Core Services Goals for 2007-2008

Goals for the current planning year

Goals for previous years

Highlights

The most significant work this year is the build-out of the SDR hosting environment, providing a new foundation of web and database servers and large-scale NAS storage in a new data center. The hosting environment for Web Services will also undergo substantial improvement as that group redefines its standards for software development.

As always, a replacement cycle is part of the planned work; this year, it includes the large systems that support Mirlyn. Several services that are adequately provided by central IT will be shed. System administration effort will be streamlined as we additionally automate those tasks and upgrade servers to RedHat Enterprise Linux, which offers better centralized management.

Content/Web infrastructure

• Develop/support SDR hosting environment.*
• Develop/support enhancements to Library Web Services hosting environment.
• Finish transition to CoSign authentication.*
• Replace web load-balancing system.*
• Roll out new web-based authorization management system.*
• Begin migration of Library Web Services to networked storage.
• Begin migration of DLPS development services to networked storage.
• Continue work with ITCS on Shibboleth origin pilot.
• Migrate all web service to Apache 2.

Repository/Storage

• Finish migration to new Pillar Axiom SAN in ALDC.*
• Implement snapshot-based database backups.*
• Install and configure new Isilon NAS systems and migrate SDR services.*
• Develop load process for SDR materials not submitted via GRIN.

System administration

• Transition remaining servers to TSM backups; phase out Arkeia backups; perform testing and training on GUI-based recovery.*
• Improve remote access capabilities to server resources using serial console, network KVM (for blades), and VPN device(s).*
• Standardize, document, and build mechanisms to centralize system administration processes, including
• maintenance of configuration files
• intrusion detection
• (root) mail delivery
• system health, log, and storage monitoring
• Replace production and development servers as scheduled, consolidating services and/or using virtualization as appropriate.*
• Relocate servers as appropriate for availability, redundancy, and/or proximity to specific storage systems.
• Transition to ITCS-supported DHCP, and transition DNS service off plumwine using DHCP lease configuration.*
• Explore centralized storage for sharing among all LIT units.**

Security

• Complete security planning and perform TBD high-priority tasks.**
• Investigate virtual firewall service and request/implement as appropriate.

* High priority items.

** These activities will be coordinated with DSS.