Information Technology News Archive

1996 - 2017

Visitor Access to UCInet Mobile Access

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UCInet Mobile Access is UCI’s wireless (WiFi) network, accessible from almost anywhere on campus.  Normally, access to this network is restricted to devices previously registered by their campus (faculty, staff, student) owners.

However, the wireless network includes a system for limited, short-term access by visitors.  Called “Visitor Express Registration,” visitors may connect to the network, agree to certain terms of use, then be connected to UCInet for a 24-hour period up to seven times in a month.  Visitor use of UCInet is restricted to Web, email (IMAP and SMTP), and secure shell (SSH).

If visitors need longer access than Visitor Registration provides, a UCI faculty, staff, or graduate student may register the visitor’s device for up to 4 weeks using manual registration.  The visitor only needs to supply the MAC address.

UCI also supports the Eduroam standard, allowing visitors whose home institution also supports Eduroam to use that network ID to connect to UCInet Mobile Access.

Kuali Financial System Offers Stability and Efficiency

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UCI’s mission focuses on education and research, but there is a business enterprise which makes that possible.  Accounting and Fiscal Services, in partnership with OIT and other units, are working to implement the Kuali Financial System (KFS) at UCI.  KFS is a product of the Kuali Foundation which aims to provide community sourced software to higher education.

UCI’s current financial system is almost thirty years old and is increasingly difficult to maintain.  Moreover, the campus has grown in size and complexity beyond what the current financial system can readily serve.

KFS is an integrated suite of financial software which will replace a range of financial sub-systems, enhancing ease-of-use, software consolidation, work transparency, and administrative efficiency.  Departments will enjoy a number of benefits including better quality financial data from a single authoritative source.

Community sourced software draws on the knowledge of coalitions of experts and can be used without paying licensing fees.  In the case of Kuali, that coalition comprises higher education institutions.  UCI has been a member of the Kuali Foundation for several years and ramped up KFS implementation efforts in 2011.  The current plan is to deploy KFS in July 2013.

New OIT Desktop Support Assistant Manager

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Sarkis Daglian has joined Desktop Support as Assistant Manager, reporting to manager Jeremy Paje.  Sarkis supervises desktop support staff and manages operations, resource allocation and scheduling to ensure requests are promptly and consistently addressed.

Sarkis graduated from UCI in 2005 with a focus in neurobiology, and spent six years with the Help Desk most recently as a senior consultant.  He led several initiatives with the Help Desk including the establishment of campus Smart Phone support standards.

When not at work, Sarkis enjoys movies and a wide range of professional sports.

Sarkis’s immediate goals are to analyze staff responsibilities and workload, and to enhance communication and operational efficiency to improve the quality and effectiveness of the services provided to OIT clients.

The addition of Sarkis to the team will allow Jeremy Paje to increase his focus on planning and project management.  Current projects include the rollout of Windows 7, Office 2010, and Acrobat X.

 

Airwatch Improves Smart Phone Security

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As more UCI faculty and staff rely on mobile computing, the campus faces new risks.  Mobile devices (phones, tablets) are easier to lose and provide targets for theft.  The device then may grant unauthorized access to university systems and information.

Airwatch is a software package that allows centralized management of iPhone and iPad devices without the need to have physical access.  With Airwatch, OIT staff can set policies, configure devices (including email setup), enforce strong passwords, and in the event of theft, force the device to erase itself.

Airwatch is in pilot use by the department of Athletics, which is obliged by NCAA regulations to implement strong protections for their information on student athletes.  In the future, OIT plans to offer Airwatch protection to additional university owned iPhones and iPads, and is exploring options for similar protections for the Android and Blackberry platforms.

In Brief February 2012

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latest news

  • Microsoft has announced the end of support for Windows XP and Office 2003 as of April 8, 2014. Many campus systems are already migrating to Windows 7 and Office 2010.
  • Disk quotas for Webmail have been increased.  Faculty and staff now have 8Gb (previously 4Gb) of space.
  • The OIT Information Security team is working on a redesign of the security web pages.  We are interested in getting feedback from various campus groups to ensure our redesign is effective.  You are invited to participate in a survey.