I.T. Times
Volume 4. No 6 Information Technology News of the University of California, Davis March 1996

Inside I.T.


Watching Over Mothra

Remember Mothra? No, not the giant moth-creature from the B movie. Mothra - the access word you were asked to type in when you opened your campus computer account. Dan Dorough of I.T.'s Distributed Computing Analysis and Support (DCAS) is one of the two keepers of Mothra, along with Larry Johnson, also of DCAS. Mothra - I.T.'s account management system and online directory - is a database containing all of the campus "easy-access" computer accounts, the UCD MailID central electronic mail addresses, and the "Whois" electronic directory.

Dorough and Johnson are the system architects for Mothra. Dorough's responsibility is for the "front end," which entails developing applications and tools to enable I.T. staff and customers campuswide to use the database, while Johnson implements the "back end," getting information into the database.

Dorough wears another hat as well as the system architect of the Aspiga database, which is the campus hostname database for the UCDNet network. In that role, Dorough serves as both the system architect, having built all the applications and set up all the processes, and as the hostname clerk in order to keep on top of what information people need to make the tools as easy to use as possible. He also wrote the system database for the Davis Community Network, which maintains all the DCN customer records and computer accounts.

And he's responsible for peering into the future, investigating future technologies - like client/server computing - for possible use on campus.

Now, ask him how Mothra got its name and he'll confess - it really is named after the giant moth-creature from the B movie. One reason: it swoops down and gathers up information.


Site License Coordinator Works to Keep Campus Informed

As Site License Coordinator for Information Technology, Leigh Ann Giles wants to make sure the entire campus community has access to information about what site licensed software packages are available to campus users. As she puts it, her job is to work with campus departments to identify software needs and pinpoint potential site license opportunities.

"Campus departments are realizing the many benefits of agreement licenses, including - but not limited to - the cost savings," says Giles, who assumed site license responsibilities in January.

At a department's request, Giles will investigate new licensing opportunities. She also stays on top of potential opportunities by participating in monthly systemwide conference calls where she discusses pending UC agreements with other site license administrators.

"Claris, Lotus, and Adobe software agreements are being negotiated," says Giles. "I will distribute the details to campus as soon as an agreement is reached."

More information about site license agreements and volume discounts available to campus users is found on the World Wide Web at http://eclipse.ucdavis.edu/slc.html

Or if you have specific questions about software site licenses, send e-mail to itslc@ucdavis.edu


Software Support for Workstation Users

If you use a SUN, DEC, or SGI workstation, this Vendor Software Library (VSL) news is for you.

If you have questions about the VSL program, send e-mail to vsl@ucdavis.edu.