Power Issues in the ECC May Affect Network Connectivity

As a result of the power outage that occurred on campus on May 29, the ECC Building was adversely affected and continues to experience electrical power issues. Last night, building generators failed and as a result, network connectivity was lost from 7 p.m. until approximately 8:27 p.m.

DoIT continues to work with Campus Operations and Maintenance to investigate and solve these problems, but in the meantime, please be advised that network connectivity may continue to be affected periodically.

We will provide an update when there is more information to share. Thank you for your patience.

Image of power generators running outside the ECC Building

Generators running outside the ECC Building since May 29.

Two Additions to the SUNY Spring Education Enterprise Purchase (EEP) Offering

Two different Dell network switches were added to the SUNY Spring Education Enterprise Purchase (EEP) offering and will run through July 31, 2014. The Dell pricing is available at discounts better than New York State and higher education pricing. The products listed on this promotion may be purchased direct through Dell or via a reseller (on the OGS contract).

Dell Networking Switch Model S4810

List Price $26,533.44 … SUNY Special $9,545.18

Image of a Dell Network Switch 4810

48 port 10G SFP+ PORTS W/4 QSFP 40GPORTS,1 AC PS,2 FAN SUBSYS W/AIRFLOW Front to back.

Reference Config ID 1250818/Quote #679060808

Offer Expires: July 31, 2014….

**Extended warranties, enhanced features & connectors available on this promo, please call the contact number below or your Dell partner for a custom quote.

Key applications

  • Ultra-low-latency 10 GbE switching in HPCC, high-speed trading, or other business-sensitive deployments that require the highest bandwidth and lowest latency
  • High-density 10 GbE ToR server aggregation in high-performance data center environments
  • Design with the E-Series or Z-Series core switch/router to create a flat, two-tier, non-blocking 1/10/40 GbE data center network design
  • Design a distributed core Clos fabric with S4810 switch in leaf and spine with the S-Series 1/10GbE ToR switches for cost-effective aggregation of 10 GbE uplinks
  • Regular iSCSI Storage deployment
  • Enterprise iSCSI (iSCSI over DCB)
  • FIP Snooping Bridge as part of storage solution

Key features

  • 1RU high-density 10/40 GbE ToR switch with 48 dual-speed 1/10 GbE (SFP+) ports and four 40 GbE (QSFP+) uplinks (totaling 64 10 GbE ports with breakout cables)
  • 1.28 Tbps (full-duplex) non-blocking, cut-through switching fabric delivers line-rate performance under full load with 800ns latency
  • Scalable L2 and L3 Ethernet switching with QoS and a full complement of standards-based IPv4 and IPv6 features
  • IO panel to PSU airflow or PSU to IO panel airflow
  • Open Automation Framework adds VM-awareness as well as automated configuration and provisioning capabilities to simplify the management of virtual network environments
  • Modular Dell Force10 Operating System (FTOS) software delivers inherent stability as well as advanced monitoring and serviceability functions
  • Supports jumbo frames for high-end server connectivity
  • 128 link aggregation groups with up to 8 members per group, using advanced hashing
  • Redundant, hot-swappable power supplies and fans
  • Hardware support for DCB
  • Low power consumption
  • VLT and eVLT:mulit-chassis link to enable up to 576 10GE (3:1 over subscription)
  • User Port stacking support for up to 6 units
  • Support IPv6 Layer 2 and FIPS certification

http://www.dell.com/networking

Dell Networking Switch Model N2048P

List Price $4,290.83 … Education Special $2,312.66

Image of a Dell Network Switch 2048

Dell  N2048P L2 48-Port POE+ switch with three-year ProSupport and NBD on-site services

Offer Expires: July 31, 2014….

**Extended warranties, enhanced features & connectors available on this promo, please call the contact number below or your Dell partner for a custom quote.

Dell Networking N2000 Series

  • Up to 220 Gbps switch fabric capacity.
  • Supports up to 48 line-rate 1GbE ports per
    switch and up to 600 1GbE ports in a twelve-unit stack
  • Standard N-Series stacking cables and built-in ports for cost-effective high-performance stacking at up to 84 Gbps
  • Up to 48 ports of PoE+
  • Up to 4,094 VLANs supported
  • Advanced Layer 2+ functionality with up to 256 static routes and Routing Information Protocol (RIP) included supporting up to 256 interfaces
  • Advanced network security including highly configurable ACLs
  • USB Rapid deployment expedites switch configuration
  • Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) and lower power PHYs reduce
    power to inactive ports and idle links
  • Fresh Air® compliant for high operating temperature
    environments

A powerful and economical 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet switching solution for efficient Layer 2+ access for end user devices, entry-level servers, and network devices. Up to twelve switches can be stacked and managed with a single IP address to deliver reliable network performance.

Leverage familiar tools and practices

  • One common CLI and GUI using a well-known command language gets skilled network administrators productive quickly.
  • Maintain consistent configurations by running one OS release across all products in the series.
  • Rapidly deploy mirrored configurations to numerous devices by simply inserting in a USB key

Modernize campus network architectures

  • Supports loop-free redundancy without spanning tree using MLAG to create high availability and full bandwidth utilization.
  • Interfaces seamlessly with Cisco proprietary protocols like RPVST+ and devices running CDP for greater interoperability and integration.
  • Unite various networking products with the latest open standard protocols for more network choice.

Key features and innovations

  • Multi-chassis Link Aggregation (MLAG) creates active/active loop-free redundancy without implementing expensive spanning tree protocols.
  • Interface seamlessly with Rapid Per-VLAN Spanning Tree (RPVST+) for greater flexibility and interoperability with Cisco networks. (Available with OS 6.1 release)
  • Authentication Tiering allows admins to tier port authentication methods, such as 802.1x, MAC Authentication Bypass, and Captive Portal in priority order so that a single port can provide flexible access and security.
  • Policy Based Routing (PBR) allows you to forward packets based on assigned criteria beyond destination address. Policy Based Forwarding (PBF) is available
    on Layer 2 devices.
  • Remote Switch Port Analyzer (RSPAN) allows you to monitor ports across a Layer 2 domain without purchasing costly dedicated network taps.
  • DHCP Snooping ensures IP integrity on a Layer 2 switched domain to harden the security of the LAN.
  • OpenFlow 1.0 provides first-look SDN capabilities in environments outside the data center. Beta release
  • And hundreds more including the latest open-standard protocols.

***Please note there are L3 versions of this switch and 10gbe versions. Please call for details.

To order or discuss options, please call:
Matt Sperling
Regional Sales/Dell Networking
Phone (518) 810-4345
matthew_sperling@dell.com

 

Student Printing Services Will be Unavailable on June 3

Stand alone printer in Frey Ha

 

Student printing services will be unavailable all day on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, in order to perform server-side enhancements and help Stony Brook work towards enabling mobile printing, which is a top request by students. Once this upgrade is complete, the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) can begin testing out mobile printing solutions.

Affected Services:

  • Student printing on campus
  • Print From Anywhere

Affected Locations:

  • Campus Residences
  • HSC
  • SINC Sites
  • South Campus
  • Southampton
  • Stand alone printers – Biomedical Engineering

If you need to print on June 3, you may do so at one of the UPS Store locations on West Campus *  using Wolfie Wallet, credit card, or cash:

  • Melville Library, Lower Level, Room 0320 (down the hall from the Bookstore)
  • Student Union Lobby

UPS charges for printing are as follows:

  •  B & W 8 1/2 x 11:  4 cents a page / 8 cents double sided
  •  Color: 8 1/2 x 11: 39 cents a page / 78 cents double sided

For More Information Contact

Instructional Technology Support
(631) 632-2777

DoIT Calls for NetID Password Changes in Response to Heartbleed Bug

Stony Brook University's Heartbleed NetID Password Change Poster

Help us spread the word by downloading, printing, and hanging up the poster in your area.

CIO Cole Camplese issued the following campus announcement on April 15, urging everyone to change their NetID passwords as a result of the Heartbleed Bug …

To the Campus Community:

Good afternoon. Due to our current understanding of the Heartbleed Bug that has impacted the majority of the Internet, I wanted to provide you with a brief update on our progress and immediate next steps. We have no evidence that any Stony Brook University system or user credentials have been exploited by the Heartbleed Bug. However, we feel in order to protect your data and the institution’s data and out of an abundance of caution, you should change your Stony Brook NetID password.

To change your Stony Brook NetID password, please follow these directions carefully:

http://it.stonybrook.edu/help/kb/changing-your-netid-password

To stay connected to updated Heartbleed Bug information, to get immediate help or support in the password change process, and to review what has been done to date at Stony Brook University, please visit:

http://you.stonybrook.edu/heartbleed

Cole W. Camplese
Vice President for Information Technology & CIO
Stony Brook University

Windows XP and Office 2003 Reaching End of Support on April 8

Sanjay Kapur, DoIT’s Director of Systems and Operations, received the following email Windows XP logofrom Microsoft regarding product retirements. Windows XP and Office 2003 will be reaching end of support on April 8, 2014. According to Microsoft, reaching “end of support” means customers will still be able to run the software, but Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or update online content. In short, you will be on your own for support and will be essentially accepting all risk if you decide to continue using unsupported software.

DoIT highly recommends that departments and individuals stay up-to-date on latest versions of operating systems and software. Please visit our Institutional Software Support page for a list of recommended standards. In some cases, computers may need to be upgraded due to hardware restrictions. To purchase a replacement computer that meets University standards, please see DoIT’s list of recommended systems.

2014 Future of Open Source Survey Results

Here is the slide deck from a webinar I participated in today about the future of open source. They needed a higher ed spokesperson and I got nominated by Acquia, the company handling our Drupal web hosting. Pretty interesting to hear how attitudes about open source have changed over the years.
2014 Future of Open Source Survey Results

School of Journalism Transforms iPad into a Satellite Truck

Phil Altiere

School of Journalism’s Phil Altiere presenting at the Content and Communications World Expo in NYC on Nov. 12-13, 2014.

Congratulations to IT Partner Philip Altiere, an instructional support technician in the School of Journalism, for his creativity in helping Stony Brook students use iPads to produce live broadcasts at Wolfstock last fall. Phil wrote the following guest blog for EdTech Digest about the experience that was just published on March 12. He and his students were also invited to present their technique at the Content and Communications World (CCW) Expo at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City last November. Way to innovate!

Cross-Departmental Cooperation Key to DoIT’s System Status Reporting

Screenshot of DoIT System Status CheckMembers of the DoIT staff met on Monday, March 3, to discuss improvements to the System Status monitoring and reporting process. Historically, there have been technical issues with the DoIT website due to caching that delayed the publication of system status entries which ultimately was leading to the same status events being reported multiple times.

Richard von Rauchhaupt, DoIT’s web architect, recently implemented some back-end changes to the site which should now allow for immediate publication of these system status entries by purging the cache of the home page and service pages whenever a system status entry is created. In addition, he added a new block to the system status creation screen which shows any currently-affected systems. It is our hope that this will reduce the duplication of status events since we have representatives from Systems and Operations, Client Support, Data Network Services, and TLT adding service disruptions and outages.

The group agreed it is better to have multiple entries for an outage, rather than not reporting it at all. In short, when it doubt, someone from the DoIT staff will be posting alerts into our Drupal content management system.

It was also recommended that our system status managers publish a reasonably detailed description of the outage or service disruption and an acknowledgement when a certain team has taken ownership of a problem and is in the middle of working on a solution. Our team has recommitted itself to periodically updating system status messages with new details (when applicable) and will attempt to provide time estimates for system resolution as they become available.

For major systems used by the majority of our campus community (PeopleSoft/SOLAR, Blackboard, Google Apps, WolfieNet, etc.), it was also agreed upon that our system status managers post the system status to the SBU DoIT Twitter feed (@SBUDoIT or #SBUDoIT). This is automatically done if the “Post to Twitter” checkbox is checked in Drupal. Our system status managers only need to post it to Twitter once per outage since the URL displayed on Twitter will reflect any updated messages throughout an event.

During the next few months, DoIT’s web team will be looking at building out some basic metrics related to system downtime reported through system status entries. This will give us a baseline on how available our systems tend to be based on reports which can be compared to other benchmarks to see if we are catching all system status events, and to see which systems are unstable. These metrics will rely on accurate reporting and resolution of system status events.

Our team agreed that if a status event is resolved, but there are potential side effects or new user instructions, the disruption or outage will be closed and a new “informational” entry will be created. This will allow for long-term notifications to our users while still allowing us to accurately track the outage and downtime.

Finally, when a system is down during a scheduled outage, we will now display a red “X” instead of the calendar icon (if an event was originally entered as “scheduled maintenance”) on the home page and system status screen. This will more accurately reflect when a service is down. In the system status archive, we will still show the calendar so that users know that most of our outages are planned and due to required system maintenance.

We welcome any feedback on these changes and certainly hope this makes things clearer for our IT Partners and the University community as a whole.