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Current Projects

RUCS is always working to improve the computing infrastructure in use by the Rockhurst community. Below is a summary of some of the major projects we are working on. Projects have been selected because they are either of interest to or will have a significant impact on the university community.

Last Updated August 19, 2008

 

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Project Manager: Michael Stanclift, Network Analyst
Completion Date: August 2008
Summary: Replace 231 workstations in campus computer labs with Wyse V10L thin clients running Windows XP through VMWare Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Increase performance and reliability of systems. Cut energy usage from computer labs by as much as 90%.
Current Status: This project was completed ahead of schedule.

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Exchange 2007 Migration for Faculty & Staff

Project Manager: Michael Marshall, Network Administrator
Completion Date: Fall 2008
Summary: Migrate all faculty and staff mailboxes from current Exchange 2003 server to new system running Windows 2008 x64 and Exchange 2007. Increase size of employee mailboxes from 60MB to 500MB.
Current Status: Our new server and storage array has arrived and is being configured by the Network Administrator.

Exchange Labs Migration for Students

Project Manager: Michael Marshall, Network Administrator
Completion Date: Winter 2008
Summary: Migrate all student mailboxes from current Exchange 2003 server to Microsoft Windows Live@edu Exchange Labs. Increase size of student mailboxes from 30MB to whatever the current limit is available from Microsoft.
Current Status: Microsoft is assisting Rockhurst in deployment of this project.

OpenVMS Upgrade

Project Manager: Michael Marshall, Network Administrator
Completion Date: Summer 2008
Summary: Upgrade test and production database servers from 7.3-x to 8.3.
Current Status: Completed

WebCT 8 Upgrade

Project Manager: Byron Gorman, WebCT Administrator
Completion Date: Winter 2008
Summary: Replace existing WebCT server with two new systems and upgrade to WebCT6.
Current Status: Under testing by teams from Rockhurst and Research College of Nursing.

Replace & Virtualize Old Servers

Project Manager: Michael Marshall, Network Administrator
Completion Date: Ongoing
Summary: Network infrastructure team continues to replace outdated Windows 2000 based servers with those based on Windows 2003 R2 or Windows 2000 running on VMWare ESX 3.5.
Current Status: Virtualized three Dell PowerEdge 2400 series servers on July 5, our Intranet server, our http://students.rockhurst.edu server, and one small database server. 

Upgrade Multimedia Classrooms 

Project Managers: Martin Zaragoza & David Brundage
Completion Date: Ongoing
Summary: Support team continues to upgrade and expand the number of multimedia enabled classrooms on campus. During summer 2008 Sedgwick 101, 102, 104, 105, 201, 202, 204, 207A, 207B, 224, 226, 227, 229, 301, 304, 305, 307, 308 and 309 will be upgraded as well as Van Ackeran 310 and 401. The Library Mezzanine will also be upgraded. Rooms that previously did not have multimedia capability but to which it will be added include Sedgwick 302 and 321, Van Ackeran 114 and 307, Science Center 121, 207 and 221.

During summer 2009 the following classrooms will be upgraded. Science Center 115, 123, 125, 203, 205, 302, 306, 315, 320 as well as Conway 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 100, 103, 104, 200, 203, 204 and 205. New rooms will include Science Center 109, 223, 227 and 229 as well as Van Ackeran 106, 305 and 318.
Current Status: All classrooms targeted for summer 2008 upgrades have been completed.

Improve Reliability of Residence Hall Network

Project Manager: Michael Stanclift, Network Analyst
Completion Date: August 2008 & Winter 2008
Summary: Investigate continued issues in Xavier-Loyola residence hall and replace failing equipment as needed. Upgrade firmware for all existing switches, replace remaining hubs, deploy network monitoring and alerting software to notify RUCS of downed equipment.
Current Status: Replaced all networking switches in Xavier-Loyola hall with new HP ProCurve switches. RUCS is researching additional equipment purchases to improve the infrastructure in other residence halls.