The Foothill-De Anza Technology Environment Willie Pritchard Vice Chancellor, Technology

Goals for the session u Show models of current technology environment – Physical – Network – Software u Help audience understand technology challenges and opportunities u Layout a road map for our near term future u Provide a glimpse of our longer term future

CAUTION TECHNICAL JARGON AHEAD

PhysicalNetworkSoftware Technology Layers Think of our technology environment as a series of layers… Now we’ll take one layer at a time. First the physical environment… Computers, servers, switches, printers, cable cable, switches, routers, hubs, software, applications, browsers, databases, educational information system

Physical Environment Internet User Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User User Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User User Database User Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User User Database User Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User User Database User x 200+ switches Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User User Database User x 200+ switches Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User User Database User x 200+ switches Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User User Database User x 200+ switches Physical

Internet User Admin User User Database User Physical Environment x 200+ switches Physical

Physical Environment Internet User Admin User User Database User x 200+ switches Physical

u What are the characteristics of an “excellent” network? – Reliable – Secure – Fast u What technical requirements ensure each? – Firewall – Lots of bandwidth – Authentication/Authorization – Switched network – Segmented networks (VLANs) – VPN Network Environment Physical Network

u What are the characteristics of an “excellent” network? – Reliable – Secure – Fast u What technical requirements ensure each? – Firewall (Reliable, Secure) – Lots of bandwidth (Fast) – Authentication/Authorization (Reliable, Secure) – Switched network (Secure, Fast) – Segmented networks (VLANs) (Reliable, Secure, Fast) – VPN (Secure) Network Environment Physical Network

Network Environment u Two ways to view our network – Physical Network – Virtual Network Physical Network

Foothill Physical Network ADF (hub) Backbone Spokes Physical Network

De Anza Physical Network ADF (hub) Backbone Spokes Physical Network

Virtual Network u What are VLANs? – “Virtual Local-Area Networks” – A “virtual” method for separating an enterprise network into different segments (LANs) for performance and security – The FHDA network has several VLANs Open (to the world) Secure (only authorized users have access) Academic (for instructional uses) – Based on physical location of network jack – Not currently applicable to wireless Physical Network Important Point!

Virtual Network Environment Off Campus Users Campus Users Physical Network

Virtual Network Environment Campus Users Off Campus Users Physical Network

Virtual Network Environment Campus Users Off Campus Users Physical Network

Virtual Network Environment Campus Users Off Campus Users Physical Network

Virtual Network Environment Campus Users Off Campus Users Physical Network

Security for Outside Access u We need a Virtual Private Network (VPN) – Provides secure method for connecting from off campus to our Secure VLAN Authentication Authorization Encryption Tunneling Physical Network

Virtual Network Environment Campus Users Off Campus Users Physical Network

Virtual Network Environment Campus Users Off Campus Users Physical Network

Software Environment

u State of our current software environment – Multiple applications – Multiple interfaces – Steep learning curve – Incompatible applications – Multiple passwords and accounts – Expensive to acquire, develop, or replace – Multiple database formats – Inflexible backend database for our information system Physical Network Software

Software Environment Desktop Applications Middleware Backend Databases & Applications Browsers SCT IA+ (Flat file) SQL (Relational) Oracle Portal (Relational) Meeting Maker IR Data Warehouse Automated workflow Student Tracking TouchNet Registration SIRSI Tech Help AccuStream Go Print SEVIS Resource 25 Student ID cards CATS MS Active Directory ETUDES-ng Java, JavaScript HTML, XHTML XML SOAP JSR 168 WSRP APIs Physical Network Software RDB “Network-aware” applications

New Portal Environment… u Will provide the following remedies – Single sign-on – Unified interface – Integrated applications – One-stop shop – Inexpensive, quick development – Portable to new information system – Individualization and customization – Transparent backend databases – Little training needed Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u What is a portal? – An electronic, personalized, customized newspaper Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u What is it? – Entrance (portal) to all of your district resources Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u What is it? – Uses standard web technologies Graphical User Interface Industry standards – Made up of channels (or portlets) of information and functionalities – Provides access to many different resources Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u What kind of channels/portlets are there? – Informational News, weather, book and movie reviews Campus news, events, significant dates – Functional Workflow processes (timesheets, evaluations, grade submittals, etc.) Data retrieval Search tools u Where do we get portlets? – CampusEAI Consortium (open source) – Develop ourselves Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u How is it customizable? – By group Students Faculty Staff Managers Campus (Foothill, De Anza, Central Services) Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u How is it personalized? – Each individual will have a selection of portlets to choose from – Some portlets will be required of all Emergency notifications – Some will be required of certain groups Students – registration Employees – workflow Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u Demonstration of current prototype Demonstration of current prototype – Lots of work yet to be done – This is not the final design – Many more portlets to acquire and build Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u What are some possible portlets? Daily planner Campus Headlines Campus Views My Degree Progress report Academic Information Employment opportunities Library check out record Campus web search This month in campus history IT Services Announcements RSS & Blogs Slashdot Campus News Campus Events My demographic info My schedule Parking Waiting lists Poll 16 favorite web sites Today in history MSN Money Stock Ticker Search Movie database Weather Live on campus Film reviews Word of the day Blackboard LDAP authentication InfiNET Book Reviews SciFi Storm Search pulldown Film Society News IT eStores (Apple, Dell, etc.) HR "open area" Emergency notification Library pathfinders TV Show news Online phone directory Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u What portlets might we develop? Data query tool CATS CMS (ETUDES) integration Workflow (forms) processing Faculty access to SIS Library records Interface to Meeting Maker HR info update Financial Aid applications Class rosters Bookstore Benefits Enrollment Survey Portlet Early Alert for students Voter registration Interface to TouchNet Registration Transcript request? Physical Network Software

FHDA Portal u What is the timeline for implementation? – As fast as we can do within the constraints we have u What still needs to be done? – User interface design underway – Identity Management – Authentication & Authorization – FHDA portlets need to be developed Physical Network Software

Workflow (Forms) Processing u How does it work? – Applies logic to the flow of our paperwork – Allows for electronic distribution through the web – Electronic approvals u Examples – Timesheets/payroll – Faculty Evaluation – Grade Submittals – Next? Physical Network Software

PhysicalNetworkSoftware Remember the three layers… On most projects and work requests, we have to deal with all three Computers, servers, switches, servers, cable cable, switches, routers, hubs, software, applications, browsers, databases, educational information system Technology Layers

Questions?