Networked Services Update 4/8/2004

Contents

New IT staff

Please welcome Dean Lawson and Brian Koehmstedt who have recently joined the IT team. Dean is our Network Engineer and will be focused on building the new campus network as well as taking care of the existing network infrastructure. Brian is a Web Application Developer whose first project will be our Personnel Application and Web-based Management System (PAWS).

UC Merced web site face-lift

On April 2nd, a new look and feel was introduced to the top level of our web site. Throughout the next 2 months, that same look and feel will be incorporated into lower level pages. A more comprehensive re-design is in the works, scheduled to debut in early Fall. The new design will change not only the look, but will also incorporate facilities that will enable the various departments and units to manage their parts of the web site and to incorporate more sophisticated graphics and multi-media.

Virtual Private Networking (VPN)

In the coming weeks, we are also making available a general Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. This allows someone using an ISP from home (dial-up, DSL, or cable modem) to connect securely (using encryption) to the UC Merced network. The principal uses for this service are for accessing sensitive administrative applications from off-campus and to access resources that are accessible only to users of the UC Merced network, such as electronic library resources.

Sakai

UC Merced has become a founding member of the Sakai Educational Partners Program. Sakai (www.sakai.org) is a major open source course management software initiative combining resources from Indiana University, MIT, Stanford, and the University of Michigan. These institutions are committed to going live with Sakai on August 2005, and we are actively working towards achieving that same goal.

DocuShare and other passwords

In the next month or so, UCMShare (DocuShare) will be migrated from a Windows to a UNIX platform. At the same time, it will become directory-enabled, i.e., the same password will be used by DocuShare as is used for e-mail, the calendar, the portal, etc. For most users, these passwords have been set to the same value, so the migration will be transparent. Should you encounter an access problem, please contact the IT Help Desk.

Additionally, we will be propagating UCMID usernames and passwords to Windows Active Directory. This will allow you to use a single username and password for printing and file server access. Furthermore, you will be able to use your UCMID username and password to login to your Windows machine, eliminating the "standard" password we currently use.


Looking for help?

We offer a number of tutorials and FAQs available in the Guides & FAQs section.

If you have any questions, problems, or comments, please contact the IT Help Desk via email at helpdesk@ucmerced.edu, via phone at 209.228.HELP (4357), or visit them in the Classroom and Office Building room 132A.