ITTS Update » Other Projects

NLW on ALA Island in SL

Donavan — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:47:36 +0000

I have a lot of blog “homes” and this week, joining two more nings, it got even harder for me to choose one, but for now it’s here at the Association of Virtual Worlds ning.

Implementation of new desktop computers and laptops is complete!

Jenny — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:41:01 +0000

ITTS staff have spent the last couple of months switching out 64 laptops and 132 desktops throughout the Chicago office. The lease on these machines is up, so we are now in the process of cleaning the hard drives and sending them back.

We’ve also installed flat-screen monitors for everyone, so we hope you’re making good use of the new-found space on your desk. If you received a new computer during this round and encounter any problems with it, please contact us or submit a Track-It help request.

Moodle Testbed

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:45:39 +0000

A test version of Moodle, an open-source course management system, has been created and released to staff who currently have courses running in WebCT. We will experiment with this software until May 31st, at which time we will determine if it suits our needs. If it does, we will develop a transition plan to move to Moodle before our WebCT license expires in November.

New PC and laptop roll out

admin — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:36:26 +0000

The lease on about one-third of our desktop PCs and laptops will expire in June. We are working on a plan to roll out this new equipment. We are also planning a couple of days when people who use laptops will have a hands-on opportunity to test and select the model of laptop they would like to have.

WebCT Updates – November 2006

admin — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 22:29:30 +0000

We continue on WebCT version 4.1.1.5 while we evaluate our options. We will create a Moodle test bed to evaluate its suitability as a replacement for WebCT.

Inbound Email Update

admin — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:30:30 +0000

Processing of inbound email is caught up. More than 53,000 email messages were processed in the last 24 hours. Please let us know if you experience any email slowness going forward.

Inbound Email Slowdown

admin — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 20:56:45 +0000

Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend we received an overwhelming amount of spam email, which has caused a slowdown in the processing of inbound email. Outbound email appears to be fine. The backlog built up over the weekend is taking quite a while to process, as it is first being filtered for spam. The backlog has been being processed all day Monday, November 27th, and is expected to continue through the evening. We will continue to provide updates as the processing continues.

Network Infrastructure Support

admin — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:24:18 +0000

Effective November 14, 2006, ALA is moving to a managed service partnership to support our network infrastructure. This will improve delivery of services to our customers, both internal and external. Managed services gives us 24/7 access to an array of expertise for our day to day operations, and additional knowledge to address any issues that arise.

Many organizations are moving to outside managed services where the vendor provides trained consultants who provide a wide range of technical skills capable of handling all our current and future network infrastructure needs.

Firewall Upgrade

admin — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:07:54 +0000

Our upgraded Firewall is in place and working. It’s a CISCO 5520 Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA). The ASA represents an improved technology over our previous firewall. It has the ability to recognize types of threatening behavior in addition to restricting the types of communication it allows through.

The installation began just after 9:00 am Saturday, and services were restored by 11:00 am. Web services were interrupted during that period, including email. Email began coming in around 10:15. None should have been lost.

If you’d like to know more about the ASA, you can read the CISCO product brochure:

http://www.cisco.com/application/pdf/en/us/guest/products/ps6120/c1031/cdccont_0900aecd80285492.pdf

For a very favorable technical review of the ASA (the testing was sponsored by CISCO), see:
http://www.cisco.com/application/pdf/en/us/guest/products/ps6120/c1244/cdccont_0900aecd80350d4e.pdf

Firewall Installation 11/11/06 9:00 a.m.

admin — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 17:25:26 +0000

The installation of the new firewall has been scheduled for Saturday, November 11, 2006, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

While we do not expect any interruptions to our services, this installation will require firewall rule changes recommended by our security consultants that will affect all network communications. We will keep you updated via email and this blog as events warrant.