopportunities and to integrate a much improvedregistration process. The new online system provided awider range of metrics and eased the administration of thetraining programs.

Innovations in FY04 included “no boundary” registration,opening all classes to all faculty, staff, and students; anonline attendance tracking feature to identify attendees,no-shows, and cancellations; an online waiting list thatpermits those on the list to receive priority enrollment innew classes; a new online class evaluation form; easieraccess through the IT training web site to online versionsof user documentation; and one-step email communicationwith OIT training groups.

Princeton Project Office

The Princeton Project Office (PPO) enables a projectmanagement culture so that projects are delivered on time,within budget, and with expected results. In support ofthis mission, the PPO partners with the project managersand teams to provide project management support andmentoring; facilitates project reviews; continuallyimproves the Princeton Project ManagementMethodology; shares project management best practices;coordinates OIT project requests; and manages the OITInterdepartmental Project Portfolio. During the year,OIT continued to expand the use of the Princeton ProjectManagement Methodology (PPMM) by creatingknowledge transfer and effectively matching the projectmanagement processes to the size of the project. APrinceton Project Office Advisory Group was formed toshare project management experiences and practices andprovide feedback to the Princeton Project Office. In FY04,a total of 46 OIT projects used some part of the PPMM tomanage their project activities, an increase of 50% overFY03.


A January Lunch ’n Learn seminar shared the PPMMwith others throughout the University. As a result of thepositive response, the Princeton Project Office designedan innovative project management class combining MSProject and the PPMM. The new class will become partof the IT training curriculum in the fall.

Budget and Finance

Budget and Finance assists OIT operating units with allfinancial issues. The group provides accounting expertise,controls the capital assets, recommends rates for OITservices, and ensures compliance with University rulesand procedures.

In FY04, OIT continued to make progress toward steadystate IT staffing by identifying several approaches toreduce the organization’s reliance on central funding.Working with the Office of Human Resources and LegalCounsel, OIT developed a Voluntary Transition Program(VTP). Eligible staff were offered a one-time opportunityto transition to retirement or new careers.

The group also assisted in the preparation of severalcomprehensive cost/benefit analyses to ensure value forthe investment. In addition, a “scenarios” template wasdeveloped to identify various investment alternatives andthe corresponding financial impact.

Printing and Mailing Services

The Office of Printing and Mailing provides a broad baseof cost-effective, cost-recovery services to the Universitycommunity with special consideration given to thesupport of Annual Giving, Development, Alumni Council,and the Office of Communications. The four areas ofservice are as follows:

• Graphics and Prepress: Design, illustration, typesetting,scanning, negative and film positive output up to 2540dpi, Toshiba composite color output for proofing andcopying, Epson large format printing up to 44 inches inwidth by 20 feet in length.

• Offset Printing Production: The manufacturing of a widevariety of printed work, from single color to process color,letterheads, business cards, flyers, note cards, books,pamphlets, manuals, pocket folders, and posters. Binderycapability for perfect bound, saddle-stitched, and spiralbound books; and support for cutting, collating,punching, perforating, folding, scoring, and laminating upto 12x18 inches.

• Digital Networked Printing Center: Both black and whiteand color networked printing. The center’s equipment, theXerox DocuTech 6180 and the Xerox iGen3, providescapability for scanning, xeroxing, and color printing of awide variety of printed work including personalized laserletters and postcards.

• Mailing Production: Ink jet addressing, automaticinserting, sorting for first class, third class, andinternational mail, mass emailing, mailing liststandardization, metering, wafer sealing, live stampaffixing, bulk mailing, packaging, and shipping. Printingand Mailing is also responsible for mass-e-mail notices tothe campus.

Printing and Mailing continued to promote its all-digital,on-demand network operation. In December 2003, theXerox iGen was installed, replacing the Xerox Docucolor6060. The iGen supports printing from letter size (8.5x11)up to a sheet size (14.3x20.5) and has been averaging225,000 impressions per month. There has beensignificantly more interaction between the Office ofCommunications and Printing and Mailing, especiallysince the installation of the iGen. Designers in both officeshave a close working relationship.

During FY04, the Printing and Mailing web site assumedthe look and feel of other OIT sites. New informationwas added about the Printing and Mailing servicesand instructions on how to transfer files for furtherprocessing. Owing to the efforts of the OITCommunications Cross-Functional Team, the web sitealso began to support a new service, on-line ordering ofUniversity business cards.

OIT installed a web version of the PACE job trackingmanagement system on workstations throughout theoffice. The new system reports that Printing and Mailingprocessed on average 750 job requests per month duringFY04.


Support Services

Support Services provides direct customer support for the University’s informationtechnology infrastructure. Support Services is comprised of five main groups.Network Services sustains the data infrastructure. Customer Support provides inperson, telephone, e-mail, print, and web-based IT support for the University.Student Computing Services provides direct support for students and sustains theiraccess to workstations and shared printers in public University spaces. DesktopSupport, which includes both the Hardware and Software Support groups, maintainsand enhances the University’s desktop computing infrastructure.Telecommunications Services supports the University’s telephone and voice mailsystems.

Support Services also subsumes a range of smaller support programs and services,including the SCAD and DCS Programs, the OIT Ambassador Program, PolicyOffice, Software Sales, Software Licenses, Software and Service Contracts, SoftwareDeployment, Faculty Computer Program, ID Card support, and the University CopyCenters.

Highlights

Enhancing customer serviceAt the beginning of the academic year, in the most significant increase of centralcampus computing support in the past decade, OIT opened the OIT SolutionsCenter in a repurposed space on the main floor of the Frist Campus Center. With thegoal of moving customer support closer to our customers, the Solutions Centerprovides general computing support, hardware repair, account management,telephony services, software sales, and support for the Blackboard coursemanagement systems. During its first year, more than 8,000 customers were helpedin the software clinic and customers purchased more than 3,500 software packages.

Enhancing the telecommunications infrastructureThe University continues to upgrade the campus network infrastructure as part ofa seven-year, $13M endeavor. When complete, the more robust infrastructure willserve anticipated needs for the next 15 years.

During FY04, work continued on upgrading the network wiring within campusbuildings and converting the remaining shared network access to a switchedenvironment. OIT extended the Dormnet network to living spaces at the Butler andthe new Lawrence Apartments. In addition, OIT installed 100Mb desktopconnections with a limited number of gigabit server connections in several academicbuildings. Links between these buildings and the core were also upgraded to gigabitservice.

OIT’s Hardware Support group worked with the Facilities Planning Office during theconstruction and renovation of campus buildings. New higher capacity cablingreplaced old wiring. Technical renovations involved removing and later reinstallingnetwork equipment and PC clusters in more than 20 buildings.

Sustaining reliable telephone and messaging servicesNortel rated the reliability of the University’s telephone system in FY04 at 99.9998%uptime. And OIT’s Telecommunications Services achieved a 97% success rate inmeeting customer expectations for requests of new or changed services. During theyear, more than 900 work orders were issued for telephone work that involved 4,650


changes to telephone service or equipment. In addition,1,249 work orders for voice mailboxes were processed.

Hosting an international conferenceIn June, OIT and Princeton hosted ResNet 2004, aninternational symposium for professionals who providecomputing and information technology support forstudents in higher education. The conference was agreat success. Professor Ed Felten gave the openingaddress, “The Future of File Sharing.” More than 300computing professionals from 152 colleges anduniversities around the world participated in 48presentations in five themes: IT Management; Living,Learning and Technology; Support, Training and StaffDevelopment; Technology and Security; and EmergingFrontiers.

In addition to the presentations, there were seven “Birdsof a Feather” sessions, opportunities for participants toconsult with fellow attendees on specific topics ofmutual interest. University Catering and ConferenceServices provided meals and housing. The conference’sclosing dinner was held aboard the Spirit of New Yorktouring New York City harbor.

Securing the campus with a new ID cardinfrastructureThe ID Card Office assisted in the planning to replace allcampus proximity (prox) readers and to issue a newUniversity ID with a prox chip to all cardholders. DuringFY04, the project involved the design of a new ID cardincluding the new prox chip, a new encoding map on themagnetic stripe, changes to Blackboard software,significant data cleaning and synchronization,installation of more than 500 prox card readers, and thepreparation and distribution of approximately 15,000 IDcards.

Networking

The Networking group works to sustain a cost effectivedata network in support of the University’s academic andadministrative needs. Towards this goal, the groupinsures the correct and efficient operation of the campusnetwork, maintains the University’s access to theInternet and other external networks, manages thevarious remote access facilities, and evaluates newnetwork technologies for deployment on campus.

In addition, the Networking group works closely withother OIT groups as well as academic and administrativedepartments to assess network-related needs and toapply network technologies to address those needs.

During FY04, a significant number of campus computers,notably Dormnet machines, were infected by viruses.Networking staff devoted considerable time to detect,document, block, fix, and restore network access to thesemachines.

Highlights

Networking infrastructureDuring FY04, the Networking group reconfigured thenetwork core to provide the University with additionalflexibility in the configuration of the campus network.The group relocated the microwave equipmentconnecting PPPL to the main campus and added a fiberoptic infrastructure that improves connectivity on theForrestal campus.

Staff added a hardware traffic manager, Packeteer, to thecampus network to control the bandwidth used by com-puters connected to Dormnet and to monitor peer-to-peer activity on campus. To improve security, staffchanged user authentication from NIS-based passwordsto LDAP. To secure departmental host databaseinformation, the Network group converted dial-in remoteaccess authentication and hostmaster authentication toLDAP.

As part of the disaster recovery effort, the groupinstalled high speed AT&T connectivity to New South,moved redundant critical servers to that location, andcreated a campus ring network.

During FY04, the group also incorporated the CardAccess System, the central Events Ticketing System,Food Services Blackboard System, and FacilitiesDepartment electrical power monitoring into theUniversity’s parallel private/secure data network.

Telecommunications Services

Telecommunications Services provides the Universitywith reliable and cost-effective telephone and voiceprocessing message services. With FY04 revenues ofslightly more than $3,500,000, TelecommunicationsServices is OIT’s largest cost recovery unit.

Highlights

InfrastructureDuring FY04, Telecommunication Services managed2,955 student telephone lines, 8,248 academic andadministrative telephone lines, and more than 13,000voice mailboxes. Every telephone line on campus hasCaller ID enabled and Caller Originated Trace (forthreatening or harassing calls). Console attendantsresponded on average to more than 400 inquiries perday. The call volume for FY04 was 20,350,125 totaltelephone calls (6.9 million inbound calls, 5.8 millionoutbound calls, and 7.6 million intra university calls).Nortel rated system reliability in FY04 at 99.9998%uptime.


Work ordersDuring FY04, more than 900 work orders were issued forwork that involved 4,650 changes to telephone serviceor equipment. In addition, the group processed 1,249work orders for voice mailboxes. The group achieved a97% success rate in meeting requests for new orchanged services.

RatesTo accommodate the replacement of obsolete equipmentand an upgrade of the PBX core that will enhancereliability and bring new technical capabilities to theUniversity, the monthly service rate was increased by$0.50 per month during FY04 with the same increasetargeted for FY05.

The domestic long distance rate of $0.07/minute and theinternational rates of $0.10/minute to Canada and theUnited Kingdom continue to keep the Universitycompetitive in the marketplace. A drop in long distanceusage (and revenue) during FY04 was attributable toincreased cell phone usage (mostly by the studentcommunity). During the year, approximately 70% ofstudents had their own cell phones.

Student Computing Services

Student Computing Services (SCS) sustains access topublic workstations and printers, manages theResidential Computing Consulting program thatprovides in-room IT assistance for students, andcoordinates the Student Computer Initiative (SCI) thatsells computers to students.

Highlights

Support for computer clustersDuring FY04, SCS maintained computing and printingfacilities in 30 buildings. The University’s computerclusters contained a total of 266 Windows machines,44 Macintoshes, 18 UNIX workstations, 35 printers, andseven scanners. There were 712,724 logins to OITcluster machines, an increase of approximately 10,000from FY03.

Cluster upgradesIn preparation for the start of the 2003-2004 academicyear, SCS upgraded 66 PCs, 21 iMacs, and nine newprinters in cluster locations. SCS partnered with theRockefeller and Mathey Residential Colleges to install anew printer in a newly renovated dorm. The ResidentialColleges funded the purchase while SCS managed theprinter, paid for the network charges, and provided theconsumables.

During FY04, SCS updated the cluster image andinstalled the software suite on cluster machines in orderto provide an up-to-date variety of academic andgeneral purpose software to the University community.In addition to the OIT computer cluster facilities, 189departmental student cluster machines in 10departments relied upon the cluster image.

Print accountingIn FY01, SCS implemented UnipriNT, a print accountingsystem. The system continues to require that studentsselect their print jobs at the printer. During FY04, paperuse remained virtually unchanged from FY03 with a totalof 6,563,648 pages printed on cluster printers.

Frist information kiosksAt the start of FY04, Apple Computer donated 16 iMacsfor use as informational kiosks in the Frist CampusCenter. Staff rewrote the kiosk management tool using acustomized web browser.

Residential Computing ConsultantsDuring FY04, 32 students worked as ResidentialComputing Consultants (RCCs). The RCCs providednetwork and computing support for their peers in thedormitories, including the Graduate College, LawrenceApartments, and the Graduate Annexes. The RCCsassisted OIT activities at the Frist Campus Centerduring the beginning of the academic year and providedhelp sessions at every Residential College during thefirst week of classes. In addition to their outreachefforts, the RCCs responded to 1,388 tickets in OIT’s jobtracking system.

Student Computer InitiativeOpen to all University students, the Student ComputerInitiative offered aggressively priced, highly capablecomputers customized for academic work at Princeton.During FY04, the SCI program sold a total of 1,493machines (a 20% increase over FY03): 1067 Dell PCs(85%) and 221 Apple computers (15%).

Customer Service

OIT Customer Service provides OIT’s first line ofassistance for the University Community. The new OITSolutions Center in Frist gives the organization for thefirst time a centralized location for IT assistance. TheOIT Help Desk continues to provide comprehensivee-mail, phone, and web assistance. The DocumentationGroup assembles printed and web documentation toassist faculty, staff, and students to make better use ofexisting resources.


Highlights

OIT Solutions CenterIn its inaugural year, the OIT Solutions Center received7,952 visits from customers requesting assistance withtheir computers; 68% of the customers in the SolutionsCenter Clinic were undergraduates.

The Help Desk The Help Desk continued to serve as the single point ofcontact for all campus computing inquiries 24 hours/day, five days/week while staff members providedemergency coverage on the weekends. After openingthe OIT Solutions Center, OIT streamlined its Help Deskservices into quality and timely telephone, e-mail, andweb-based computing support for the University.During FY04, the Help Desk staff responded to 52,994individual customer phone inquiries and 24,902 e-mailinquiries. Help Desk staff continued to provide supportand training for all new SCAD/DCS members andmaintained and supported the University’s LISTSERVe-mail list service and OnTime Calendar accounts. TheHelp Desk also supported the University’s admissionsweb site, financial aid application, the Student CourseOnline Registration Engine (SCORE), and all UniversityBusiness Applications and computer purchaseprograms.

OIT KnowledgeBaseThe Help Desk provided assistance to the Universitycommunity by maintaining a searchable KnowledgeBaseof answers at a dedicated help web site:kb.princeton.edu. During the year, the OIT Help Deskweb site received more than 35 million hits from morethan 450,000 unique IP addresses.

DocumentationThe Documentation Group continued to work closelywith central University business offices, including theOffice of the Registrar, the Office of the Treasurer, andthe Graduate School to complete documentation for theUniversity’s core PeopleSoft applications. This effortsupported multiple PeopleSoft upgrades during thefiscal year. In addition, the group updated thedocumentation for the Office of Research and PlanningAdministration’s COEUS system.

Communications ServicesTo better address customer needs, OIT establishedthe Communications Services group in April.Communications Services assumed responsibility forthe OIT web site, the Help Desk web site, and the OITKnowledgeBase. The new group also coordinated theproduction of informative pamphlets and the editing ofmass e-mail communications to OIT customers. Towardsthe end of the year, the group began preliminary worktoward implementing the web content management forthe OIT web site.

Desktop Computing Support

Composed of two groups, Hardware Support andSoftware Support, Desktop Computing Support (DCS)provides quality and timely walk-in and in-officehardware and software computing support as well ascable television services to the campus community.Related services include in-depth computing needsanalysis and guidance on strategic planning. Inaddition, the group provides analysis and advice onnew technologies and determines the best methods forproviding ongoing support.

Hardware Support

OIT Hardware Support provides a range of services,including renovation support, warranty and non-warranty equipment repair, hardware installation, andmaintenance of the University’s wireless and Tiger TVinfrastructure.

Highlights

Building renovation supportDuring FY04, Hardware Support helped the FacilitiesPlanning Office during the renovation of campusbuildings. The effort involved removing and laterreplacing or upgrading data wiring, network equipment,and computer clusters. In most cases, Hardware Supportinstalled new OIT wiring in newly renovated areasincluding New South, Green Hall, McCormick Hall, EastPyne, 1937 Hall, 1938 Hall, 1939 Hall, Dodge OsbourneHall, Gauss Hall, Foulke Hall, and Spelman Hall.

Network upgradesDuring FY04, work continued on the project to upgradeand rewire the network infrastructure in buildings thatare not scheduled for renovation. In these areas, toavoid disruption to customers, Hardware Supportinstalled parallel cabling systems next to old data wiring.Once the new infrastructure was in place, technicianswent room-by-room, switching to the new cabling whileeliminating the old wiring. During FY04, the EngineeringQuadrangle, Dickinson Hall, and McCormick Hall wererewired. Hardware Support also added 100 new datacables in the Lewis-Sigler Institute. Staff performedwiring repairs in Witherspoon Hall, Butler Tract, 1901Laughlin Hall, Pyne Hall, Henry Hall, 1903 Hall, HolderHall, and 48 University Place.


Special projectsDuring FY04, Hardware Support’s Repair Groupcompleted 4,000 repair calls. Staff installed 383 LimitedBasic, 679 Basic, and 149 Total Dormvideo connectionsand completed more than 200 video repairs. In supportof Dormnet, staff replaced missing hub componentsduring the summer of 2003 and completed 150 repairsduring the academic year.

Wireless computingDuring FY04, Hardware Support established wirelesscomputing zones in the Center for Jewish Life, BowenHall, 5 Ivy Lane, Colonial Club, Wu and Wilcox Halls,Forbes College, 1879 Hall, Marx Hall, Firestone Library,and Prospect House.

OIT Software Support

OIT Software Support provides proactive support forthe University’s 2,500 DeSC machines as well as TSMbackup and restore assistance for Windows andMacintosh platforms. Staff are involved in the creationof the software image for University machines in DeSC,the campus computer clusters, and Faculty ComputerProgram. Software Support also maintains thecomputers in the Armory and 120 Alexander Trainingrooms as well as the computers in the “cluster in a box”program.

Highlights

Customer contactsDuring FY04, Software Support processed a total of5,584 OPM incidents. The top six Departments servicedwere OIT (1017 tickets, 18.21%), Woodrow WilsonSchool (258 tickets, 4.62%), Mechanical and AerospaceEngineering (239 tickets, 4.28%), Athletics (218 tickets,3.90%), Residential Colleges (150 tickets, 2.69%), andResearch and Project Administration (129 tickets,2.31%).

Special projectsDuring the year, Software Support worked on a newcharging policy for the University’s TSM backupservice. Staff continued to assist Public Safety with theupgrade of their fire alarm system. Additional NetopiaVPN routers were placed in several locations to improveconnectivity from off-campus University offices. Staffalso assisted the installation and testing of newadministrative software, including the Diebold “room-draw” software and the Resource 25 schedulingsoftware.

Software Support assisted many other OIT groups withkey projects. Software Support assisted with the testingof software images for DeSC, FCP, and other non-DeSCmachines and with the many support issues related tothe creation of the images. Software Support workedwith Enterprise Services to set up a Keyserver forsharing applications over the University network. Staffalso assisted with the development and testing of theKiosk XP image that was deployed in several campuslocations at the request of Human Resources. Staff alsoworked on network re-subnet projects at Moffet andSchultz labs as well as McCormick Hall.

Policy Officer

The OIT Policy Officer strives to enforce Universitypolicies related to copyright and technology use. ThePolicy Officer serves as corresponding secretary toOIT’s computer and network emergency response team,acknowledging reports of network probes and abusesapparently originating at Princeton, and forwardingreports to appropriate personnel in other departmentsfor investigation and resolution. The Policy Officer alsoparticipates as a member of the University InstitutionalReview Panel for Human Subjects.

During FY04, the OIT Policy Officer resolved nearly300 copyright infringement complaints filed with theUniversity. The office collaborated with the Office ofGeneral Counsel to increase awareness of Princeton’spolicies regarding copyright and technology. TheOfficer cooperated with the Department of PublicSafety regarding incidents involving criminal use oftechnology, theft of computers, and locating missingstudents. The Officer provided assistance todisciplinary authorities and distributed computingsupport personnel with interpretation of UniversityIT policy to particular cases. In addition, the Officerprovided assistance to victims of threatening orharassing e-mail, and to those who perceived spam asoriginating within the princeton.edu domain.

Software Sales

OIT Software Sales is now located in the Tech Depotat the OIT Solutions Center in Frist. During FY04, OITSoftware Sales sold nearly $350K of software: $275K todepartments, $52K to students, and $23K to faculty/staff. The total represents a 13% increase over FY03sales.

During FY04, Software Sales initiated the PrincetonSoftware Repository, (PSR II), a web-based system thatwill permit customers to order software online. Paymentwill be automated via credit card, project grant, or


student account. When applicable, customers will beable to download software rather than secure a disk orCD. PSR II will rollout this fall.

Software licenses and contract managementSoftware Sales has converted all eligible Microsoft SQLlicenses from stand-alone to processor licenses.

During FY04, OIT made major upgrades in softwaresupport. Notably, OIT purchased Premier Support forMicrosoft software products and Platinum support forSymantec antivirus products.

Successful licensing negotiations included the renewalof the Blackboard Learning System, the acquisitionof the Blackboard Content Management System, theupgrade of Oracle to a campus wide license, theacquisition of Internet Application and InternetDeveloper products, the acquisition of the Roxencontent management software, the upgrade of ghostingsoftware (DeployCenter Library), and the upgrade of theUniversity’s internet services.

IT established a new mechanism for collecting softwarefees from all DeSC computer purchases. OIT alsopurchased a Keyserver license that will permit DeSCusers to access a greater variety of software products atreasonable rates. In the future, funds from the new DeSCaccount will be used to purchase software that can bekeyserved to all DeSC computers.

OIT also added 50 licenses to our concurrent MATLABlicense in response to student demand. OIT will explorewith Engineering, the WWS, and other academicdepartments the feasibility of acquiring a Mathworkssite license.

ID Cards

On July 1, 2004, the ID Card Office left OIT to becomepart of a larger operation, the TigerCard Office. The newoffice will bring together the various functions for whichID cards are used. In addition to assuming responsibilityfor the production and distribution of University IDcards, the TigerCard Office will assume systemsadministration responsibility for the Dining Controlsystem and for the University’s building access (prox)control system, C-Cure.

Copiers

During FY04, University central copiers made 16.5 millioncopies, down from 18.1 million last year. The copy ratewill remain at 6 cents in FY05.

Support for Computing in AcademicDepartments and Distributed ComputingSupport

Support for Computing in AcademicDepartments (SCAD) and Distributed ComputingSupport (DCS) are programs that complement OIT’scentral support by providing University departments ahigher level of individualized advocacy and attention.Members gain priority access to the OIT Help Desk,special opportunities for training, and OPM trackingsystem.

During FY04, departmental consultants participated inmonthly meetings that addressed common concerns andissues related to campus computing. Both programscontinued to grow at a modest rate. During FY04, sixdepartments joined the SCAD program and nine depart-ments joined DCS. By the end of FY04, there were 42members in the SCAD program and 52 participatingdepartments. DCS has a total of 40 departments with 32members.

TrainingTraining continues to be a cornerstone of the SCAD andDCS programs. During FY04, training topics includedMacOSX Panther, DBToolBox Intro, DBToolBoxIntermediate, VB Training Intro, VB TrainingIntermediate, Perl Intro, Advanced Perl, Intro to PHP,Advanced MSQL, Outlook IMAP migration, OutlookExchange migration, Advanced Linux, Intro to XML &HTML, Advanced XML & HTML, and MCSE & SecurityCertification.

Security CommitteeThe SCAD-DCS-SECOM Committee is comprised of 20volunteer SCAD/DCS personnel and others within OITwho meet monthly to discuss matters related to campusIT security. The committee conveys departmentalsecurity questions, concerns, and needs to OIT.Committee members also report back to the full SCAD/DCS membership with a consensus on best practices andrecommendations for deploying and sustaining a secureIT infrastructure within departments.


Participating Departments in SCAD ProgramApplied & Computational MathematicsArt & ArchaeologyAstrophysicsAtmospheric and Oceanic StudiesBendheim Center of FinanceCenter for the Studies of ReligionChemical EngineeringChemistryCivil EngineeringClassicsComparative LiteratureComputer ScienceCouncil of HumanitiesCreative WritingEast Asian StudiesEcology and Evolutionary BiologyEconomicsElectrical EngineeringEnglishEuropean Cultural Studies *French and Italian LanguagesGenomicsGeosciencesGerman *Hellenic StudiesHistoryIndustrial Relations *Jewish StudiesLatin American StudiesMathematicsMolecular BiologyMusicNear Eastern StudiesOffice of Population ResearchOperation Research Financial EngineeringPhilosophyPhysicsPoliticsPrinceton Institute for International and Regional Studies *Program in the Ancient World *Program in American StudiesPsychologyPrinceton Environmental InstitutePrinceton Material InstituteReligionSchool of ArchitectureSociety of Fellows in the Liberal Arts *Spanish & Portuguese LanguagesStudy of Woman and Gender SociologyTheater & DanceVisual ArtsWoodrow Wilson School

* Departments that joined the SCAD program during the last year



OIT in the News 2003-2004PrincetonUniversity


July 14, 2003, The Daily Princetonian website


September 7, 2003, Princeton Weekly Bulletin


September 10, 2003, The Daily Princetonian website


September 11, 2003, The Daily Princetonian






October 13, 2003, Princeton Weekly Bulletin


October 14, 2003, The Daily Princetonian


October 20, 2003, Princeton University website






November 11, 2003, The Daily Princetonian






December 8, 2003, The Daily Princetonian


December 17, 2003, Princeton Alumni Weekly








January 12, 2004, The Daily Princetonian


January 12, 2004, Princeton Weekly Bulletin


January 19, 2004, The Daily Princetonian


January 30, 2004, The Chronicle of Higher Education


February 9, 2004, The Daily Princetonian


February 9, 2004, Princeton Weekly Bulletin

(continued on next page)


February 9, 2004, Princeton Weekly Bulletin(continued from previous page)












March 3, 2004, The Daily Princetonian










April 5, 2004, Princeton Weekly Bulletin


April 6, 2004, The Daily Princetonian














April 23, 2004, Princeton University website


May 7, 2004, The Daily Princetonian


May 17, 2004, Princeton Weekly Bulletin





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