The MyUCDavis Web portal for students and faculty is ready for its pilot phase, starting October 1. Major construction was completed in July. In August, focus groups comprised of faculty, departmental technology support coordinators, and students were asked to provide input as beta testers. Some minor adjustments were made based on the feedback of the focus groups, and overall the portal was well received. MyUCDavis is a project sponsored by Student Affairs and Undergraduate Studies. A decision regarding its campuswide implementation will be made following the results of the pilot. A guest account login is available at http://my.ucdavis.edu/.

A number of Instructional Technology Funds (ITF) projects are scheduled for campuswide implementation this quarter. These projects include the installation of network access ports, the deployment of DHCP, the implementation of a distributed file system, and the deployment of wireless capabilities on campus. A brief update on each project follows.

Implementation of DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol): DHCP will be formally offered to the campus as a service in November. DHCP allows users to dynamically configure desktop computers and laptops to access the campus network. The overall purpose of DHCP is to reduce the work necessary to administer a large IP network while providing a flexible environment for the increasing mobile computing population on campus, especially faculty and students.

Full implementation is expected in mid November.

Network Ports in General Access Facilities: Available in public areas throughout the campus, these ports allow registered individuals to connect their laptops to the campus network. While convenient for the mobile computer user, these ports have been few in number (34) and in high demand. This project will greatly increase the number of these ports on campus, while improving accessibility to the campus network. This project is intended to relieve some of the pressure on overcrowded general access computing labs and to provide greater convenience for mobile computing users. Installation of approximately 250 network ports in public and general access areas is nearly complete. The selected access points are distributed through five buildings: Shields Library, the Health Sciences library, the Physical Sciences library, 102 Wellman Hall, and the Memorial Union King Lounge. Rollout of the access points is scheduled for October.

Wireless Access in Public Places: The Wireless Access in Public Places Pilot is underway. This project tests the feasibility, support issues, and costs of supporting a new type of wireless access that is limited by proximity (~200 foot radius) to the main transceivers in a given location. The locations included are the Extended Hours Reading Room in Shields Library, the common area in the King Law School Library, and both the indoor and outdoor portions of the Memorial Union Griffin Lounge. Initial informal feedback regarding usability and performance is very positive.

For more information on these and other ITF projects, see http://it.ucdavis.edu/itf/.

Information Technology and Library Services are setting up a proxy service this fall. The service will allow campus affiliates to access library databases, including the California Digital Library, from off campus (e.g., from home or abroad). The proxy server will provide a mechanism for allowing eligible users to access campus resources remotely. UC campuses already providing proxy server services include Berkeley, Irvine, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz. See more information on library proxy servers.

Forty general assignment classrooms have been equipped with new instructional media equipment (including Smart Panels, data video projectors, and Internet connections), completing Phase 1 of this project sponsored by the Registrar's Office. The goal is to equip each classroom with a consistent set of media equipment and controls (as defined by the campus's Instructional Space Advisory Group). As an adjunct to the technology upgrades, the project also includes facility improvements. Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions located on the Registrar's Web site for more information about the project.

A project to bring more UC Davis locations onto the campus network, UCDNet2 has been launched. This project is an extension o, Network 21, through which a communications infrastructure was created for the UC Davis campus by installing strands of fiber optic cable throughout the core campus area. Network 21 allowed campus departments to connect to a common network in much the same way as to a telephone line: by a "jack" or network access module (NAM) in the wall.

UCDNet2 will provide equivalent connectivity to many remaining facilities. The UCDNet2 area includes unconnected facilities within central campus, as well as remote areas such as Research Park, west of State Highway 113, south of Interstate 80, and various locations within the city of Davis. Check out the UCDNet2 Web site at http://ucdnet2.ucdavis.edu/ for a complete list of buildings slated for connection. Construction on UCDNet2 is set to begin this fall and conclude in June 2002.

For more information on this project, visit http://ucdnet2.ucdavis.edu/. Look up targeted buildings, read news, and check back often for updates. You may also subscribe to the UCDNet2 mailing list (ucdnet2-info@ucdavis.edu).