We are currently testing the installation of a new security monitoring device called Cisco MARS. Basically it watches the network for anamolies by aggregating logs from all of our servers, and network devices. It does everything from watching for IIS or Apache getting hacked to virus outbreaks. It can trace a virus outbreak back to the first machine that was infected and allows us to stop the outbreak by shutting down ports as need. Pretty interesting stuff. We are hoping that it will shed some light on our bandwidth issues as well.

One of the biggest challenges we have as a Help Desk is communicating what we support versus what we do not support.  Although I hate to say it, there is so much technology out there in the world it is nearly impossible to support everything as completely as I would like.  Because our University Help Desk is completely staffed by 12 Students and 2 full time staff members (who also have other responsibilities), we need to be sure that we explain exactly what is supported and what is not supported.  I have begun to work on a supported software list which will eventually take us down the path to Service Level Agreements and other statements that help inform folks what they can expect when they contact our Help Desk.

Ah UPS Units, those lovely 100lbs boxes sitting in the server room. Jon Mierow and I have begun the grueling processing of moving them out of the server room and into their respective switch closets.

So far, only minor injuries have been sustained (Jon nearly lost his finger). Just kidding, it was only a minor flesh wound.

In any case, we may need some additional help with the larger battery units as we begin trying to move those. Other than that, the project is going fairly well.

We have seen a few laptops over the last few months with broken sleep button depressors. The sleep button depressor is a small piece of plastic that is part of the screen bezel. Brock and I have been stumped as to figuring out how these are breaking. They are small, out of the way, and part of the screen bezel. This does not make for an easy part to accidentally break. Because of its size and location on the computer it also doesn’t make for a part to carelessly break.

Today a student worker (who will remain nameless to protect his innocence) figured it out for us. The student came back and said, “I have seen quite a few people sliding file folders in between their laptop screen and keyboard and then closing the lid. Could that be breaking the sleep buttons?” Genius.
So we now know that there is not a design flaw related to this part. We also know that you should never place anything on the keyboad of your laptop and close it (even if it is a piece of paper.)

When I arrived to work today I discovered a new cart of discarded items from the ghost of I.T. past. I spent a good chunk of the morning determining which items are salvageable, recyclable, and just plain trash. We did find one of the University’s brand new VoIP Phones in the first box of junk, which was really quite scary that one of those may have accidentally been disposed. We also found some functional mice, keyboards, and keyboard trays. It was good fun to see items from I.T. past and also a bit frustrating to increase our pile of recyclables.

Network Services is currently working with 3 vendors (IBM, Dell, and Sun) to find a solution for consolidating our servers. So far, we have met with our Sun vendor (Collier Computing) most extensively, and we are looking forward to our meeting with our IBM vendor (TSG USA) this morning.

Here is what we’ve discovered that we will be able to do through the process so far.

• Consolidate all of our servers down to one rack.
• A consolidated SAN storage solution allowing for expansion.
• VMWare will be a large part of the consolidation.
• Moving from 30 servers to potentially under 10.
• Include all servers in on this project including new Banner servers.
• The time line is yet to be determined, but it is based on a number of factors including cost and the timing of the new Banner project.
• Backup (Cold Swap), and Development servers will remain on the old servers.

Well, yesterday I would have said that the phones were losing the battle to the Daylight Saving Time change, but finally after last night I think we may have the issue resolved. It looks like most if not all the phones on campus have been updated and have the correct time. We will just have to wait and see if the Help Desk continues to receive calls.