Approval has been given for on-going investment of 1.1M pa to provide for development of core IT infrastructure and associated systems and services.

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Ann Cook
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1 ICT Programme Board, 15/12/06 Present: Alison Allden (AA) Chair, Executive Sponsor Tim Phillips (TCP) Senior Supplier and ICT Programme Director Mark Cox (MC) Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Senior User John Alcock (JA) Faculty of Science, Senior User Paula Coonerty (PC) Faculty of Arts, Senior User Graeme Cappi (GC) Faculty of Medical & Veterinary Sciences, Senior User Steve Wiggins (SW), Research Computing, Senior User Andrew Dixon (AD) Chair, IT Support Staff Forum Lesly Huxley (LH) Director of ILRT Apologies: Dick Clements (DC) Faculty of Engineering, Senior User Sandy Kemlo (SK) IPS Programme Director John Richards (JR) Technical Project Manager, Information Services 1. Introduction AA introduced the meeting and set the scene, describing work on-going on review of ICT Strategy and also continuing capital investment in ICT infrastructure and High Performance Computing (HPC). 2. ICT Progress Report a) Infrastructure Developments Approval has been given for on-going investment of 1.1M pa to provide for development of core IT infrastructure and associated systems and services. The University data network had had a variety of upgrades with replacement to core routers and switches. The main campus backbone was running at 1Gb/second with some links for High Performance Computing running at 10Gb/second. SRIF and TIF funding had provided for the Storage Area Network (SAN) which was providing data storage for central, corporate systems. As an add-in to this, it was now becoming possible to offer a managed data service for faculties and departments. Whilst this would involve some additional cost this would be substantially cheaper than self-provision and offered the benefit of providing secure, resilient, backed-up storage. To complement this further investment was being made in data back-up machinery. This funding stream was also providing for upgrades and replacements to a wide variety or servers running corporate and web-based systems, e.g. CODA, PIMS and Portal; the data is hosted on the SAN but processing is provided by these servers. A web application architecture was about to go live which enabled applications such as Portal, full Economic Costing, student info and Staff info to run on a set of servers running in parallel, sharing load and providing resilience (i.e. if one server fails another takes up the load). 1

2 There was an ongoing programme of rolling replacements for desktop systems in Library and other Information Services sites, as well as upgrades to Training facilities and to faculties specifically for disabled user access. The e-learning systems Project Board had met recently and had considered priorities for e- Learning systems. Typically, this included enhancements to machinery for Blackboard (Virtual Learning Environment) and introduction of a pilot system for e-assessment (Question Mark Perception). Also, the Board had been keen to purchase a system which would provide on-line lectures (whether broadcast or on demand), linked from Blackboard. This Board had discussed a proposal to upgrade a faculty-based computer laboratory to enable e-assessment although there was concern that this should be funded from general lecture/teaching facilities provision. There was some investment in e-resources, e.g. back-runs of e-journals as well as additional library management software. Some additional components of corporate systems were likely to be bought, notably for lifelong learning. (Larger corporate systems initiative would require specific funding which had to be bid for separately). Work on implementation of the Oracle Discoverer reporting tool continued although this was constrained to use with student data. Wider implementation would require much more effort and this raised the need for an overall data/reporting strategy (IPS Strategy Review had identified this trend too). A project was underway to find new software. To date, a new webmail system had been selected and was being tested prior to implementation of the Student Portal early in The next challenge was to select a replacement for the desktop client Mulberry. There was a demand from some users for a move to Microsoft Outlook/Exchange for and this would require a change to the underlying infrastructure. Consequently, this project would need to evaluate options against user needs; most importantly, tools of this kind need to be more closely integrated than at present. A project had been initiated to implement the ITIL framework for best practice IT service management. Initial attention was focused on processes for change, configuration and incident management. Progress was resource constrained (a bid to fund additional resource had been unsuccessful). The Board also noted the University Career Framework project which was of particular relevance for professional IT staff. TCP was involved in a national programme for professionalism in IT (sponsored by the British Computer Society) and had discovered the relevance of this with Derek Telling, who was managing the Career Framework Project. This was of interest to the Board, although it was noted that not all faculties were immediately receptive. SW asked about Access Grid Nodes (AGNs) and concern abut the need for coordination. TCP was working with Jon Wakelin and others to establish a clear strategy for provision of and support for AGNs. Coordinated funding was the key. Concern was expressed about our dependence on Manchester to provide bridging services. Action: TCP to ensure strategy is developed. 2

3 MC asked whether there as a need for a digitisation service for capturing and storing still and moving images. This could tie in with the Exabyte Project. Noted also that the SAN could provide storage for image repositories. LH noted work on DSPACE which related to this. AD said the need for video streaming was another requirement which should be addressed once and not with multiple incompatible solutions. It was agreed that the need for image repositories and video streaming were common requirements which the ICT strategy should address. b) High Performance Computing SW reported that the long-awaited machine room to house the new HPC cluster supplied by IBM was being constructed in Physics. This building project was very challenging because of the physical mass of the system and its power and environmental (air conditioning) demands. Costs 2M for the machine itself and 4.2M for the machine room. Expected completion date was 1/4/07. The first part of the machine was on site already, housed temporarily in MVB. Delayed delivery was giving potential for having a higher specification machine than originally expected (because of technological developments). Management structure was being set up as follows. High level Board, chaired by Prof. Anderson with other senior managers and academic leaders involved. There was then a much larger User Group and a Technical Advisory Group, involving external experts from IBM and others. Day-to-day direction was provided by an Executive Group, which included SW, Dr Ian Stewart and Prof. May. Staff employed included Paul Godwin and Calum Wright as System Administrators and Caroline Gardiner as Research Facilitator. At beginning of February 2007 there would be a symposium to launch HPC in the University, with particular focus on the breadth and depth of applications for HPC in research. Applications ranged from analysis for nuclear explosives to the dynamics of Pringles crisps. There was still a concern about agreement of the full Economic Costing model to be applied to HPC. The preference was for an indirect (rather than a direct) cost recovery model on the basis that HPC should be treated as essential infrastructure. HPC was an important enabler and focus for partnerships with industry. Action: TCP to write infrastructure and HPC progress into a report from the ICT Board to ISSC. 3. ICT Strategy Review a) Update AA/TCP introduced the review of the ICT Strategy. Points raised in discussion included: 3

4 The need for effective data management, including archiving, facilities. The Hypecycle as a tool for looking forward at technological developments. The need to map IT requirements against real institutional needs. Need for Voice Over IP as part of a coordinated strategy for telephone/voice communications; Skype was not an institutional response although it worked for individuals. Requirements for integrated desktop facilities, whether provided by Microsoft or others. Research Computing other than HPC. CMS development showed that users needs should be taken into account and there should be some provision for variability but with agreed standards. The death of the lecture as a medium of teaching was over-stated. Need for support for PDAs and other personal devices as a medium for accessing corporate systems. There was strong support for focusing on standards rather than the individual devices. Departmental IT Support Staff were the frontline and needed to be more closely involved in development of standards and approach to supporting access from multiple personal devices. Need for integrated corporate, web-based applications and consistency of information this was a vital driver for the IPS Strategy. The need for an effective reporting strategy. Easier access to information via systems such as the Portal, with shared, common views of data and information. Use of the portal needed to mature. Growth in need for e-learning Asset management as a requirement for improved management of IT resources and for addressing information security risks. The over-riding need for consultation on the Strategy. Development of future scenarios could help in this. The need for a coherent strategy on organisation of professional IT staff and as agents for implementation of the strategy; Professional development of IT staff was fundamental to future development of IT facilities. The need for strategic financial planning and investment in IT and implications of this for the University s budgetary processes. Need for coordinated infrastructure provision in major University building projects, e.g. Maths, Nanoscience, Life Sciences. b) Communication Our conclusion was that there was a need to share the vision for IT with faculties, departments and local IT staff. This might work through consultation with local staff followed by further discussions with Deans and FPARCC; noted that there had already been discussions with Deans and Faculty Managers. There may be particular individuals in faculties to be consulted, such as education or research directors. Aim would be to develop a strategy backed by a costed implementation plan. c) Business Cases 4

5 The group needed to develop potential cover for future development to build on available capital. Primary requirements were for staff resources to enable IT projects to go forward. 4. Items to report to ISSC TCP would write up outcomes of this meeting for onward reporting to ISSC 5. AOB Future meetings had been arranged for 19/2/07 at 1.30pm and 3/5/07 at 10.30am OSI/e-Infrastructure to be an agenda item LH could follow this up 5

ISSC is invited to consider the attached report and to support the proposal to change the priority order for the migration UEA web services.

ISSC is invited to consider the attached report and to support the proposal to change the priority order for the migration UEA web services. ISC11D005 Title: UEA Website Migration Author: Jonathan Richardson, Assistant Director, Corporate Information Services Date: 1 st November 2011 Circulation: ISSC 10 November 2011 Agenda: ISC11A001 Version: