Information Technology Services, fall 2021

Information Technology Services’s third quarter reflects productivity in preparation for fall 2021 semester

This last quarter has been a busy and productive one as ITS closed out the spring semester, worked through the summer semester and then began preparations for the fall semester. The entire ITS staff worked diligently to maintain all student systems with no to minimal disruption of service. A number of critical projects that ITS units and teams implemented were Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), CAS and Pulse Secure VPN, which now use the same authentication process; phase three of our data center renovation; improving ID card/door access systems; and installation of updated technology (network, etc.) into renovated spaces. The Help Desk staff was busy supporting these efforts and assisted with calls about Brightspace (the Blackboard Learning Management system replacement) throughout the summer and into the fall semester. Finally, public computer labs were returned to pre-COVID layouts just in time for the fall semester.

Upgrades to technical systems and infrastructure

The Enterprise Systems and Applications (ESA) Team performed system and security maintenance on major software and hardware systems that boosted performance and overall system security. One major project, the new LMS (learning management system) Brightspace (from Desire 2 Learn - D2L), necessitated months of close coordination with the software vendor and ITS staff. The end result was that Brightspace was fully installed and operational slightly ahead of schedule and was fully tested during the summer academic term. The entire campus entered the fall term utilizing Brightspace with no issues. Also, ESA prepared for the 2FA rush by upgrading hardware and installing software upgrades that included applying software “patches” to CAS and privacyIDEA servers. The work expanded system capabilities, enabling the servers to easily handle the increased user volume with no issues. The Innovation Team of Technology Support Services was the primary developer for the in-house development of our 2FA system.

A rundown of select projects and tasks completed by ESA in the last few months include:

• Designed and implemented the in-house 2FA system infrastructure consisting of FreeRadius and privacyIDEA software.
• Put the Nursing Online program into production after a significant waiting period for New York state to approve the program. All told this project took over 1.5 years, with ESA constantly reviewing and updating processes that changed according to SUNY and State Education Department (SED) input while the project was being reviewed by SED.
• Performed the biannual applicant delete process to remove outdated, non-admitted student records. This effort is directly related to increasing system access and security.
• Replaced Starfish, which was being sunsetted, with Ellucian Advise.
• Updated the certificate structure on the Binghamton University (BU) domain to allow our new domain controllers to seamlessly join the authentication groups.
• Completed the Embark setup for the Art Museum, which allows for a SSL-only connection. This was another security access improvement project.
• Supported the remodel efforts in the Technology Hub by relocating critical server systems in G03 and G01 throughout the life of the project. These efforts were necessary and critical to maintain system ‘up-time’ and keep the data center project on schedule and budget.
• Upgraded the Medicat system to allow for COVID vaccination status to upload into Banner.

Network administration and operations

Major accomplishments for the Operations and Infrastructure Team included completing the Data Center renovation project. This was an extremely complicated project as it necessitated maintaining continuous operations while the Data Center space was demolished and then rebuilt to current standards. After countless hours of planning and hard work; Operations, Network Administration, Enterprise Systems and Project Management team members successfully relocated over 100 pieces of network hardware and physical servers. All work was completed successfully and we look forward to showcasing this space to the campus in the near future. In fact, the campus did not see any service disruption during this entire process — a job extremely well planned and completed by the ITS staff.

The Physical Security Team installed and prepared network, telecommunications and security services (door access and CCTV cameras) in the renovated fifth and sixth floors of the Health Sciences Building (Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences). When Upstate Medical Clinical Campus moved into the building, ITS staff was there to assist and resolve any technology issues encountered.

The work in Hinman Dining Hall was completed with over 100 access points (originally the project had just over 20 access points planned). Just as the number of access points in the Hinman Dining Hall expanded substantially, so did the demand for more network connections, telecommunication needs and CCTV cameras. ITS staff were able to adjust to the demand and completed all work as scheduled. The work included the dining area but also the collaboration/group meeting spaces and offices.

Security installations and other initiatives occurred all over campus, including:

• 44+ ServiceNow tickets were resolved, four firewall requests completed.
• Provided assistance with 2FA implementation (updated Pulse Secure Client SSL VPN, implemented 2FA for vendors, removed outdated access processes, improved firewall management processes).
• Improved Wi-Fi in Rockland residential hall, Science Library Ground, 48 Corliss (Decker Building) and the Library Innovation Lab. Upgraded network switches in various University buildings such as the Pharmacy Data Center
• Worked closely with Physical Facilities on planning various capital projects such as the Science 4 project, the Libraries’ third floor project that has commenced, and the Anderson Center.

Major physical security updates were completed this quarter with successful outcomes. Some of them include:

• Phase I and Phase II of the Genetec access control conversion project are 100% complete. Phase I included server rollouts, a conversion of the Lenel database to the Genetec format as well as the implementation of a middleware system to provide near real-time data feeds for user attributes and new card provisioning. This provides a substantial improvement from both an end-user perspective as well as a staff maintenance perspective, meaning that when a new card is “printed” (to include a housing change) the card is active and working in the system within 15 minutes, as opposed to the two+ hours in the past. Phase II of the project was to convert all residence hall access points (642 doors) to Genetec prior to the start of the fall semester. This was done. All the residence halls are on Genetec, which has a more user-friendly environment as well as improved reporting capability.
• Replaced 160 cameras in East Campus Housing buildings as part of CCTV camera depreciation upgrade.
• The 2021 camera chargeback established and approved by the Chargeback Committee is progressing well. The CCTV services are becoming self-sustaining, which enables better forecasting and planning of the system to ensure it remains current with emergent technologies.
• Three-month performance of camera systems were at 99.9% uptime with door access points running at 99.7%.

Telecommunications

The Telecommunications Team completed cabling for the Innovation Center and the Science Library Ground. They installed new copper cable and fiber between buildings in the CIW community that enabled direct connections to the Technology Hub, thus enabling ITS to abandon and remove aged cabling from old, degraded Harpur copper pairs. Yearly panic button testing (in the Lenel system) has been completed. This testing included all new panic button installs in the Hinman Dining Hall and the fifth/sixth floors of the Health Sciences Building.

Technology Support Services

The Technical Support Team was also busy this past quarter, completing several key projects while preparing for the fall semester. The CAS and 2FA enrollment/assistance consumed a significant portion of the staff’s time. The other key focus was restoring and preparing all public computing areas for the fall semester.

There were over 150 tickets/work orders opened with 98% of them being completed within the ITS time standard during this quarter. Over 4,500 ServiceNow incidents were opened and assigned to appropriate staff for resolution. The majority of Help Desk calls consisted of help requests with 2FA and CAS, phishing scam reports, help with the new LMS Brightspace, help with University=owned computers, password resets/assistance, Wi-Fi access, student printing assistance and help with computer lab software. Other areas of assistance included help with personal network access, department network issues, door access issues and Bingview.

The rollout of Brightspace (which replaced Blackboard) went amazingly well with just over 230 learning management system incidents for the start of the fall semester. That number of incidents parallels the historical start of semester LMS incidents.

Thus far, student printing continues the downward trend we noted pre-COVID. Within the past three months, there were just over 47,000 pages printed in the computer labs, of which 1,200 pages were in color.

Some of the critical projects or tasks completed this quarter include the following:

• Public computer lab areas repopulated and reopened: West Pod, Bartle Mezzanine, Bartle Grad Commons, Bartle Info Commons, EOP, Brandywine, MountainView, Hillside
• Almost 100 new computers (bulk purchase) were received and set up
• Software requests for public computer labs were completed: MATLAB, Minitab, MAPLE, Mathematica, ANSYS 2021, Git, Atom, Java 16 JDK and Eclipse for Java.

Tech Support training opportunities

The Tech Support Team took advantage of training opportunities that became available and completed or attended the following trainings:

• Macadmins Campfire sessions (three)
• Apple IT Camp Security Webinar
• MacAdmins Virtual Conference
• Mac Deployment Conference
• Apple: This Year in IT
• JAMF 100
• SCCM Introductory Course
• HDI® Support Center Team Lead

Innovations and ETS

The Innovations and ETS Team completed a multitude of tasks and projects; here are just a few of the more critical accomplishments completed:

• Contributed to the design and implementation of the in-house 2FA system consisting of FreeRadius and privacyIDEA software, and incorporating it into the overall University infrastructure, including the password reset app
• Developed several critical workflows implementing SUNY requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Updated the Annual Faculty Reporting System to include mechanisms for reporting on Community Engagement
• Made major updates, upgrades and patches to the infrastructure for Graphene, which is the backbone of our portal myBinghamton.
• Hired a new software developer for the Innovation Team (Cankat Turkmen).
• Built a mechanism for tracking campus computers within ServiceNow, for use with existing and recently acquired computer inventory.
• Built a distributed and delegated reporting mechanism for the BComply Compliance training application.
• Enhanced the existing Environmental Health and Safety “PI Portal/Lab Dashboard” such that lab members (students) may now update and provide status on safety equipment (eyewash stations), chemical inventories and other critical information.
• Updated and improved the Research Foundation workflows.
• Implemented a unified process that allows Binghamton faculty/staff to sign up for various COVID-19 volunteer opportunities.
• Revamped the Student Loaner Laptop processes/workflows
• Built an online management system for the Lock Shop to allow for the provisioning and deprovisioning of physical keys.(Currently undergoing testing by Physical Facilities)

Research Support

• Created a high-level design for the Research Data Center based on conversations with users and vendors.
• Actively working on a reference architecture for an “OpenStack” cloud computing data center, based loosely around Cornell’s “Red Cloud” offering.

Acknowledgements/kudos

ITS acknowledges the Operations, Network Administration, Enterprise Systems and Project Management staff for their hard work completing the relocation of all Data Center servers into the renovated Data Center.

ITS also acknowledges the ESA and the Innovation Team for their dedication and hard work for implementing the innovative in-house 2FA solution and the Innovation Team for working through the many iterations of the SUNY requirements related to COVID-19 pandemic.

Congratulations to the June 2021 PROPS Award Winner, Bob Beaven! “I’d like to recognize Bob Beavan from ITS for all the work he does for the University. He is one of those people who works diligently, behind the scenes, to keep vital University systems functioning ... I, and the staff in the Course Building and Academic Space Management Office, know of the stellar job that Bob Beavan does every day. He is vital to our success. I am thrilled to sing his praises to the University community for all to hear.” — Michelle Ponczek, Course Building and Academic Space Management.

Congratulations to Nate Sakovitch for winning the Harpur Hero Award in July!