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    <title>Clemson University CCIT News</title>
    <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/rss.html</link>
    <description>News provided by Clemson Computing and Information Technology at Clemson University</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <webMaster>ccitweb-l@clemson.edu</webMaster>
    <pubDate>Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:11:17 EDT</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:11:17 EDT</lastBuildDate>
    <category>CCIT News</category>
    <generator>In house</generator>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Cyberinfrastructure Accomplishments Featured in Clemson World]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Many of Clemson's accomplishments in cyberinfrastructure and within CCIT are featured in the current edition of Clemson World magazine. Clemson World is published quarterly as the university's premiere news and event magazine. The current (summer) issue is the 'big' one of the year with a circulation of over 100,000 readers including all faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Clemson.
An online version of the feature may be viewed at http://www.clemson.edu/clemsonworld/2008/summer/article4.html. The online version also contains a link to a virtual tour of Clemson's Information Technology Center (ITC).]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:14:45 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump212</guid>
    </item>
        <item>
      <title><![CDATA[TigerTracks Update: Request IT Help & Support Through NEW Online Ticketing System]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[TigerTracks is a standardized online tool for receiving, tracking, and fulfilling requests for IT services and support. TigerTracks is currently being phased in through a series of stages with colleges and departments that have chosen to use this system. The first phase of TigerTracks was successfully launched on July 31.
How will Tiger Tracks impact me or my staff?Many colleges and departments have chosen to use TigerTracks for receiving and tracking IT issues and requests. End users now have a new Web interface for reporting issues and requests as well as the ability to track the status of their ticket from beginning to end.
If you have questions, please contact your college consultant or local IT support staff for more information. Existing contact methods still apply and all Clemson users may continue to:

Call the CCIT Customer Support Center at (864) 656-3494 
Send email to ITHELP@clemson.edu 
Walk up at the CCIT Customer Support Center (lower level of University Union)
Contact their local IT support staff such as a College Consultant or TSP
Generate a request through CCIT's online Service Catalog.

New ways of creating a request, reporting an issue and tracking ticket status are now available through the CCIT Support &amp;amp; Services Web site. To use this system:

Click on the "Submit a Support Ticket" button 
Click on the "Track a Ticket" button to check the status of your ticket 
You may also log directly into the Web interface of Tiger Tracks at: ithelp.clemson.edu 

How can I get help and training for using TigerTracks?CCIT is conducting several "second wave agent training sessions" geared for staff who will be entering, working and closing tickets.
A Brown Bag Lunch presentation for Fall 2008 will be held in early September for the general Clemson public - watch for announcements in the next few weeks.
Several one-on-one group visits with our customer areas will also be conducted upon request. Send your requests to the Tiger Tracks Project Manager, Tim Howard.
CBT (computer based training) 'snippets' are being generated for ongoing training with the TigerTracks system and will be available on the TigerTracks Web site. These will be short (5 minute) walk-throughs on how to create a ticket, how to run a report and more.
What are the next steps?Watch for additional information via the TigerTracks Web site&amp;nbsp; for the next phases of the project.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:53:11 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump210</guid>
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        <item>
      <title><![CDATA[CCIT Opens New Apple Store]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In a bold move to empower Mac users at Clemson and to help solidify support for multiple computing platforms, CCIT has opened a retail Apple store in the heart of campus.

Located in the Loggia of the University Union, the Apple store now offers all Clemson users the convenience, affordability and personal attention of a local outlet at prices even better than online or the regular educational discounts. Plus, you can receive personalized service and advising on products and features. "The goal of the store is to offer our customers the products,  services and information they desire as we (CCIT) provide better support for this growing community of Mac users," explains Jason Domke, director of CCIT's business office.  


The Clemson Apple Store, the first in South Carolina, carries a full selection of Apple products including laptops, iPods, monitors and accessories. "We carry just about everything Apple, except iPhones," commented Domke. "And we'll add stock as user needs dictate."  Currently, customers can take advantage of a special Back-to-School offer from Apple and receive a free iPod with the purchase of one of the recommended Apple laptops. 


Now, Clemson faculty, staff, students and alumni have a one-stop-shop for Apple products; and technical support is available through CCIT's Customer Support Center (just downstairs from the store). 


Summer store hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, weekdays. Fall hours will be expanded and announced soon. A Grand Opening is planned for August 20 (the first day of fall classes) and will include a store naming contest. Details will be announced soon. 


For further information, call 864-656-1563 or send email to applestore@clemson.edu.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:44:22 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump207</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Palmetto Cluster Catapults Clemson to Worldwide Ranking]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Clemson University has made its first appearance on the list of the top 500 supercomputing sites in the world, debuting at number 62. 

The 31st edition of the TOP500 list was released at the International Supercomputing Conference in Dresden, Germany. Since 1993, the list has been produced twice a year and is the most extensive survey of trends and changes in the global supercomputing arena.

"Clemson is on the move in a big way", commented Jim Bottum, Clemson's vice provost and chief information officer. "In a very short period of time, we have moved from outside the top 500 computing sites in the world to solidly within the top 75. That is tremendous progress toward Clemson's goal of becoming a Top 20 public university; but even more important is how this enables and empowers our faculty, students and staff to conduct competitive, engaging and collaborative work in a global environment." 





Bottum notes that he was brought to Clemson to build a world-class cyberinfrastructure for education, research and service. However, he maintains that enabling learning and discovery is more than just offering compute cycles; it requires creating a collaborative environment where IT specialists work in partnership with faculty and students to create an advanced cyberinfrastructure that serves the needs of a multi-disciplinary set of programs.





The Palmetto Cluster, for which Clemson received this impressive world ranking, is a perfect example of the collaborative partnerships that are driving Clemson's unprecedented progress. It is also enabling research and other computationally-intense work that simply could not be done prior to the development of this system. According to Jim Pepin, Clemson's chief technology officer, "This ranking recognizes Clemson's new role as a leader in campus-based high performance computing systems; plus, our academic community is now equipped to compete for and win contracts and grants that were previously out of reach." 





Both Bottum and Pepin note that in reviewing the TOP500 list, Clemson is now in the top five among non-federally funded US universities.   


Jill Gemmill, Executive Director of CITI, adds this information for users:
The Palmetto cluster is a faculty/university partnership. Following a "condominium" model, Clemson researchers may add their own nodes to the cluster, gaining a university match of power, cooling, system administration, and use of additional nodes when available.     





The Palmetto cluster is available for use on a university-wide basis to all CU faculty.  Student high performance computing allocations are available by faculty request.





For more information about the Palmetto cluster and how to use it, see:





http://citi.clemson.edu/palm_intro



A full story on the development of the Palmetto Cluster was released in May and can be viewed at  http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/2008/may/PalmettoCluster.php5





For information on CCIT visit www.clemson.edu/ccit/. Additional information on the top 500 supercomputing sites can be found at www.top500.org/.


]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:41:02 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump206</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Announcing New CITI Documentation and Training Web Site]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[To assist owners and users of the Palmetto condominium cluster, CCIT's Cyberinfrastructure Technology Integration (CITI) group announces new online documentation and training for Palmetto users at https://citi.clemson.edu/

The "HPC" tab will take you to step-by-step self-guided instructions from how to get an account to how to how to compile, run and debug your code.

Anyone with a Clemson userid may authenticate under the "Clemson Login" tab; then "create content". This feature allows each person to maintain their own online "notebook" of personal notes related to the documentation.

New content will continue to be added on an on-going basis.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2008 09:51:12 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump203</guid>
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        <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Service Notification System: Have You Subscribed?]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[CCIT's new Service Notification System (SNS) goes into production June 1. Be sure you subscribe by June 1st so you don't miss any important system notifications!
CCIT has developed a new alert system for communicating outages, maintenance efforts or service delivery issues.
This new system allows faculty, staff, students and affiliated personnel to subscribe to system-specific announcements initiated by CCIT. With over 200 production systems, keeping CCIT communications manageable, yet informative, is a large task for our customers. SNS lets customers select those systems which they are interested in and wish to receive notifications.
Additionally, all systems are categorized by areas pertinent to customers. These groupings include service areas such as Network Systems, Teaching &amp; Learning Services, Human Resources Systems, Financial Systems and Messaging Systems, just to name a few.
For more information and to subscribe to this new service go to http://ccit.clemson.edu/departments/CSO/sns.php.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 May 2008 12:27:16 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump201</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[CITI Research Poster Featured at TeraGrid Conference]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Eddie Duffy, CITI Research Associate and CU School of Computing Ph.D.  candidate, has been notified that his poster "Parallelizing 
Transcriptomic Analysis of the Impact of Land Use on the Easter Oyster" was accepted for inclusion in the 3rd annual TeraGrid Conference 
(http://www.tacc.utexas.edu/tg08/).  





"This poster presents a science exemplar for the deployment of cyberinfrastructure use case. This is interesting in and of itself as an example of the NSF 'CI Vision'." (Reviewer comment).


Poster co-authors are Robert Chapman (South Carolina Department of 
Natural Resources/Hollings Marine Lab) and Jill Gemmill (CITI 
Executive Director).]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 13:41:22 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump199</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Clemson Makes Important Move in High Performance Computing World]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[CLEMSON, SC - Clemson University is using a next-generation high-performance computing cluster from Dell to enable a wide range of academic research, including conducting analysis on how families relocating across the country impacts schools and ultimately children's development. It is just one example of the research being done with the new system known as the Palmetto Cluster. 

Housed at Clemson's Information Technology Center, the cluster is being developed by Clemson Computing and Information Technology (CCIT) in collaboration with Dell technicians and researchers across the university as an innovative example of a shared computing infrastructure. The first phase of development, completed in December 2007, provided approximately 15 Teraflops (TF) of computing power and moved Clemson from outside the Top 500 to within the Top 100 computing sites in the world. A second phase was implemented last week, adding another 16 TF to the cluster, which when fully developed could operate at up to 100 TF. "This phased implementation is a cost-effective and prudent development of the cluster, allowing our investments to track with user needs", said Jim Bottum, Clemson's vice provost and chief information officer. 

The Palmetto Cluster is being made possible through a strong partnership between faculty and IT administration, with the faculty 'owners' providing a significant percentage of the funding for the compute nodes while the university provides the rest of the nodes plus the infrastructure to build the cluster (racks, switches, power, etc.). According to Clemson's chief technology officer, Jim Pepin, the system currently benchmarks at just over 31 TF and the efficiency using Myrinet 10 Gbps hardware is 81 percent. "We are obviously pleased with those results," commented Pepin. "The combination of Dell processing power and the Myrinet interconnect provides us with a low-cost, easy-to-install and implement solution."

Innovative and cost-effective solutions is one of the reasons that Clemson is on a steady climb in the competitive U.S. News and World Report rankings for top schools (from 38th in 2001 to 27th in 2008).  Bottum noted that, "To reach our goal of being a Top 20 public university, we must increase our research infrastructure base and capacity; and the Palmetto Cluster positions Clemson to vastly expand its computational research capabilities."

The research enabled by the Palmetto Cluster already runs the gamut from cross-layer protocol design of wireless communication networks to simulations in molecular dynamics to the aforementioned developmental studies with children. The Palmetto Cluster is opening new doors at Clemson. Paul Wilson, Professor of Economics at Clemson and one of the current users commented, "The new cluster allows me to undertake data-and computationally-intensive projects that would have been otherwise impossible." 

Partnerships, both internal and external, are fueling the new world-class cyberinfrastructure being developed at Clemson. Those partnerships are providing the innovative ideas, creative funding and technical expertise needed to fulfill Clemson's three-fold mission of education, research and service. "Clemson University's phased implementation demonstrates the benefit of choosing standards-based high performance computing clusters that can scale and grow with customers' needs," said John Mullen, Dell vice president of higher education. "High-performance computing is enabling universities like Clemson to simplify their internal IT infrastructures, freeing up resources to expand their research and teaching capabilities." 
Mullen will be visiting Clemson on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 to talk with cluster users about their research, needs and vision for the future.

About Clemson University
Clemson University is a science and technology oriented research university ranked among the nation's top 30 public institutions. Since 2001, Clemson has doubled external research funding, raised the academic profile of the student body, increased retention and graduation rates, launched high-profile economic development initiatives -- including the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville -- and has earned national accolades, including being named TIME Magazine's Public College of the Year. Despite record applications, Clemson manages enrollment to maintain small classes and low student-to-faculty ratios. Visit  http://www.clemson.edu/

 Click here to see the Dell release and the interview. 


Click here to interact with the blog. 


]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 08 May 2008 13:20:18 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump197</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[National Leaders and Research Partners Gathered at Clemson University]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A national conference on cyberinfrastructure (CI) was held at Clemson.CI Days at Clemson University was  held May 19-21 at the Madren Conference Center and brought Clemson faculty, staff and students together with national experts to raise awareness about cyberinfrastructure and spark collaboration across disciplines. Nearly 340 attendees were registered and included Clemson faculty, graduate students and IT staff as well as colleagues from over a dozen other SC universities and research centers. 

"This important meeting will help faculty understand how recent improvements in our capabilities for high performance computing can impact and support scholarship, teaching, research and outreach across the disciplines," said Clemson President James F. Barker.

CI Days is part of a national forum designed to explore innovative ways to integrate information technology into teaching, research and outreach programs. The Clemson conference was co-sponsored by several Clemson University mission VPs and a number of key corporate partners including Dell, Apple, SUN and Cisco. The effort also was supported by a national collaboration of computing and networking agencies including:
 

Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA)
National LambdaRail (NLR)
EDUCAUSE
Internet2
TeraGrid
Open Science Grid (OSG)
Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) 
International Research Network Connections (IRNC)

Mark Lundstrom delivered the keynote address "Adventures in Cyberinfrastructure: Observations of an Accidental Tourist". Lundstrom is the Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University and Director of the National Science Foundation's Network for Computational Nanotechnology. 

"This is a unique opportunity for our faculty, graduate students and IT staff to share needs, ideas and projects with national and regional providers of CI resources and services to build working alliances that meet our educational needs and promote our collective missions," said James Bottum, vice provost and chief information officer at Clemson. 

The CI Days Web site http://cidays.clemson.edu provides:
 
           
A link to podcasts of the conference sessions; (Note: A live online feed to the conference sessions was provided during the conference;
A link to conference photos;
More information on cyberinfrastructure and this conference; and
A schedule of events.


Information on the national CI Days effort is available at www.cidays.org.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:34:37 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump193</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Clemson's Jim Bottum elected to national Internet board]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[CLEMSON  Jim Bottum, vice provost and chief information officer (CIO) at Clemson University, has been elected to the board of trustees for Internet2 (I2), the nation's leader in the deployment and use of Internet technologies for the research and education community. 

Internet2 brings U.S. researchers and the academic community together with technology leaders from industry and government around the world for collaboration on work that can have a fundamental impact on the Internet and how it enables both research and education.

"We are extremely gratified to have Jim representing Clemson and the state in such a visible and impactful position," said Clemson President James F. Barker. "The work that Clemson is doing in cyberinfrastructure not only positions us as a national player; it is garnering international recognition that Clemson is an innovative leader in the areas of IT-enabled research and education."  

Bottum is the only generally-elected CIO representative on the board, which includes university presidents from top-tier schools like California Institute of Technology, Princeton and Carnegie Mellon. Internet2 members represent a wide range of research and academic disciplines from over 300 member institutions including leading U.S. universities, corporations, government research agencies and not-for-profit networking organizations.

Full details on the I2 elections and a complete listing of the I2 board members are at http://www.internet2.edu/elections/.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:11:30 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump192</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Message from Microsoft Regarding SQL Server 2000]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Microsoft provided this information regarding a change in support available for SQL Server 2000.  That version has essentially reached end of life.  SQL Server 2005 will have no changes in support options.
From Microsoft:
SQL Server 2000 Moving to Extended Support



If you are currently running SQL Server 2000 in your organization, we wanted to remind you that effective April 8, 2008, support for the final Service Pack version of SQL Server 2000, Service Pack 4 (SP4), will transition from Mainstream Support to Extended Support. This communication outlines the options available to you to sustain your ongoing support plans during the Extended Support Phase for SQL Server 2000 SP4.





Extended Support 


Extended Support for SQL Server 2000 SP4 will continue for at least five years, through April 9, 2013. During Extended Support, Microsoft will continue to provide security hotfixes and paid support. Extended support will be provided through Premier and Essential support contracts, per-incident telephone and web support.  Microsoft will continue to provide no-charge security updates, self-help, and online support options throughout the SQL Server 2000 SP4 Extended Support phase.





Extended Hotfix Support


If you require non-security-related hotfix requests, you will need to acquire an Extended Hotfix Support Agreement (EHSA). Campus and School Agreement and Software Assurance (SA) customers may sign up for an EHSA at any time. Under an EHSA, SQL Server 2000 support will be at an SP4 baseline. If you would like more details on the Extended Hotfix Support Agreement pricing and program rules, please visit http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/








SQL Server 2005 E-Learning Vouchers


A limited number of online, E-Learning courses are available to provide you with training on SQL Server 2005. A limited number of free vouchers are available for the following two courses:


	Designing a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Infrastructure 


?	Registration Code: 8035-E3Z6-2732


	Installing and Securing Microsoft SQL Server 2005


	Registration Code: 8277-R8Y7-5047





The classes can be accessed here:  http://www.microsoft.com/learning/access. 





Questions?


If you have any questions regarding the SQL Server 2000 SP4 transition to Extended Support, migration plans to SQL Server 2005, or the Microsoft Support Lifecycle, please contact your Microsoft Account Manager who will be pleased to assist you.


]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:11:35 EST</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump187</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Storage Magazine Features Clemson University]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Clemson University was prominently featured in the Storage magazine cover story for January 2008. Key investments in cyberinfrastructure are positioning Clemson as a national leader in education and innovation and are propelling us towards the Top 20. For more information contact Mike Cannon at mikec@clemson.edu.Read full PDF article at http://ccit.clemson.edu/about/VP_CIO/Storage_Magazine.pdf. For text only, read it at http://ccit.clemson.edu/about/VP_CIO/Storage_Magazine_text.php.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:10:42 EST</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump186</guid>
    </item>
        <item>
      <title><![CDATA[T60 Battery Issue]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[If you have a Lenovo Thinkpad T60 with a battery that suddenly failed, please go to http://workgroups.clemson.edu/DCIT2803_LAPTOP/T60Battery.html and click on the link to run the battery tool. We are working with Lenovo on this issue.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:15:34 EST</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump184</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Important Follow-Up to Latest Email Phishing Scheme]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[All Clemson users should continue to use caution with all suspicious emails. Do not respond to any email with the subject of "Confirm Your E-mail Address" or similar messages. 

IMPORTANT: If you received the above referenced email and clicked on any links contained in this latest attack, or provided your password as requested, BE SURE TO RESET YOUR CLEMSON UNIVERSITY PASSWORD IMMEDIATELY by going to http://www.clemson.edu/change_password

This is an official Clemson University Web site.  

If you need further assistance, please send email to ITHELP@clemson.edu or call the Customer Support Center at (864) 656-3494.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:58:15 EST</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump178</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Jim Bottum Appointed to Serve on Two NSF Advisory Committees]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Our CIO, Jim Bottum, has agreed to serve extensions on two appointments with the National Science Foundation (NSF). First, he is a member of the NSF Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure (ACCI), which is composed of 21 distinguished leaders from across the nation representing our diverse and integrated science and engineering community. This group provides critical insight and leadership in the development and support of a comprehensive national cyberinfrastructure essential to advances in science and engineering research and education.  


In a recent letter to Bottum, NSF Director Arden Bement commented on Bottum's service to this group by saying, "Your contributions provide invaluable perspective and advice on NSF plans and strategic directions for cyberinfrastructure as well as important contact with the science and engineering community and other stakeholders."


Bottum also serves on the agency's Advisory Committee for GPRA Assessment (AC/GPA). This group is part of NSF's accountability through the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993. Through this group's efforts, Bottum helps evaluate the accomplishments of NSF strategic outcome goals within the areas of Discovery, Learning and Research Infrastructure. Commenting on his work with this committee, Bottum said, "Assessment and evaluation are critical components to making sure that the NSF's strategic initiatives are successful in developing intellectual capital, integrating research and education, and promoting partnerships".


About the National Science Foundation 


The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense" With an annual budget of about $5.92 billion, NSF is the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing. For more information, visit http://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:50:19 EST</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump176</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Network Operations Center (NOC) Update]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[
The Clemson University Network Operations Center (NOC) became operational on November 7, 2007 and is a state-of-the-art network and operations monitoring facility designed to deliver consistently high level customer services locally, regionally and nationally around the clock, 24x7x365.



The NOC is jointly operated by two CCIT groups: Computing, Systems and Operations (CSO); and Network Services. Darren Overfelt, project manager and director of CSO Operations, and Richard Pruitt, director of Network Operations, manage the facility. Personnel from both teams monitor systems, servers, routers and switches. 



Project Planning


Planning for the NOC began early in 2007 and work began in June. Project members met weekly to design and construct the facility. Overfelt and Pruitt, joined by Jay Harris, Hardware Architecture; Joe Swift, Monitoring and Measurement Services; Chuck Heck, Teaching and Learning Services (T&amp;L); and Charlie Breece, Network Services served as the project team. 


Their deliverable is a world-class technical facility from which CCIT can monitor and manage data networks and systems for Clemson University, research networks, and other customers. The NOC has 14 employees and runs three shifts.



Infrastructure


Breece, director of Structured Cabling, designed an extensible network infrastructure that meets or exceeds current telecommunications industry codes.


According to Breece, today's structured cabling systems consist primarily of category six (Cat6) UTP (unshielded twisted pair) copper cables and fiber optic cabling, all of which meet or exceed industry standards for PoE (power over Ethernet) phones, wireless access points, digital display monitors and video cameras.


Breece designed a system where almost all devices in the NOC connect using Cat6 UTP cable, which simplifies installation and creates a common cabling platform.



Facility and Systems Design


Heck, project A/V system designer and programmer, created the NOC's presentation environment and says, "critical to any NOC is the ability for operators to visually monitor the status of many systems in real time."


The NOC has 12 52" 1920 x 1080 (1080P) monitors mounted on the main display wall. All video runs over UTP, rather than video cable, and plugs directly into network jacks that connect to a video switch making them easier to configure and manage. 


Matrix video switching allows operators to select from as many as 16 video sources and display those sources on any panel, or multiple panels, as appropriate for the situation. 


In addition to system status, satellite television allows monitoring of global news and weather events. An audio event from alarms and the satellite feed is sent through the room sound system. 


The room is operated from a PC-based application or via a wireless touch panel that is docked near an entry door. The touch panel may be undocked, which allows control of the room away from an operator's station, if necessary. Room lighting is also under operator control.


Jay Harris and Operations personnel installed servers, workstations and monitors. Nathan Long and Joel Stepp, T&amp;L Smart Classrooms, installed, wired and tested security and A/V equipment.



Operations


CSO's Monitoring and Measurement Services group provides the service continuity tools and software,which gives the NOC its continuous real-time view of CCIT's systems. Project member Swift, along with Sam Guido and Kyle Peacock; support Spectrum and InterMapper for network-related systems; and Nagios, Cognos and Spotlight for computer systems and services. 



The extent of the NOC's planning, collaboration and use of real-time diagnostics will allow CCIT to proactively monitor services and diagnose problems and disruptions before they have a chance to make a negative impact on our customers.


Written By: Kathy Wright (kewrig@clemson.edu)]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:24:51 EST</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump171</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[CCIT Web Site Navigation Changes]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As part of the launch for the new Services Catalog, weve made some additional updates to the CCIT Web site navigation. On the orange navigation bar, "Support" has been renamed as "IT Help". "Resources" has been combined with "Services" under the Services link which now takes you directly to the Service Catalog. 

Another change is that the four boxed areas at the bottom of the CCIT homepage, "Services", "Support", "Resources" and "Departments" have been removed and replaced with a section of "Quick Links", representing some of the most commonly used services and resources on our site.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:52:55 EST</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump167</guid>
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        <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Clemson and the South Carolina Computing Consortium (SC3) are live at the SC07 International Supercomputing Conference!]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Go to http://www.sccomputing.org for live coverage. 
Click here for the full news release.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:57:13 EST</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump166</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[CCIT goes high-tech with new, State of the Art Network Operations Center.]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[If you have visited the ITC (Information Technology Center), located in the Advanced Materials Research Park lately, youve most likely been subjected to a lot of noise, dust, contractor traffic and locked doors.  Thats because CSO and Network Services have joined forces in constructing a state of the art Network Operations Center (NOC) in the ITC.
In the space formerly utilized for a large lobby, contractors and CCIT staff members have been extremely busy, and destructive!  Starting off by completely demolishing the old space, literally down to the dirt beneath the building, a new, world-class environment has risen from the dust and dirt to provide Clemson University a world-class operations area.

Designed using the latest technologies, the new NOC will literally have its fingers on the pulse of technology at Clemson University.  This new area will allow Network Engineers and Operations Analysts to monitor and manage all data networks and Systems for Clemson University from one location, proactively engaging in the delivery of all systems and services to the Clemson community.

The NOC, looking very much like a NASA Control Center, employs a dozen large screen monitors and 10 high-end workstations for personnel.  Staff members in the NOC will be able to monitor everything from the national research networks, local network connectivity to nearly 300 buildings at Clemson, the flow and delivery of nearly 1 million mail messages daily to the performance of the South Carolina Medicaid System which serves nearly 900,000 South Carolinians and is managed by CCIT at the ITC.

The NOC will use numerous tools to watch and manage CCITs services.  These include Spectrum and Intermapper for network-related systems and Nagios, Cognos and Spotlight to monitor the computing systems and services.  The use of these applications will proactively monitor all of our services and assist in proactively diagnosing problems and disruptions before they have a chance to impact our customers.
A slideshow showing the demolition and construction of the NOC has been developed and is available on the web for people to see the amazing transformation of the space from a lobby to a Network Operations Center.  To view the slideshow, go to 
Tours of the NOC, as well as the ITC Data Center are available upon request.  To arrange for a tour of either area contact Richard Pruitt, Director of Network  Operations at rlp@clemson.edu or Darren Overfelt, Director of CSO Operations at dwo@clemson.edu.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:11:31 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump152</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Updated SAS license codes now available (10/29/07)]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[We have just received new Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) licensing codes because the previously received codes were for last years already expired licenses. That was necessary because SAS changed the way they implement our now two licenses for the Windows platform, one for Teaching &amp; Research (virtually all users) and one for Administrative users (a slightly limited version). Another change which coincidentally starts this year is that licenses expire on August 14 and begin on August 15 each year to better reflect the University calendar year. Current SAS users will need to be updated (if they have paid for the 07-08 year) and should contact their consultant. For those having access rights to install/upgrade SAS, the new licenses (for 8.2 and 9.1.3) are available from the S: drive (S:SoftwareLicensedSASSetinits) and its also included in the installer folder for the 9.1.3 version. Updating a 9.1.3 SAS license can be accomplished by running the Renew SAS Software updater found in the SAS 9.1 Utilities folder by clicking on Start, Programs and SAS. Then you simply point to the license file as noted above and a few more clicks and SAS is updated.

For more information, please contact Jon Hoskin via email at hoskin@clemson.edu
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:45:45 EDT</pubDate>
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      <title><![CDATA[CCIT Kicks Off Tiger Tracks Project]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA["Tiger Tracks" is the name of the project to reinvent how CCIT manages our IT support and service requests. The incident, repair and service tracking systems we use today will be replaced with a single system selected and implemented by the Tiger Tracks Project Team under the direction of Dan Lewis, Project Management Consultant.
The project team, which met for the first time on Friday, Oct 5, includes people from across CCIT and the University. Demonstrations of candidate systems are occurring this week and system selection should occur before Thanksgiving. Status on the Tiger Tracks project will be available through the Project Dashboard.

For more information, please contact Dan Lewis via email at dlewis@clemson.edu.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:28:15 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump151</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[ITC Undergoing Major Upgrades]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[CCIT is currently in the process of implementing major upgrades in the Information Technology Center (ITC).  Located in the Advanced Materials Research Park in Anderson, SC, the ITC is the primary Data Center for Clemson University.  The majority of Clemsons centralized, production system are housed and managed from the ITC.
Through various partnerships, CCIT is about to launch major renovations to the ITC.  According to Jim Pepin, CCIT Chief Technology Officer, "to support a large scale computing cluster requires significant power and cooling. The work we are doing will enable Clemson to match and exceed our peers."
Among these improvements is the installation of dual UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) systems and a chilled water plant. By replacing the existing, 20-year old UPS system, CCIT will be much better positioned to support the vast power requirements of our Academic and Administrative Systems, as well as our major High Performance Computing (HPC) Systems.  We will be installing two new UPS system during this semester.  Increasing the ITC power capacity from 1MW to 2.5MW (2,500 kilowatts) will ensure CCIT has both the capacity for our immediate needs.  Additionally, the installation of two separate UPS's will provide full redundancy for our critical Academic/Administrative Systems, ensuring the recent power outages that have interrupted our services will be a thing of the past. 
The second major improvement is the installation of a chilled water plant at the ITC. This structure will provide chilled water to run the Computer Room Air Conditioners (CRAC) that cool the machine room and all of the equipment.  The ITC has exhausted all cooling capacities for the machine room and does not have the ability to install more equipment.  The new chilled water plant will provide the amount of cooling required to cool all of the equipment currently in the machine room, as well as capacity to nearly triple the computing load within the facility.
These major initiatives will greatly improve CCIT's ability to preserve our production systems for the University.  More importantly though, these projects will be greatly enhance Clemsons efforts to reach the Top 20.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:49:41 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump140</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Cyber Security Awareness Tips]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Looking for some security tips or the latest tools? Visit the new Tips and Tools page at the security  center at http://ccit.clemson.edu/support/security/SecurityEducation.php]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:50:02 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump139</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[CCIT Partners with Google to Provide Google Apps for Education]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As you know, Outlook/Exchange has been implemented as the University-wide supported model for the integrated email and calendaring needs of Clemson employees, replacing Meeting Maker and Eudora. CCIT strongly encourages employees to transition to this service prior to May 1, 2008, when support for Eudora and Meeting Maker will end.  If you are not already using Outlook/Exchange, contact your local IT support staff to facilitate your transition.  Please visit  http://www.clemson.edu/outlook/  for more information.

At the request of Clemson University Student Government, we are partnering with Google to bring Google Apps for Education to students. Google Apps begins its rollout on September 17, 2007 when students will be able to use Googles web-based email offering, Google Mail, with their Clemson.edu email address. 

As part of the Google arrangement, Clemson employees may also take advantage of Google Apps including Google Mail with their Clemson.edu email address. CCIT recommends and supports Outlook as the institutions primary email service; but because no single email service is 100% reliable, you may want to add Google Mail as an alternate offsite email service. 

If you choose to use Google Apps, and especially if you choose to use Google Apps as your primary messaging and calendaring service, please keep the following in mind: 

1.	Google Apps is hosted and supported by Google.  Very limited support is available through CCIT.

2.	All data will be stored by Google and CCIT will be unable to access and/or restore deleted data.

3.	Google Apps will not be able to access Clemson resources such as meeting rooms. Calendaring for these resources is available only by using Exchange.

For more information, see our online  FAQ's  .  If you have questions or need assistance, contact ITHELP@clemson.edu or call the CCIT Customer Support Center at 864-656-3494.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 04 Sep 2007 14:15:58 EDT</pubDate>
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      <title><![CDATA[Clemson C-Light Closes Cyber Gap in South Carolina]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Clemson University has closed the cyber gap in South Carolina by joining the national high-speed research community through direct fiber connections between Clemson, Greenville, Atlanta and Charlotte, providing direct access to the National LambdaRail, Internet2 and other national and international research networks.

This new network, known as C-Light, was developed using private donations and gifted fiber with no burden to the taxpayers of South Carolina. This cooperative effort now provides Clemson researchers and faculty with leading-edge capabilities using direct fiber connectivity to high-capacity networks and resources that will enable research, academic and economic advancements and opportunities that were previously out of reach for Clemson and the Upstate. C-Light specifically provides faculty with the infrastructure they need to collaborate with colleagues and access resources nationally and internationally and ensures the capability to apply for major research grants from funding agencies like the National Science Foundation.

-Clemsons capacity for data transmission has increased from the equivalent of a footpath in the forest to a 16-lane superhighway, said Jim Bottum, chief information officer at Clemson. -In the past, Clemson was limited to -commodity connectivity which prohibited us from participating in national initiatives like the TeraGrid and the National LambdaRail. In essence, we lacked the -toll to get onto the national research superhighway; so, for Clemson to advance towards its goals, C-Light had to happen.

The fiber network that now connects Clemson, Greenville and Charlotte to the Atlanta regional hub also includes Clemsons new campus in Greenville, the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research or CU-ICAR. 

James Leylek, director of the Clemson University Center for Computational Mobility Systems, said that in the past he was forced to ship data from CU-ICAR to research partners by snail mail because of network limitations. -The world of high-performance computing offers unlimited opportunities for researchers needing to get data and information quickly, said Leylek. -C-Light is a tremendous boost to productivity.

Because C-Light is a strategic alliance between Clemson University and Charter Business, the benefits of high-speed connectivity are not limited to the university. Industry and businesses that need this kind of connectivity will be attracted to Upstate South Carolina because through research collaborations with Clemson they will be able to gain access to the network, bringing significant economic growth potential to the Upstate. 

C-Light will also provide an important building block for the South Carolina Light Rail, for which the state legislature recently appropriated one-time funding to acquire fiber to connect the three South Carolina research universities. Clemson also is building a Network Operations Center (NOC) as part of an $8 million campus network upgrade that could be utilized as a foundational piece of the South Carolina Light Rail.

-The research and educational capabilities afforded by this initiative position Clemson University as the intellectual anchor of the Upstate, said Dori Helms, Clemsons vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Chris Przirembel, vice president for research and economic development at Clemson, notes the research support for faculty and students provided by the connection.

-C-Light will enable our faculty to develop highly skilled and innovative graduates, who in turn will produce scientific achievements and technological advancements that will fuel economic development and investments in quality of life for all South Carolina residents, he said.

One of the most innovative features of C-Light is the fact that Clemson connected to the national infrastructure without burdening the state budget. The fiber and equipment were donated and the entire venture is a cooperative effort between Clemson and Charter Business.

-Charter Business is proud to partner with Clemson University on deploying a Dense Wave Division Multiplexing system connecting Greenville to a significant point of presence in Atlanta, said Jim McGann, vice president of Charter Business. -Through this strategic alliance, Charter Business will be able to enhance its robust network, streamline operations, and better deliver content to customers throughout the southeast.

-This partnership shows what can be achieved when public companies and higher education work together with common goals to promote area research and economic development, McGann added.

See the  C-Light FAQ.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:17:21 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump117</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[Outlook/Exchange Updates]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The final phase of the Clemson University Outlook/Exchange implementation is well underway. Calendars and emails for many of the CU administrators and their support staff have been converted.

As an employee, if you would like to begin using Outlook/Exchange soon, please contact your local IT support staff to make arrangements to convert to this calendar and email system.

We appreciate your support and participation as we work to provide you with this integrated email and calendaring service. Information about this project is available at  http://www.clemson.edu/outlook. Also, do not hesitate to contact ITHELP@clemson.edu if you have questions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:46:23 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump116</guid>
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        <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Key IT Services Moving to New Location]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[
CCIT is consolidating and streamlining many of our IT services to the CCIT Customer Support Center during the month of July. The Support Center, located in the lower level of the University Union (across from the Post Office and right below Harcombe Dining Hall), serves as your single-point-of-contact for all IT support needs. Contact the Support Center at 656-3494 or send email to ITHELP@clemson.edu for more information.

The week of July 9:

OMR (Optical Mark Reader) services will move from Martin Hall

The week of July 16:

Hardware Repair will move from the P&amp;A Building Computer sales such as cables, CDs, laptop parts, etc. will move from the P&amp;A Building iClicker sales and distribution will move from the P&amp;A Building 

The week of July 23:

Plotters will move from the P&amp;A Building Martin Hall Help Desk will close; however the computer lab, including the printers, in M section Martin Hall will remain open.

In order to better support our customers, we are also modifying our hours of operation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:17:10 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump115</guid>
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        <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Collaborative Technologies - Web and Video Conferencing]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As budget year 2006-2007 comes to a close, it will be remembered as a year for increased travel costs and decreasing travel budgets. To offset these financial considerations and to make the most of precious time, various Clemson users and groups explored the benefits of web and video conferencing. 

Traditionally web conferencing (a.k.a. - Breeze Meeting/Adobe Connect) at Clemson has been used for teaching students in dispersed programs such as the online Master of Human Resource Development and Master of Youth Development programs to facilitate synchronous presentations and classroom exercises.  With over 600 web conferences on record for the 2006-07 academic year, there seems to be a shift towards more creative and collaborative meetings using the technology in addition to the common use for supplementing online teaching. For instance, this past fall the Restoration Institute used web conferencing to bring together Clemson researchers and administrators from the main campus and the Warren Lasch Conservation Laboratory in Charleston, SC to present on the progress of the H.L. Hunley preservation. Another collaborative example of the use of web conferencing included the planning and teaching of CME 490/690, by Dr. Eric Skaar, Dr. Laeticia Petit, Dr. Kathleen Richardson of Clemson, and faculty from Penn State, Lehigh University, Coe College, Iowa State University, University of Michigan to students at Clemson and the other represented institutions.

Other noteworthy examples of the use of web conferencing include: an Outlook Upgrade -Situation Room for support staff to address issues during the campus Exchange implementation, Dr. Roy Pargas virtual meeting and software demonstration for the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. George Fadels teaching Mechanical Engineering to students at the American University of Beruit, Dr. Joyce Otts grant work on the Bullying Prevention Initiative with the University of Western Cape in South Africa, and Dr. Luis Echegoyens continuing research collaboration with graduate students at Clemson during his  sabbatical to the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C.

This summer CCIT just completed an upgrade of its web conferencing server from Adobe Breeze meeting to the latest version of Adobe Connect Professional. The upgraded version includes diagnostics for connection troubleshooting, improved voice over IP, MacTel support, and the ability to time stamp and email chat transcripts. This version also promises to better accommodate the growing number of users upgrading to the Vista operating system.

Another collaborative technology that is showing pockets of growth around campus and at other off-campus locations is videoconferencing (a.k.a.  Polycom, teleconferencing). Influences to this trend include campus network upgrades, price breaks in hardware, and IP (H.323) as opposed to ISDN (H.320) connectivity.  And it is not the videoconferencing that you may have experienced in the past. Solutions ranging from desktop conferencing using PCs and videophones to conference room and classroom systems combine with better bandwidth to make dropped calls and pixilated video a less common annoyance than in the past. Thus, if you are looking at alternatives to reduce travel costs and lost time, but still need that meeting atmosphere, now may be the time to give videoconferencing a second look.  

A prime example of the potential of videoconferencing has been orchestrated with the Horticulture Departments investment in E142 P&amp;A as a videoconference equipped classroom. The process began back in the fall with the design and came to reality with the installation completed this past spring. The room is highlighted with an instructor station equipped with: intuitive touch panel control, document camera, VHS/DVD player, computer and plasma monitors, as well as a data projector for the instructor and students to view remote site video and presentations. This model serves as a template that Public Services and Agriculture (PSA) plans to replicate at the Sandhill, Edisto, Pee Dee, and Coastal Research and Education Centers to facilitate remote teaching, learning, and research.

Remember, if you are looking at available technology choices to save costs on travel, distance learning, collaboration, or research, be sure to look at CCITs supported options such as web conferencing, videoconferencing, and Blackboard.  For more information or help with a specific technology email: ITHELP@clemson.edu or by visiting the service request website. CCIT looks forward to helping you select and use technology for your classroom and workplaces needs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:06:22 EDT</pubDate>
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      <title><![CDATA[CCIT Website Provides Alert Notification System]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Alert Notification System is a new feature on the CCIT website to help keep all Clemson students, faculty and staff better informed on systems availability and outages.
Users can now see an Alert Notification on the CCIT homepage when any system or service is experiencing an issue. These Alerts appear as an orange highlighted area with an Alert graphic directly under the CCIT homepage banner (example can be seen at - http://ccit.clemson.edu/about/alert.php). 
These Alerts appear only when there is a current issue. The Alert Notification message lists the service and/or system effected, followed by a brief description of the issue. Details on repairs and estimated time of service return are also included as they become available. The Alert includes links to the CCIT Operations website for additional information.
Another feature that you will now see on the CCIT homepage, http://ccit.clemson.edu/, is a link for Systems Availability on the top of the right side navigation. This includes a traffic light icon which conveys the current status of systems and services. If there is a slow down in a particular service, the traffic light will change to yellow; a red light indicates an outage; and, a green light indicates normal operations. 
Also under the CCIT Operations website, you can subscribe to a new RSS feed for Systems Availability to get an email notification when a system or service is experiencing an issue and  when the issue is resolved. http://ccit.clemson.edu/departments/CSO/Operations/alerts/ 
This new Alert Notification System was created as part of the CCIT communications effort, to help keep everyone better informed.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:03:04 EDT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/index.html#jump112</guid>
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      <title><![CDATA[University Developing New Operations Center]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Clemson University and the Clemson Computing &amp; Information Technology department are developing a new, state-of-the-art Operations Center. The mission of this center is the end-to-end management of all centralized Systems provided by CCIT. Addtionally, by implementing new, cutting edge technology the units housed in the new Operations Center will be able to proactively monitor these Systems and ensure performance, capacity and functionality are optimally provided.

The new CCIT Operations Center will house the Network Operations Center, as well as the University Operations Center. Construction planning is currently underway with an expected move-in date of July 2007.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:53:57 EDT</pubDate>
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      <title><![CDATA[Streamlined IT service request process now available!]]></title>
      <link>http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/about/news/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Have you ever wondered who to call, what form to use, or what Web site to visit to request a service or report an issue for your IT or computing needs?  

As part of our goal to enable a more efficient, customer-centric organization, CCIT has implemented a new -Request for Service Interface (RFS) designed to streamline your service requests and problem reporting.  

The new interface is available to all Clemson users and can be found at: http://www.clemson.edu/ithelp or from the CCIT Web site (ccit.clemson.edu) by clicking on the -Request for Service link.  This is your -one-stop-shop to report IT issues or request services.

FAQ SECTION

Will this replace my existing local support provider problem reporting process?  
No, this is to enhance service contacts in CCIT. In fact, if you submit a request through this interface, your local support providers will automatically be notified through this tool.

Will I need to know what CCIT department provides which service to be able to use the tool?
No, the main focus of this effort is to allow our customers to pick the -service they need without having to know the -department that provides it.

Is this an enterprise-wide incident tracking system?
No, this user interface enables us to streamline the routing of customer requests and issues, but does not provide the full functionality of an enterprise ticket tracking system.  However, this same user interface can remain intact and utilized as a front end to most enterprise tracking tools.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 31 May 2007 13:34:49 EDT</pubDate>
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