Volume 2. No 4 
Information Technology News of the University of California, Davis Summer 1994
Improvements in Current Network Operations and Services
Campus Modem Pool Expansion/Enhancements:
Replaced aging and obsolete modems
with new state-of-the-art equipment, including the installation of
communications servers which facilitate the monitoring, maintenance, and
management of the pool. The size of the pool was increased from 72 to 224.
Thanks to the development of several statistical performance monitoring tools,
the service being provided has been vastly improved. The volume of calls being
answered has increased from an average of 2,600 to 8,300 per day. An IT
workgroup has been established on a permanent basis to monitor progress and
prescribe proactive steps to maintain service levels and meet increasing demand
for remote network connectivity.
Campus Network Operations Center:
Installed a functional Network Operations
Center (NOC) with expanded hours of operation that include the availability of
technical support from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm daily. The center is equipped for
trouble isolation and diagnostics, triage, and repair and restoration
capabilities. In its current configuration it is a prototype of that which will
operate in the Network 21 environment on a 24 hours/day, 7 days/week basis.
Interim Network 21:
Designed and implemented a project to furnish access to
the campus broadband system, to accommodate the online Student Information
System, for the Art Building, Wickson Hall, Sproul Hall, Hunt Hall, Kerr Hall,
and Wellman Hall. A total of 32 departmental local area networks were installed
and 9 separate Develnet connections effected though this one project. Access to
network facilities from the classroom is an important by-product of this
project.
Touchtone Registration Service:
In cooperation with the Information Resources
unit of IT and the Office of the Registrar, installed a fully operational and
responsive touchtone telephone student registration capability. Despite what
have been exceptional demands on the system by students, the system has
performed reliably.
Local Area Network Installations:
Across a broad spectrum of campus units,
provided 140 work estimates and completed 118 installations. It is important to
note that all installations incorporate the standards that have been
established for Network 21.
Social Sciences Remote Switching Node:
We are in the final stages of
implementing the plan to equip the new Social Sciences building with its own
remote telephone switching facility. By extending the latest in voice switching
technology to an alternative site in the core area of the campus, and by
exploiting the capabilities of optic fiber cable, we diversify the provisioning
of service and preclude the need for the installation of additional quantities
of twisted-pair cable and the inconvenience and costs that would entail.