September 19, 2008 Minutes
Information Technology
MEETING MINUTES
Friday, September 19, 2008
10:00 am T-12
Members Present: Adrian Agundez, Dave Berry, Rick Garcia, Mark Gibson, Richard Hudson, Brian Jean,
Linda West.
Recorder: Michaela Young
Meeting start: 10:05 am
1. Approval of minutes from ITC Meeting on April 18, 2008
The minutes were approved unanimously
2. ACS (Access Control Server) – presentation by Mark Gibson
Mark explained that the ACS is a backbone providing support for switches to allow devices to be mobile. This means
- One can plug into the network and be connected to the internet.
- It provides better control over wireless access points (authentication-based)
- Guest accounts can be created to allow timed access with username, password and a Mac address.
Brian asked if this could be done without the Mac address as they have had problems with that and Mark confirmed that it could be done.
Brian then asked when it would be ready.
Mark explained that the server is in place and the hardware portion is finished; once the VPN is done the wireless port can be addressed.
Adrian added that this would help cut down on staff involvement.
Brian asked if the ACS was going to be obsolete if we were going to be a hotspot (meaning anyone could walk in and access the internet).
Adrian explained that the ACS would help separate things out and would serve as a means to be able to monitor email traffic coming in or going out.
Brian asked when this will be completed.
Mark advised that he will have to plan a downtime – he wants to bring all wireless together and lock it down to be better able to watch it. He hopes to have it ready for spring semester.
3. Classroom Technology Needs – general discussion
Adrian said he wanted to know what the expectations were for classrooms in regard to technology
needs. He is looking at the science building and the needs there. He asked if VHS was still needed and
if the projectors should be kept the same. The goal is to have every room equipped with the necessary
items to avoid having to move equipment around. He then asked if the group would like to see the use of
data projectors or LCD monitors.
Dave Berry asked about the cost for each.
Adrian advised that the cost for an LCD monitor is approximately $1,600 versus approximately $1,090
for a data projector and screen.
Brian pointed out that the LCD monitor is stationary and could not be moved around like a data
projector, which might be okay for some rooms but not for math.
Adrian asked if they would want to go with the LCD monitors for the meeting room in the science
building and the tech buildings.
Brian said that faculty had decided on overhead projectors and white boards in the conference room in
the back – he did not know about the meeting room.
Adrian advised he would order a few new projectors to be ready when swing space was being moved.
He then pointed out that DVD’s do not run well from laptops and asked if they should go strictly with
DVD players or VHS also.
Brian suggested getting combos.
Adrian then addressed presentation carts. He said that they currently have 5 carts; 2 of them run older
versions of Windows and they will be replaced. He asked if more carts were needed.
Mark commented that it would be better instead to have each room equipped other than the buildings
still being re-built.
Rich added that he would like to see extra ports for laptops. It might be a good idea to have speakers
mounted in the rooms to hook into.
Mark said each room should have a box with network connections and audio in the instructor’s area.
Adrian mentioned a company by the name of “Extron” who designs “smart classrooms” with products
like controllers for VCR’s, etc.
Brian voiced his concerns saying their reputation was unknown and it might be hard to fix things when
they break. He said that Rich’s suggestion for audio made sense. It had not been discussed before, but
with the new construction it might be a good idea to have surround-sound-type audio in each classroom.
Adrian pointed out that they have built-in AV boxes to plug everything into but right now is it is an
empty box with 2 2” pipes going up the ceiling with the power possibly being 5’ away. He wants to
change that to have power running to the box.
He then addressed the issue of how soon Vista was needed on campus and suggested waiting as there
were plenty of issues with Banner to be dealt with currently and there were other issues with
compatibility with other products still.
Linda pointed out that all her textbooks assume the use of Vista.
Brian asked if Vista could be used just for the labs.
Adrian replied that once one area uses a new product usually everyone wants to use it. If there is a real
need for it, however, every machine needs to have 2-4 gigs of ram.
Brian asked Linda if not having Vista was creating problems for her. She said that the students don’t
really notice it.
4. Issue Track – presentation by Richard Hudson
Rich explained that Issue Track is an all-in-one helpdesk solution which keeps track of hardware,
software and also provides a ticket system. Currently there is no way of prioritizing or looking at a
history of what has been done. Rich said that he has done some asset management which enables him to show equipment, model numbers, serial numbers, Mac addresses, etc.; requests can be submitted via the use of drop-down lists.
Adrian explained that the program is tied to the active directory and there will be a link on everybody’s desktop; it will track requests with time, date, etc.; it will also be used by Maintenance/Operations and Institutional Research (requests for reports).
Rich pointed out that this program also provides a history of how the process was addressed in the knowledge base for future reference. These references would allow people to troubleshoot some issues themselves if they wanted to.
Adrian added that another available option is to have an e-mail sent to the person responsible for the task to let them know they have a pending request.
Brian asked when the program was ready to be implemented.
Rich said that more data needed to be entered in the active directory and there was no projected date yet.
Adrian said that maybe in 2 months they can come out with a “light version”.
5. Science Building Update
Adrian advised that the original plan was for construction to be done in July, was then moved to October 15th, and the current projected date is sometime in November.
6. Apple Server Update (Rob Teel)
Rob was out sick – this item was cancelled.
7. Other
Brian pointed out that hardly anyone had shown up for the meeting and was wondering if maybe this was not a good time for the Committee to meet.
Adrian advised that Michaela will contact all Committee members to find out.
Brian addressed the issue of the meeting room in the science building again and asked if more input was needed.
Adrian said that faculty input was needed.
Brian added that the Math Department will have its own small conference room – the big conference room is going to be used by the whole campus. He asked if Linda was the one to handle scheduling.
Adrian will talk to facilities.
Brian suggested using the big conference room to have a good sound system installed; this would also provide feedback to IT with everyone using it.
Adrian will look into that.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:04 am.