The Hub: Published By, For and About ITS

The ITS Infrastructure and Operations worked closely with many other campus teams to install three new Liebert Computer Room Air Conditioners (CRACs) this month. The following story will kick off the new “What ITS About” feature in the University Gazette.

All enterprise-level computer systems are monitored continuously by ITS’s Enterprise Management Center (EMC), part of Infrastructure and Operations. Each computer system requires a carefully controlled environment with specific humidity and temperature levels; each enterprise-level system also emits large amounts of heat, which must be controlled at all times.

In early fall 2004, Infrastructure and Operations and UNC-Chapel Hill Facilities Services worked closely together to evaluate existing EMC environmental equipment (which had been in use for over 20 years), current customer demands, expected future needs, and available budgets.

By repurposing an existing and unused State-funded renovations grant, the teams were able to secure funds for the purchase and installation of newer, scalable, and more flexible Computer Room Air Conditioners (or CRACs) to benefit the entire campus.

The installation of three new CRACs in the EMC, completed this month, was possible due to many contributions by talented UNC-Chapel Hill staff, including plumbers, electricians, carpenters, insulators, asbestos removal technicians, machine shop craftsmen, and computer system operators. Here are more pictures from the process:

Shot 1
Shot 2
Shot 3
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The recent selection and installation of the new CRACs represents many things for Carolina: collaboration among departments, shared visions of high quality and robust technology equipment supporting academic endeavors, and ongoing review of customer needs and feedback.–MRB

If new electrical equipment arrives as scheduled, there will be a complete power outage at the 440 West Franklin Street building from Saturday, March 26, at 5:30 p.m. until no later than Sunday, March 27 (Easter), at 7:00 a.m. During the outage, all network computer services will be unavailable to buildings for which cable is routed through 440.

Those buildings are the Administrative Office Building, 308 West Rosemary, 206 West Franklin, 337 West Rosemary, and 208 West Franklin.

Some of the services affected include the following:

Netware and Windows file and print servers: Any document that is stored on a network drive; any document that you want to print to a networked printer (that is, one that is not directly attached to your computer and no other);
–ITS Server Farm departmental application servers and mainframe and related applications: Student Central, Finance Central, FACS, HRIS, CICS, TSO, FOCUS, IDMS, GMS, SIS, Oracle, etc.

While we regret the inconvenience that this outage might cause customers, it is necessary to complete critical electrical and networking changes required by the 440 West Franklin Street renovation project.

Again, service should be restored by 7:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Should you have questions about the services affected, contact 440 Computer Operations at 966-5886 or 698-8622.–Ray DeCristofaro with LJB

ITS Human Resources (HR) and UNC-Chapel Hill HR have been working very closely on a number of HR-related issues that will begin to move us forward regarding career banding, interim reviews, and performance reviews. ITS HR is pleased to announce that UNC-HR has created a new training presentation to provide ITS managers with the latest direction of career banding. In related news, the State Personnel Act requires that interim reviews covering June 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004, be completed and returned to the ITS HR team by April 18, 2005. Learn more about the training sessions and performance reviews below.

Career Banding Training

The UNC HR training includes the latest career banding guidelines and how career banding is to be used in conjunction with the State’s performance review process.

All ITS managers are required to attend one of the sessions, which will be held at the AOB in Training Room 1500A and are listed on the help.unc.edu/tracs system for enrollment. The class is titled “ITS Only: Career Banding Training for ITS Managers.” The manager’s Onyen and password are required to register. The following sessions are scheduled:

• Thursday, March 31st, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
• Thursday, March 31st, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 5th, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, April 6th, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
• Thursday, April 7th, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.

ITS HR will schedule voluntary employee training sessions once the manager training has been completed.

Interim Reviews

Due to the reorganization, interim reviews were not completed during the normal review period. However, UNC HR has informed ITS HR that the reviews are required by the State Personnel Act.

Time period for reviews: June 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004
Completed reviews due: April 18, 2004
ITS HR Contact: Lisa Lipscomb (SPA HR Manager) (lisa_lipscomb@unc.edu) or John Gallagher (john_gallagher@unc.edu)

Additional information: Learn more at the Carolina Human Resources Web site (http://hr.unc.edu and then go to “For Managers & HR Facilitators–SPA Policies–Performance Management”).

If a workplan has changed during the review period, then the manager will want to discuss the performance as it relates to both the former and the current workplans. In addition, if the employees’ supervisor changed during the period, then information from the previous and current supervisors should be combined into one review. –John Gallager with MRB

Dan, Robyn, and the Assistant/Associate Vice Chancellors are creating the ITS Service Managers’ Council to provide a regular venue in which departmental management staff can exchange internal project updates. The idea is to create an operations meeting that will be part of an enhanced change-management strategy for ITS. The Council will begin with weekly meetings and adjust the frequency if necessary. Each AVC is submitting managers’ names to the membership list, which is being compiled by staff members in the Office of the CIO. Robyn will chair the meetings and establish processes to ensure that the agenda includes all necessary topics for coordination. The meetings will provide ITS managers the opportunity to network with peers, share project updates, and discuss future plans.–Robyn East with MRB

Carolina will host IBM’s ThinkTank conference, planned by and for faculty and staff from K-12 institutions and higher education universities that are implementing universal laptop programs through IBM ThinkPads, on June 5-7. There is currently a call for papers to be presented at one of three breakout sessions, Academic Innovations, Program Administrative Innovations, or Technology Innovations in Support of Academic Computing.

Of the last category, IBM’s ThinkTank Web site notes, “Technology is the base media for extending learning experiences. It’s that combination of hardware, software and learning environments. Presentations and workshops in this stream will focus on the ever-changing technical landscape. What are the technology drivers we can expect to see in the next 3 years? What’s new in software that enhances learning? Are you looking at open source? You may chose to moderate or participate in one of the following panel discussions on

• Wireless implementations–experiences shared
• Designing better classrooms–for students, faculty and support staff
• Security–keeping laptops and classroom equipment safe

“Sample topics include:

• IT/data security
• comprehensive wireless integration
• voice/data convergence
• network management
• storage
• backup & recovery/disaster recovery
• comprehensive instructional technology strategy
• digital media content management & distribution
• technology ROI (return on investment) studies”

Details of the call for papers are available at IBM’s ThinkTank Web site, www.ibm.com/easyaccess/thinktank. You must register on the site to view the information. Proposals must be received by April 4.–LJB

ITS Communications and ITS Training and Education are pleased to announce new regular features in the University Gazette. Each issue of the Gazette will include either the “What ITS About” or “LearnIT@unc.edu” feature, to be provided by ITS. “What ITS About” will highlight the projects and accomplishments of the department while “LearnIT@unc.edu” will showcase upcoming educational opportunities. The installation of the CRACs (Computer Room Air Conditioners) in the machine room will be the inaugural story for this exciting new campus communication service.–MRB

With approval from the Dean’s Council and Chancellor’s Cabinet, ITS has been working closely with other IT campus units to develop a University guideline for assigned Onyens and e-mail addresses. The creation of a Campus Onyen/E-mail Guideline was spurred by the need for all members of campus to have a registered e-mail address to which critical Univeristy information can be delivered. ITS Enterprise Applications is working closely with the Information Technology Directors, University Legal Counsel, ITS Information Security and Policy, and other campus IT units to ensure that each aspect of the guideline is reviewed. Many issues–from HIPAA to name registration–are being discussed so that the rollout of the guideline across campus can be effectively implemented.– MRB

Thanks to cooperation among two divisions of ITS and the UNC-CH Department of Human Resources, support for the automated leave tracking software (ALTS) transitioned to the ITS Response Center (Help Desk) effective March 14.

The Automated Leave Tracking System, or ALTS, was developed more than a decade ago by programmers responding to Human Resources’ and the-then Systems and Procedures’ (S&P) efforts to automate a tedious task. Previously, HR Facilitators were required to track vacation and sick leave on paper forms. Since vacation leave is awarded monthly in amounts varying by employee category and length of service, and since the State tracks time sheets in tenth-hour (6-minute) increments, and since calculators work by 100s (decimals) instead of by 60s (minutes), doing the math could be challenging. In addition, there are complex rules about the use of leave.

Fortunately, programmers were able to create Lotus programs that made the computer do much of the work. Once the initial rollout was complete, HR continued to offer programming and policy support, and S&P designated an employee to do the software support. Upgrades over the years moved the program into Microsoft’s Excel program; taught HR Facilitators to track legislative bonus, adverse weather, community involvement, and other types of leave; and added a fiscal-year summary for convenience in reporting leave liability as part of the year-end close process. The popular program is in use by approximately 90% of University departments.

As part of the effort to centralize IT support to the ITS Response Center, Jimmy Workman of the ITS-RC and Loretta Bohn (ITS Communications) worked together to bring the ITS-RC on board with ALTS. An updated user’s guide, staff training sessions, and FAQs added to help.unc.edu were key steps in completing the transition. The Knowledge Management team, part of ITS Communications, assisted with posting the new documentation. Meanwhile, UNC HR worked with the News and Publications team, also within ITS Communications, to inform users about the transition for software support to 962-HELP.

“I’m pleased to see the ITS Help Desk work to enhance support to our campus customers on this critical leave tracking tool,” says Matt Brody, Senior Director for Human Resources Planning & Systems. Since so much of the process was unwritten, the teams will continue to fine-tune the documentation, but the transition has been very smooth so far. ITS is able to maintain customer support during our own major changes.–LJB with MRB