Distributed Computing Support Models
Cliff Frost
University of California, Berkeley
Director of Communication and Network Services
Annie Stunden
Cornell University
Director of Academic Technology Services
CSG - January 8, 1999
1/8/99
1
Distributed Support Models
Cliff Frost
Director, Communication &
Network Services
UC Berkeley
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
2
History
1979
One mainframe, 6 minis
One consulting office, one phone #
Dozen or so consultants
Some Generalists
Some Specialists
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
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History
1989
Two (or so) mainframes
Thousands of network nodes
Single consulting office eliminated
Multiple phone #s for help
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
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History
1989-99
AAAACCCCCKKKK!
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University of California, Berkeley
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Today
1999
Still no single consulting office
More fragmented than ever
Help Desks tend to be System or
Application specific
Still, useful things have evolved...
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
6
Today (examples) (still 1999)
“Mainframe” help: supplied by
group supporting system
Financial System Help: ‘Functional’
consultants vs ‘System’ consultants
Student System help: Graduate or
Undergrad???
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
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Today (egs cont)
(still 1999)
Dial-in & Email help:
Student: Drop-in peer consulting
office
Staff: email to drmicro or phone (1012 and 2-4 Mon-Fri)
Faculty: email and dial-in any time to
staff offices
$3/mth/acct
from
modem
service
$
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
8
Today (egs cont)
(still 1999)
Desktop:
DOCS (Pay as you go)
Central support available for
~$650/yr
• little application help
L&S has similar service w/app help
Hire someone
to local
vendor
1/8/99Outsource
University
of California,
Berkeley
9
Today
(still 1999)
Several Informal Staff Groups:
micronet
novnet
usag
webnet
comp-mgrs
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
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Today
(still 1999)
A Couple of Formal Staff Groups:
ASSCS
• Web Steering Committee
• Student/Administrative Services
ITATF
• DHAA Task Force
• Security Task Force
• etc
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
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Comments
ITATF gives formal, effective path
for input from department staff
ASSCS gives path for top
Administrators
Cheap (but NOT free) modems
solved problem
Dollars for Desktop support works
1/8/99
University of California, Berkeley
12
Distributed Computing Support
at Cornell
CSG - Jekyll Island, Georgia
1/8/99
Cornell University
13
Challenge three years ago
 Build a distributed support model
 Additional funding = $0
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Review of what was
 Rump groups
 CCD’s - campus computing directors
 Net-admins
 Met periodically
 Used mailing lists
 Numbers
 About 250 people in central org - CIT
 Another 250 computing folks “out there” (as identified by title)
 Unknown number of other folks with different titles
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Three years ago
 Not a lot of friendliness between central and department
folks
 Clearly - there already was distributed support
 Not orderly
 Not consistent
 Not formalized
 Not related to central initiatives
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Cornell University
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So, what did we want?
 A way for support providers to communicate with the
central organization
 A way for central folks to communicate to the department
folks
 A way to leverage central and distributed resources collaborative working arrangements
 Better relationships - between and among us all
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Why??
 Major administrative implementation - distributing
responsibility - department buy-in and support critical t
success
 Way to gain acceptance of guidelines and policies
 Reasonably consistent network environment
 Share the workload
1/8/99
Cornell University
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How do we move toward this?
 Become more people friendly - simple but true.
 This means giving up the attitude that “we know best”.
 Worked to be welcomed to CCD meetings (rather than
specifically excluded)
 Encouraged the troops to attend the net-admin meetings
 Volunteered to be part of programs
1/8/99
Cornell University
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And more formally?
Set up an information technology officers
council.
Prepared a proposal about what and who
Guideline and standard setting group
Key person in each school responsible for
many IT related functions
Asked Dean’s to appoint an associate Dean
Dean’s made assignments reluctantly
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Brought these people together (letter from
Provost)
Not eager to participate
Not really willing to contribute - puzzled
about why they were there (with a couple of
exceptions)
Somewhat contentious
Not going anywhere (in my mind, at least
not quickly)
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Cornell VPIT left
Called one more meeting
Thought it was awful and just let it fade
away
However keep a mailing list where
periodically send out relevant information
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Cornell University
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Go, Team 2K!!
No ITO Council - let’s try something else
Proposal to develop a formal group of the
lead IT folks in the schools
Lead folks identified by the folks that had
been identified as ITOs
Tried to go with one key person per school
(again trying to get attention paid to IT stuff
at highest level in schools)
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Ended up with a couple of key folks in the
large schools
Brought these folks together - first focus what was needed in schools and
departments to make new admin systems
work - real work to do
Group jelled - meets monthly - real
information sharing forum
1/8/99
Cornell University
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After a while, extended to folks beyond
schools - to key admin departments too
Challenge is research centers - too many
folks who see themselves as key in the
centers
This group on a role in terms of making
things work across campus, across
organizations
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Sample Meeting Agenda
August 1998
Year 2k update
COLTS II (Cornell on-line time system)
Miscellaneous updates
AppleTalk demise discussion
Upgrade to modem pool
Follow up on outstanding site license questions
First campus-wide support provider meeting
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Campus-wide support providers
group
Used existing net-admin group as core of
this
Based on relationships established, had been
asked to manage the mailing list
Lots happening before the fall semester began,
good time to try to get folks in a room
Set up an agenda - invited folks (a couple of
hundred) to a lunch meeting.
Bought pizza - lots of it
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Cornell University
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More than 200 folks showed up - from
central organizations and from schools and
departments
This was coordinated and led by the central
help desk manager
Discussed some similar to Team 2K agenda
Folks asked that this be regular - agreed to
participate in agenda setting - and said
would come without pizza.
1/8/99
Cornell University
28
Technology tools that make this work
Bear Access - delivered with new
infrastructure last summer. Great campus
participation in test - and ongoing
debugging
CBT - Folks feel they are really getting a
service from us as a result of this contract and lots of folks are getting smarter
Electronic mailing lists; no more secrets;
tell stuff folks early; hear stuff early
1/8/99
Cornell University
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New services that have made us
more relevant
Site license coordination - including
bringing in MS Select
Putting in place good pricing for hardware (Dell deal resulted in store negotiating
better prices with other vendors too)
CBT - and collaboration with other campus
trainers
Technology forums
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Cornell University
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Important Collaborations
Bear Access
COLTS
Hardware guidelines
Building technology spaces
Project 2000 (P2K)
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Central Services for Constituents
Undergrads (except in specific schools such
as Hotel School)
Help desk
Res-net support
Dial-in support
Public labs
Personal web space
Training
1/8/99
Cornell University
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For facultyAcademic technology center - support for
teaching and learning
Some schools do similar work
Some schools have complementary services
What’s our relationship with Office of Distance
Learning and their work with faculty?
• Itchy, sometimes collaborative, sometimes
combative, not really resolved.
No real support for researchers
No support for UNIX users
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Administrators
Don’t provide hands on productivity products
training anymore
Help desk as first and last resort
Enhanced support/relationships with end-user
support providers
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Do we need more?
Levels of support very different in different
places.
CS has a substantial and talented IT group
School of Art, Architecture and Planning - has
one person - and we provided seed money for
this hire.
College of Arts and Science has a few central
folks - relations with department folks within
the college vary - and department support levels
range from nil to hearty.
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Do we have a structure that works?
Sort of. It works better than it did.
There are still folks out there who want to
pretend there is no central organization or
central services.
We are getting better about being
collaborative - about inviting folks to dance.
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Cornell University
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As a result, work is less redundant - and we
are probably saving the campus money.
It’s easier to implement best practices
campus-wide
Necessary folks are on-board for big
initiatives.
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Holes
A service to manage local area networks
and servers
Security officer - an empty slot right now
Those departments where more support for
helping folks keep their machines working
1/8/99
Cornell University
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Filling the holes
All it takes is money
(Campus is ready to work collaboratively;
funds needed to put in place some missing
resources and services).
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Cornell University
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How shall we partner?
That’s you and that’s I.
When you know you know best
And I’m acting sly…………….
First - Get over it!!
Second - Show us both the money!!
1/8/99
Cornell University
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