GC Technology: GC IT Gets $1M Grant for Net Development
by Advocate Staff
Despite the large-scale improvements made to the technology resources over the past year, from hardware to software to wireless internet access, there remains one large shared groan: “Why is the network so slow?” Thanks to a $1 million capital grant to the GC Department of Information Technology from the New York City Council, improving the network’s speed and capabilities will be one of the main priorities of IT this year.
Assistant Vice President of Information Technology Bob Campbell told the GC Advocate that the grant was given specifically to make IT network improvements. “Thanks to Steve Brier, who has been very successful in his efforts to bring funding to us,” said Campbell, the GC IT Department “can now focus on improving core network infrastructure.”
While the grant cannot be used to buy desktop hardware, Campbell noted that the funds will allow him to purchase essential switching equipment and related systems and firewalls.
“We are redoing the entire data center,” he said. “[Until now] the relationship between the research network and the general service network of the Graduate Center has been intertwined in an inefficient fashion. We will have a much cleaner connectivity between the two,” going forward, he said.
“Right now we have significant bottlenecks in our firewalls,” Campbell said. “We will replace it,” with funding provided by the grant. “We also have a challenged VPN connection which is woefully outdated. We will replace it and this is something that the students use.” Campbell noted that “a lot of the technology has advanced” over the years “and we haven’t.” The grant funding is critical in allowing the GC systems to be updated, restructured, and better able to service the community as a whole.
Another significant improvement that students should soon benefit from is the fact that outside contractors have been hired by IT. The GC Advocate has noted in the past how IT has been hamstrung in its attempts to maintain and install new hardware and software applications, in addition to finishing Phase Two of the wireless internet deployment, due to its many vacancies. GC President William Kelly recently made funds available for IT to obtain outside services “to augment our current services,” said Campbell. Two outside contractors have been hired: Tekserve and Dell.
Representatives from Tekserve, which specializes in Mac-based support, started on Oct. 4, and are working with the GC Mac specialist, Michael Omar-Reagan, to address the backlog in Mac-related issues over the next few weeks.
Dell technicians were contracted to help with the deployment of the remaining 200 student-use Dell computers that the IT has been unable to setup to date. These are the computers designated for the second floor of the library and to replace the older student-use computers in all of the PhD program suites. By the end of October, Dell will send technicians to help address this problem, as well as to install 30 new printers for student printing in the PhD program suites, according to Campbell. “We’re so excited,” he said.
IT is also in the process of converting student printing in the library from HP printers to Konica Minolta printers. “[The Konicas] are a much more robust platform,” said Campbell, “and it is a newer platform. The HPs are getting dated.” On the concourse-level of the library, IT is starting to convert the storage space located behind the old help desk (the open space you see at the bottom of the staircase) into a dedicated printing room. Three to four new KM printers will be setup in this room, which is soundproof, to make “a more comfortable environment for everyone,” said Campbell.
Additionally, the Dell technicians will help to “completely revamp the active director control logins and authentication,” said Campbell, in addition to reconfiguring STELLENT, which is a content management software program used for the admissions processes. n
