Important Notice: Our Blackboard system is being moved to "managed" hosting

In order to provide the campus community with better service, IC has arranged for our Blackboard system to be hosted by Blackboard directly rather than on our local server.  This way we will no longer be subject to outages due to power or air conditioning problems.  As you can imagine, this project will require a good bit of planning to minimize disruption. Rest assured that IC and CTL will be working together to do everything possible to support the campus community during this transition and to keep everyone informed.

Fall 13 and Spring 14 courses are being moved to the new hosted service now.

Summer 14 classes will come over to the hosted environment after the final grade due date posted by the Registrar's office, 3 days after the last day of the summer term.  If you are teaching this summer, please download your Blackboard grade centers in the case that you may have incompletes and as a precautionary backup.  (George Hoffman in the CTL can assist or come to your school to do a demonstration as needed.)
 

Fall 14 classes will be moved over July 1-14.
 

Note that it takes Blackboard 2 weeks to process courses--during which time they will not be accessible either here or there.  However, you can load a copy of your course to CourseSites (the free online version of Blackboard) to handle either Summer term incompletes or work on preparing Fall classes. George Hoffman in the CTL can assist faculty with using CourseSites, backing up your courses, or downloading your grade center. [SPECIAL NOTE: As of this writing, CourseSites is generating an error when uploading courses. Blackboard is working on the issue. Stay tuned for updates.]

Because of the migration to the new system, IC is not able to do Fall course merges or set up Fall courses to work with ExamSoft at this time.  We'll let you know when these services are again available.

IC will post updates to the Blackboard Support Site and Tech Blog.  CTL will send notices out to faculty when more direct communication is needed.  Please see the calendar at http://www.su.edu/events/month/ for Blackboard drop in sessions or email ghoffman@su.edu to schedule assistance.  More information will be forthcoming and more training sessions will be scheduled in August, so please stay tuned.  Questions about the migration of courses to the new system should be submitted to IC using the work ticket system. If you have any questions regarding this upgrade please contact the IC Help Desk at helpdesk@su.edu or 540/665-5555.

** The above has been reprinted from the June 30, 2014 CTL Newsletter sent out by Dr. Anne Marchant ** 

SU Technology Tips and Tricks By Devon Taylor

Where I'll Be This Week Monday - Bowman Building 11:00 - 1:00 - Room 212 Wednesday - Cork Street  11:00 - 1:00 - Room 142 Thursday - Wilkins Building  11:00 - 1:00 - Conference Room Halpin-Harrison Hall 2:30 - 4:30 - Room 140   Facebook Twitter Training Website Google Plus YouTube 24/7 Support BB Info

Good Morning Everyone, This week I've got a new Google Drive feature for suggested edits, a powerful browser-based image editor and free Blackboard Collaborate training. If you have questions, let me know!   SU Tips and Tricks New Google Drive Feature - Suggested Edits Last week Google announced the inclusion of a highly requested feature, suggested edits (like track changes). This new edit mode makes any changes redlines that can then be approved by the document owner. Very handy feature for collaborating on documents.  Check out the link for more information   Free Blackboard Collaborate Training If you have ever wanted to learn more about Blackboard Collaborate and everything it offers, this course is for you!  Blackboard is offering FREE Collaborate training courses to anyone at SU.  All you have to do is follow the instructions found at the link! Take advantage of this great training and learn how to host online meetings and classes today! Pixlr - In Browser Image Editor This web app is a powerful image editor that lives in the cloud.  You can create new images as well as edit images you upload to Pixlr. The best part? It links into Google Drive so that you can open any images in your Drive with Pixlr for quick fixes and edits. Lot's of the tools found in paid software are included here for free! Go ahead and give it a try. If you don't need all those bells and whistles, try out Pixlr Express.

Eric Braithwaite: Pillar of Networking

The face of a boss

Every good IT department needs somebody like Eric.  He comes to work and gets stuff done, and then after a few projects have been taken care of, he'll leave for the day. Eric is punctual, direct, polite, relatively quiet, and efficient. If you had to build a perfect IT person out of a lego set, it would look like a lego-ized version of Eric.

Recently I stopped by his office to interview him so that you can get to know him better. When I stepped in his office, I got the impression that a serious IT professional worked in there; I'm talking, multiple switches on his desk, diagrams of stuff I can barely comprehend on the full-wall whiteboard behind his chair, and some miscellaneous tech things that look interesting and expensive. Here's what he said:

Q: Would you mind telling me a little about yourself?
A: Sure, I was born and raised here in Winchester, I went to school here up until I finished high school, and then I went off to college in 2000 at Longwood University. I graduated college in 2004, and since then I started working here. I have an undergrad degree in business administration with a concentration in computer information management systems, and my masters degree is a MBA with a concentration in information systems and computer technology.

Q: How did you end up at SU?
A: When I graduated from college in the summer of 2004, I had a friend who worked here in the Help Desk. My buddy gave me a call and told me that there was a position open in the Help Desk at SU so I applied, and I've been working here ever since.

Q: How long have you been working with technology?
A: As I mentioned, I've been in IC for the last ten years, but before that I interned at the City of Winchester in 2003ish. All through college I was involved in technology.  Heck, I built my first personal computer at the age of 13.

Q: What type of hobbies do you have?
A: I try to be outside as much as possible; I fish, shoot and hike a lot.  I still play video games every now and then, and I play guitar and write music.

Q: What is your favorite type of music?
A: Rock and country. I'm not much of a metal head. I like modern rock and some indie rock.

Q: What's your most memorable experience at SU thus far?
A: I'd have to say it was my first week of work, August of 2004.  Back then, each computer that was going to connect to our network had to go through a computer certification process, which means every computer had to be checked, inspected, and certified with each individual computer. At the time, Ken (Lambert) said that I had been, "thrown to the wolves."

Q: What does a typical work day in your life consist of?
A: There is no such thing as a typical work day. I try my best to hack away at a never ending list of projects, but we often get pulled away to work on emergencies or something more important that pops up. It's interesting because the summer might be the easiest time for students, but here in IC it is usually our busiest time because we are trying to accomplish all the projects for the next year.

Q: What are the primary systems that you deal with on a day-to-day basis?
A: The switches, routers, wireless access points, sometimes even the servers if the other guys get jammed up.

Q: If you disappeared into an extra dimensional pocket for an extended period of time, and nobody took over your job responsibilities, what would happen after six months?
A: The main thing people think of when they think of "The Network" is internet access, and when the internet is disrupted people can get a little excited. I don't know, but if the network was in trouble for six months it would be bad. Luckily, we have other people in the IC department that could step up and patch up the network so that it is at least functional.

Q: If you could give end users a quick pro tip to make their life easier regarding the technology that you support, what would it be?
A: If it swims like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. So don't click on it!  Meaning, if there is a suspicious link in an email, don't open it.

Needless to say, Eric is a huge asset to the IC department! He's got superb skills and tremendous talent with regards to his labor, and the department makes sure to utilize these things during work hours. But most important, and beyond all the work stuff, Eric is a good guy who helps as much as he can.

IC Projects: NVC Point to Point Upgrade

Have you been to SU's Northern Virginia Campus  lately? If you have, then you know that they have been going through major changes in the last year to accommodate more programs, faculty, staff, and students. With increased users comes increased networking demands, and so, like the switch upgrade of 5/29, the IC networking team launched a project that increased the capabilities of the network, before the network experienced any kind of congestion from increased traffic.

But what actually happened?

I sat down with Ken Lambert this morning so that he could explain to me exactly why his crew performed this action.  Here's what he said:

Q: What exactly was accomplished with this upgrade?  

A: We did a few important things:

• Vastly increased the amount of IP addresses that can be used at NVC which means, instead of the 2,000 addresses (keep in mind, each individual device keeps a unique address), we now have a possibility of 16,000 unique IP addresses. Each user has somewhere between two and three devices, and each IP addresses is generally reserved for a year. You would be surprised at how quickly these get used.
• Each building on main campus is setup the same way, and now we have NVC setup in the same fashion. That means, from our administrator end, we can treat NVC the exact same as every other building on campus.  It's proximity to main campus really does not make much of a difference anymore from our end.
• The biggest benefit to the end user is that they used to have a 20megabit connection through Verizon Fios, and now they have a 100megabit connection, and it has the potential to be increased down the road. This will allow NVC to function without any bandwidth issues even when they begin to add new video conferencing equipment, and hundreds of new devices to the network
• We used to have a 35 millisecond delay between NVC and main campus, and now we have a 3 millisecond delay, it's incredible. 

Q:When did this project occur?

A: It has been discussed for awhile, we first made arrangements with Shentel last summer to put in a point-to-point circuit between NVC and main campus. We finished the project last Thursday (6/19).

  

Q: Was there any disruption of service?

A: Not for main campus. On the 19th, NVC had a disruption of one and a half hours. This was our second attempt at the migration. On the first attempt, we ran into a configuration issue with the new circuit which involved a longer disruption and then some work with Shentel to resolve the issue.

Q: What steps did you and your crew take to minimize the amount of disruption to services?

A: A lot of planning and preparation. We had to change the direction of their internet traffic, and that required a considerable amount of configuration changes to make sure it was running properly. 

Q: How long did it take you and your team to prepare for this project?

A: Logistically this was a tricky project because Shentel had to order a bunch of fiber optic, and had to install some of it over route 7.  Of course, this winter being brutal, Shentel was set back multiple times installing the fiber do to winter storms.  On IC's end, my team had to do a lot of in depth networking work in order to get this task accomplished smoothly.

From a technological standpoint, NVC is closer to main campus than ever. The NVC users will have access to a network that has much more bandwidth, and now a slue of new devices can be added to the network without issue!

Don Silvius: iMLearning Champion

To my knowledge, Don Silvius is IC's most acclaimed historian.  His calm demeanor and clear intrigue with history makes it so you cannot be around him for too long without learning something interesting; I guess you could call it "Don knowledge osmosis." 

Despite only knowing Don just under a year, I think it is safe to say that anybody would be hard pressed to find a friendlier individual who deeply values the people and connections he has made over the years. When I went to Don's office for his interview, I was greeted, chatted about some of the photos on his wall, and then got straight to business:

Q: Would you mind telling me a little about yourself?
A: I was born in Martinsburg, WV but my family has lived in the Shenandoah Valley for over 250 years. I graduated from Shepherd University with a degree in Chemistry, as you can see, I use that degree everyday... I got my job at SU because I used to work at a library automation company, and in 2006 they chose to downsize, and the very next day I received a phone call about an opening at SU.  In that aspect, I guess you could say I was fortunate and at the right place at the right time.

Q: Don, what kind of stuff do you do outside of work?
A: Okay, I do a lot of things outside of SU.  I, jokingly, call it my, "other life." I come from a musical family, and music is a big part of what I do outside of here. I play piano, and though I do not play in any public settings, my wife enjoys the performances. She doesn't make me use headphones anymore with my digital piano. It's a huge accomplishment. I'm the vice president of the Berkeley County Historical Society in Martinsburg, and I've been on their board of directors now for eleven years. My main function at the historical society is directing research. I've actually written three books for the historical society, all three have sold out!

Q: Are you working on any projects right now? 
A:Right now, the project I am working on is probably the most interesting project I have worked on to date because it involves living people. We have a historic Baltimore and Ohio Railroad roundhouse built in 1866 that has been restored after being shut down in the late '80s. Many of the people who worked there are still living. I've been doing video/audio interviews with them. Their stories and their photos are great; it's a great experience thus far. We actually made their stories into 15 and 30 minute videos and by October, we will have a third video which we will use at events and when people tour the roundhouse.  For now, the tours are free, and I would certainly encourage people to come and visit

Q: Are you an animal lover?

A: Yes! We have cats, chinchillas, and a hedgehog.  The chinchillas and the hedgehog belong to our daughter. At first I had reservations about having rodents as pets, but they make surprisingly excellent pets.  They like to sit on your shoulder and are actually very social. 

Q: What is your most memorable experience at SU thus far?

A: There are a lot. Most of them involve students that I got to know well. I have, appropriate, and special relationships with many of my former student workers, one is right there (He points to the wall where he has several pictures of smiling folks). My wife and I call her our Chinese daughter, now she lives in Shanghai, China with the job of her dreams. I'd have to say though the most memorable moment was making iMLearning actually happen. In late 2008 we were gearing up for it, and despite hearing from multiple sources that the project might not work, we eventually did it. Now we are in year six of the iMLearning program. 

Q: What does a typical work day in your life look like?

A: Most days, I begin by reacting to emails with people with questions or concerns about iMLearning related things. Once August is over, and everybody has their iMLearning equipment, we will begin getting ready for the next year.  During the downtime between iMLearning distributions, it is a matter of logistics and planning ahead. Getting equipment here to be distributed to the right people, at the right time, at the right place, and in the right numbers is trickier than you might think. 

Q: Can you give me a run down of the iMLearning process?

A: From beginning to end. Let's just say it is the day after a major iMLearning distribution. The first thing we do is evaluate, re-purpose, and repair old equipment that we get in. After that we begin to get into some of the logistics, we gather numbers and projections so that we can figure out how many new devices we are going to need to acquire.  Of course, as time goes on, the projections get more and more accurate. Typically, a month or so before the end of a semester, I will already have fairly accurate projections about what equipment I will need to order for the next semester. Then we place our orders, which is a process in itself. Once the equipment arrives, then it all needs to be prepared. This includes putting asset tags on everything and imaging the computers (last semester Tom Anderson and I, including a few volunteers imaged 700ish MacBooks in three days). After all of this, the distribution happens, and then we do it all over again.

Q: If you disappeared into an extra-dimensional pocket and nobody took over your job responsibilities, what would happen after six months?

A: It would depend on the time of year, if it was mid semester, I think things would be okay. We have everything setup so that if I had to be out for week or two weeks because of an emergency, somebody else can step in and fill for me.  If nobody picked up the ball though, there would be big problems after six months.  I mean, imagine if nobody was around to make sure the iMLearning distribution happened, it would be rough.

Q: If you could give users one quick pro tip regarding technology that you support, what would it be?

A: I think the most important thing is to backup your data.  I know you've heard this from some of the other people you've interviewed but it is so true. Just the other day, I had a student say, "I don't know what I would do without my MacBook, my entire life is on there." If your entire life is on your MacBook, you should back it up often. 

Like most experiences regarding Don, my interview with him was pleasant. If you ever have any questions about iMLearning, feel free to email him at dsilvius@su.edu. If you get the chance, pay attention to, and learn from, The Berkeley County Historical Society projects!

Ken Lambert: IC's Chief Networking Wizard

If the SU Network had a face, it'd look a lot like this.

Ken Lambert is a quality subject for an interview, to say the least. He’s as interesting as he is useful, and knowledgeable as he is well-spoken. If you've met him, you’re not going to forget the experience, unless of course, he is trying to solve a problem at that moment, in which case, he would probably exit the conversation with a pleasantry and then continue to work.

Ken is like a Leatherman tool. He can do a lot of different stuff; Of course, unlike a Leatherman, he does all of his tasks exceedingly well (multi-tools are famous for being versatile but not always that functional)

Despite his busy schedule, I sneaked in a few moments with Ken so that I could ask him a few questions about himself:

Q: Would you mind telling me a little about yourself?

A: I was raised on a farm in West Virginia. The farm belonged to my Grand Parents. One set of them lived down the driveway, and the other set lived across a nearby field. I transitioned from farm life to working in technology in high school. I guess I had a knack for it, and right when I was in high school, computers really started to become an important thing. I started working with a TRS-80 and learned basic programming and then taught some of my teachers how to use their machines. I've actually been working in technology ever since.

Q: Since you were in high school there have been so many changes in computing, what do you think is one of the most fascinating changes?

A: Everything has changed so fast, I’m still hooked on the networking aspect. We have so much more capability now. It's nice to be able to make systems that are redundant and fault tolerant.

Q: Let’s put technology aside for a second, what are some of your hobbies when you are not working with a computer?

A: Wood working! I used to be a life-guard many years ago; and given the chance, I'll be in the water. Any chance I can be in the water, that’s where you’ll find me. Hunting, fishing, shooting, and reloading ammunition are some of my favorite things to do.

Q: Do you have any hidden talents?

A: I can whistle really loud, that's about it.

Q: Do you have any super hero nicknames?

A: I’ve had lots of nicknames over the years, but most of them involve a combination of my first and middle name. If somebody calls me Kenny Wade, it usually means they’re family or they’re just like family.

Q: What is your most memorable experience at SU thus far?

A: One day that always sticks in my mind, though I can’t recall exactly what it was that we were working on, years and years ago, is a day when I came to work on a Monday and left Wednesday afternoon. That was a long day, a very very long day.

Q: Are you an animal lover?

A: I’m 48 years old, and I’ve only lived without a dog for six years. I’ve always had dogs, and in 48 years, I’ve only had four dogs that I would call mine, so yeah I'm an animal lover.

Q: Do you have a celebrity look alike that you are aware of?

A: I don’t, not that I can think of anyway. Although, I do get told that there is a doppelganger that evidently lives down towards Front Royal or Strausburg. People who know me really well often report that they have seen me out somewhere in that area.

Q: What does a typical work day look like for you?

A: Busy... Very Busy. It’s just plain busy. You never know when you come to work if you will be working on a problem that has popped up, a project that you had planned, or some other significant issue that could not be foreseen. There are very few days that I have the luxury of coming to work with a set plan, and leave with it being executed without delay or interruption. The physical plant might serve as a good analogy for what we do here in IC; you never know where a light-bulb will burn out, or a water pipe might bust.

Q: What are the primary systems that you work with on a day-to-day basis?

A: Oh man, there are so many! Access points, network switches, any of the cloud servers, the storage area networks that we have access to, applications that monitor the network and network services. There are lots and lots of systems that we work with on a day-to-day basis.

Q: If you disappeared into an extra-dimensional pocket for an extended period of time and nobody took over your job responsibilities, what would happen after six months?

A: I mean, Shenandoah University would have to find a person to fill the position, you simply need somebody who can work with the different systems, monitor them, and then coordinate plans to fix them should something go awry. Somebody would have to fill the slot, and there are a number of people within the department that could step up and make sure that everything is functional. To be honest, pulling the pieces together and keeping people moving forward is probably the most integral part of what I do, and somebody would have to be here to do that.

Q: If you could provide users one quick pro-tip regarding the technology that you support, what would it be?

A: Almost everything looks like the internet is down. I mean, if somebody goes to access a website and they can’t access it properly or fast enough, sometimes they will call and say, “Hey, the internet is down.” But, it might just be that one site meaning that they have something wrong on their end, that does not mean the internet is down. Maybe somebody has an issue accessing wireless, but it could be an always an authentication issue (the service that allows you to log onto the wireless isn’t recognizing your credentials properly), but that does not mean the internet is down, it just looks that way. With redundant internet providers, SU's internet very rarely goes down. 

See, I told you he is interesting. It's easy to get involved in a long conversation with Ken because he is both engaging and interesting to speak with.  Though, if you get him on the topic of technology, get ready to be the recipient of a knowledge-bomb, because he has lots of information and he will, if time permits, inform you thoroughly.

Quaiser Absar: IC's Swashbuckling Captain

Captain Quaiser Absar looking majestic

One eye opened.

Then the other.

The smell of salt, and sounds of lapping water on wood were present as I began to come to.

I blinked a few times and strained to hold my eyes open. White-fuzz turned into shapes. Shapes mutated into a face, and then the face spoke to me: “Hi, I’m Quaiser Absar, and I’m the captain of this ship, welcome aboard.”

“What ship? How did I get here?” Is the only thing I could manage to say.

“You're on the S.U. Institutional Computing. We found you struggling in the waters of Low-Tech.” He said.

In the days that followed, Quaiser introduced me to the ship's crew. Despite having only 22 hands, Institutional Computing seemed as functional and capable a vessel as any in her class. By the captain's orders, and the crew’s execution, the ship navigated through difficult areas of tech with grace that could spell disaster for similar ships crewed by less experienced hands.

After a few days of speaking with the crew and observing their day-to-day labor, I began to understand the ship’s mission. IC sails between hard technology and the mainland end users. It is her job to provide critical technological services to users so that they can continue their own higher education journey without delay or disruption. In short, IC's mission is critical to the success of the users, and it is with that in mind that her captain and crew work diligently.

Throughout the journey, it was not uncommon for me to hear fantastic sea-shanties, as the crew labored about the vessel, one in particular sticks in my mind:

“As long as the job’s done right, users benefit with sweet delight. 

Support, Support, without retort!

Yo-ho and a bottle‘o Joe!”

On no special day in particular, Cpt. Absar invited me to eat at his table, and on that day I decided I would ask him questions which I had, in my curiosity, stored in the back of my mind since I came aboard. I wanted to know about his role on the S.U. Institutional Computing, and how he came to be the captain of such a fine ship. The conversation went as follows:

Q: Would you mind telling me a little about yourself.
A: That’s a big question. I am very driven. I have a type A personality. I came to the U.S. in ‘77. I was schooled in Malta, and then in England. I got my undergraduate degree in Indiana in accounting; then I worked with an auditor for a few years. Honestly, I didn't like accounting, and I ended up fixing the auditing company’s computer systems, and I thought it was interesting. With that experience in mind, I pursued  a masters degree in computer science.

Q: How did you end up at SU?

A: After the earthquake in 1994 out in California, I figured it best to start working on the East Coast. I applied at Shenandoah University, and I got an interview. The interview actually went from 8am-5pm, no kidding. I love being in Winchester, and it is great that it is located so close to DC. I still love it here, even though we recently found out that the East is not immune to earthquakes.

Q: Do you have any hidden talents or hobbies?

A: I am a photographer, a hobbyist, not a professional. I've actually had a few of my photos published in magazines. Hopefully, I’ll have a few shots published in the Winchester, VA coffee table book that should be coming out soon. Also, I love fishing.

Q: Do you have a favorite type of music?

A: Rock. I love Deep Purple.

Q: Do you have any nicknames?

A: I would tell you, but then people would start calling me that...

Q: What’s your most memorable experience at SU thus far?

A: I was able to make a big difference here at SU. The big difference that sticks in my mind is securing the Su.edu domain. We actually had to fight some larger institutions for it, and we ended up winning. It was a pretty big deal for us.

Q: What does a typical work day in your life consist of?

A: I work all day long. I wake up at 4:30am, and go running for one hour. Then I check emails and plan out my day. There are no typical work days. I do a lot of checking, monitoring, and communicating to make sure the IC department is functioning at peek performance.

Q: Do you have any primary systems that you deal with on a day-to-day basis?

A: I primarily deal with the human brain and human management. The IC staff does the heavy lifting, and I encourage them, get them the tools they need to succeed, and make sure they are lifting the right things. If I do my job well, the IC staff will work to the best of their ability, and when they are working to the best of their ability, they make me look good!

Q: How does the product of your labor directly affect end users at SU?
A: It depends on how you look at it, from my perspective, everything depends on feedback. If I get positive feedback about how good of a job the IC staff are doing, it is a reflection that I am doing my job properly. Without the IC staff and my team, I am nothing, but together, we provide, hopefully, great services to the entire SU community.

Q: If you disappeared into an extra-dimensional pocket for an extended period of time, what would happen after six months?

A: Nothing. I have this department setup in such a way that it can run should something happen. We might have some hiccups, but ultimately, SU would be in good hands because the IC team consists of high quality employees.

Q: If you could give end users a quick pro-tip about technology, what would it be?

A: Don’t try to master everything all at once. Sometimes learning a new technology takes time, and often times, manuals fall short. Play, experiment, and learn the technology that you use on a day to day basis.

As Quaiser finished answering my final question, we both heard a bellowing, "Land-Ho!" from a forward crew member followed by the calamity of excited sailors. Those next few hours went by in a blur as the ship's crew readied to impart all of it's tech and support onto the mainland users.

No sooner had we landed when the crew said their goodbyes to me. Upon my departure, they supplied me with the same information and tech that they supply to all users: iMLearning devices, knowledge of how to use them and support them should something happen, network connectivity, servers that host critical systems for the university, learning management software that keeps education interactive and progressing forward, and many more things of which, for expediency's sake, I will not list here.

Months after the voyage, where the Captain of I.C. plucked me from the waters of Low-Tech, I was using technology to the best of my ability.  Had it not been for that journey, I would have continued to struggle to find my way with technology, but, like any user, I.C. and her crew, gave me the tools to succeed,

so that technology was an aid and not an obstacle with regards to my education.

Danny Fox: SU Security Hero

An artist's rendition of a witness's description of Danny's labor.

Throughout the world there are countless people who lurk in the recesses of the internet, spending hours plotting to rob you. They don't want your physical possessions, those are too hard to move and easy to track; instead, they want something more sinister, your identity. This actually happens, and we are all vulnerable to varying degrees.

The internet is beautiful, but it can be dangerous.

Do you think your IC department stands idle as users get attacked! If you do, you're mistaken. In fact, our Information Security Officer, Danny Fox, plays the SU Network's role of both Sherlock Holmes and Batman. That's to say, he sleuths for internet clue-nuggests, and then punishes bad guys by using sweet bat-themed gadgets that his billionaire playboy status allows him to access as SU's secret hero; he does all of this from his cave-like office deep inside the basement of the Smith Library. The previous sentence might have a few embellishments, but the point is simple: Danny ensures that all SU information is safe and secure.

If you've ever met him, you know Danny is a stand-up guy. He's the type of guy that is more likely to boast about team accomplishments than personal accomplishments, and always has something pleasant to say (even on Monday mornings). Recently, I sat down with Danny to discuss one of the most integral assets of the IC department, himself.

Q: Would you mind speaking for a minute about yourself?
A: I was born and raised here in Winchester, VA.  My first job was working with my father doing landscaping and some handyman work. I got my first technology job working for a library automation software company in Inwood, WV.  I started in support, worked my way up to software testing, and my final position there was working with database integration. Then, I applied at SU.  I got a job with the pharmacy school as their Network & Technology Support Specialist. While I was working at the pharmacy school, I helped build an anti spam setup.  When the Information Security Officer position opened, it fit what I was currently doing, so I applied for it, and that is how I came to be the Information Security Officer here at SU.

Q: Do you have any hobbies when you're not at work?
A: I enjoy reading and studying history. I'm bad at dates, but I love reading about the personal side of history.  Learning about who did what, and why they did it is incredibly interesting. The mind set of people in previous eras is fascinating. Also, I used to play volleyball a lot, but then I busted my ankle.

Q: Do you have a favorite type of music?
A: My music tastes are eclectic.  Of course, I love classic rock, but I get into some new-age and contemporary music. I can sit down and enjoy almost any type of music.

Q: What is your most memorable experience at SU?
A: My most memorable experience at SU thus far would have to be when we first got serious about inspecting the computers that students brought onto campus so that we could protect our network.  I worked with Ken Lambert on a series of scripts and processes that the students would go through to make sure that their computers were as clean and updated as possible before they attached to our network.  That project evolved into an open source project that would do most of that for us. The team work involved in making it all happen, and watching it come to fruition was inspiring.

Q: Do you consider yourself an animal person?
A: I'm a dog and a cat person; I like them both equally well. I don't have any animals currently, but all my friends do.  I'm an animal uncle which means I can love on them, spoil them, get them all excited and then walk away with clean hands. 

Q: What does a typical work day in your life consist of?
A: There are no typical days. I come to work with a plan, and I always start the day by reviewing my email and logging into the systems that I monitor each day; but, after that, I am responding to what I see and monitor on a daily basis. Depending on the severity or nature of issues, I may have to pull in the network team or various server admins to work on solutions. 

Q: What are the primary systems that you work with on a daily basis?
A: I am the Google Apps administrator and I work on the firewall with its intrusion prevention system. I co-manage the firewall with our networking team.  A lot of what I do actually involves working with our networking team, and we work together very well because I evolved from the networking team.  We have to work closely with one another because if one person is not available, another person can pick up the slack so services do not get bottle-necked for our users.

Q: In a nutshell, how does the product of your labor impact end users here at SU?
A: Basically, if I am doing my job properly, nobody will ever know that I've helped them.  What I do affects people "behind the scenes." Their antivirus will be updated, and I work to protect their systems from being infected.  I work to make sure your information does not get compromised in anyway.

Q: If you disappeared into an ext-dimensional pocket for an extended period of time, and nobody took over your job responsibilities, what would happen after six months?
A: Key systems would not be updated, rendering our network more vulnerable to attacks.  Our university as a whole would be more vulnerable to online attacks. But, I would say, as a part of my job, I also work on creating documentation that would allow somebody else to take over my position should I slip into an extra-dimensional pocket of some variety.

Q: If you could give end users a quick pro-tip regarding the technology you support on a day to day basis, what would it be?
A: Backup your important data! Though, I have a quick laundry-list of things you can do to help keep yourself safe:

• Keep your operating system up to date

• Keep your browsers and third party applications up to date, out of date programs, applications, and operating systems are one of the primary avenues that bad guys use to exploit and take your information. 

• Treat ALL email links as bad, and think twice before clicking them. If there is another way to get to the same location, use it.  For example, if you receive an email about your bank account and it has a link to the login page, just exit the email and go to your bank's login page as you normally would by using your browser.

• Be careful of how your devices are used. For example, if you give your child your iPad or mobile phone, it is very easy to accidentally share secure information.  This is a huge security risk that people do not generally think of or consider. Just be cautious and monitor how your peripheral devices are being used.

The labor of Bruce Way-- I mean, Danny Fox is always present anytime you use the SU network.  Rest assured, your in good hands and your information is as safe and secure as possible. Not only do we have an excellent Information Security Officer, but he is backed up by one of the best networking teams in the business.

Robert Bukowski: Keeper of Data & Monitor of Servers

If you're looking for a nice person in IC, you're not going to have a difficult time.  We're here to help the entire campus, and we're as friendly and customer service oriented as possible. Bob is no exception, actually, he excels in being pleasant.  If you're within 30ft of Bob and following him through the same door, it'll most likely be held open for you with a smile.  He's a good guy!

To get to Bob's office, you've got to have some special access. What does that mean?  Bob's important. As a popular culture reference, you might think of Bob as IC's Boris of Goldeneye, except Bob isn't a bad guy, isn't a hacker, isn't invincible (I think), and isn't working for the Russians. Maybe that's just a poor reference in general, but you should get the overall message: Bob is awesome. 

Q:Would you mind telling me a little about yourself?

A: My name is Bob Bukowski, and I'm a network engineer here at Shenandoah University.  I take care of servers and storage. Originally, I'm from Newcastle, PA.  I moved to Manassas, VA in '88, then I lived in Front Royal, and now I live in Stephen City, VA.  I came from the Warren County school system, and I made my way to SU because I got to specialize in servers and storage.

Q:Do you have any hobbies?

A: Taking it easy!

Q: Have a favorite type of music?

A: Classic Rock. Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin

Q: Do you have any nicknames that you are aware of

A: "Buck" It's short for Bukowski.

Q: What is your most memorable experience at SU thus far?

A: The power outages of last summer. They were continuous, I think we had three right in a row. It was memorable because it brought out the fact that we need a generator. We still need a generator...

Q: What does a typical work day look like for you?

A: I show up at 8a, and check through emails. I'll open up VMware to make sure everything is running well. Then, I'm pretty much working through until the end of the day.

Q: What are the primary systems that you deal with on a day-to-day basis?

A: VCenter which manages around 70 virtual servers, and LeftHand San Storage which has around 56 terabytes of high speed storage which is where the majority of SU's data lives.

Q: What would happen if you disappeared for six months without anybody filling your job responsibilities?

A: If nobody took over my job responsibilities, SU would eventually not have server services. If something went down, it might take awhile for it to come back up, and if there was a power outage, it would be a very bad thing.

Q: If you could give end users a quick pro-tip with regards to some of the technology that you support, what would it be?

A: Backup your Data. Backup as often as it would not be very painful to lose the information you want to keep. Basically, you need to think, "How much am I willing to risk." If you're not willing to risk it, backup your data.

If SU's IC department was a time-traveling vessel, you'd find Bob in the engine room covered in techno-oil banging on the Flux Capacitor with a wrench. He maintains and monitors many critical systems that allow you to successfully use technology here at SU!

Tom Anderson: Mr. Mac Guru Specialist Extraordinaire Wizard Master

"Yar! Have ye updated to Mavericks, Scallywag?" -Tom

If you've ever been to IC, you know we're mostly a bunch of straight-laced PC people, but there is one among us who maintains the "Mac dude" style: Tom Anderson. Fitted jeans, low-rise Chucks, Evernote Ts, and a mind for victory are all apart of Tom's daily wardrobe. Not only does Tom possess the style of a hipster overlord, he also possesses, what appears to be, the largest lunch box that can be purchased on the civilian market. What's in that massive lunch box? Probably the secret to his success: Brain-Fuel gazpacho.

As Tom's office neighbor, let me just say, it's a rare sight to see Tom in a poor mood.  This guy comes to work, tosses out a few jovial pleasantries, and then casts wizard spells upon the devices and services he manages until he leaves at 5pm.

Q: Tom, would you mind telling me a little about yourself?
A: Winchester native. Didn't go to college. I began my career in '93 at AOL in Tyson's Corner, that was back when AOL was the internet. I was employee #245. I started in the call center, and worked my way up to a technical manager position where I lead an international team of six. In 2007, I left AOL and started a consulting business that focused on Mac products.  I got that business up to about 150 customers, Shenandoah University being one of them. To make a long story short, I got tired of commuting, and eventually took up full-time work here at SU in 2010.

Q: Do you have any hobbies?

A: I try to keep my three sons entertained, turns out, that's a full-time gig. I'm an amateur iPhone photographer; I like to take pics of food, architecture, historic landmarks. Also, I enjoy reading, and exercising.

Q: You're looking a little svelte, care to elaborate?

A: Svelte is a good term, I'm certainly not jacked! I just eat right, and I’ve been doing the UFC Fit DVDs. They're brutal.

Q:  Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?
A: 100 duck-sized horses. I don't know if I could do it though, they would be pretty cute little horses.

Q: Any celebrity look alikes?
A: I've been told Loki from the Thor movies

Q: What's your most memorable moment at SU thus far?
A: Probably the first iMLearning distribution that I was apart of. It was great interaction with the parents and students. Hands down, the iMLearning distribution is still my favorite thing to do; there is a lot of planning and work that goes into the distribution, and the students are energized to receive the technology they will be using to further their education and experiences.

Q: What does a typical work day in your life consist of?
A: It seems to be a lot of looking at where things are heading as far as the technology, mobile devices and MacBooks.  A lot of what I do involves the management of those assets, and once they are deployed, making sure they break as little as possible. Basically, I try to come up with new ways to use the tools we have to make the technology more reliable, convenient, and user friendly for SU users.

Q: What are the primary systems you deal with on a day to day basis?
A: The tools that allow Self Service to work properly, so the Casper Suite.  As far as personal tools to manage all the information that needs to be sorted and filed, I use Evernote.  Without Evernote, all the information I would be required to remember would be next to impossible.

Q: If you disappeared into an ext-dimensional pocket for an extended period of time, and nobody took over your job responsibilities, what would happen after 6 months?
A: I think things would continue to run, but they would run in stasis, there would be no improvement.  There wouldn't be any operating systems released or updates of any kind, there would be no improvements to the services provided by Self Service. I think Kevin Nealon would have to step up and take over some of the work that I do.

Q: If you could give end users a pro-tip regarding technology you support, what would it be?
A: Relax and don't be intimidated by the tools that we have. A lot of people get overwhelmed by technology, but we have the support in place here that makes it so you cannot mess up too bad. Even if the worst happened, say you mess up your operating system somehow, you would just take your MacBook into the Help Desk for an hour or so, and then the Help Desk staff would have your computer back up and running again.

Tom's a groovy dude. How groovy?  If you're a '90s kid, he's Moon Shoes groovy.  As you know, Macs are a big deal here at Shenandoah University, and Tom is one of the key players behind the success of Mac products here.

Download the New Collaborate Launcher (Windows)!

Bb Collaborate, the reliable low-bandwidth friendly web conferencing and online classroom tool, received a major upgrade last week! One of the major features of the upgrade was a prepackaged version of java that works great with Collaborate. This means that the days of upgrading java so that your computer can use collaborate are over, but it also means you are going to have to reinstall the launcher before you can use Collaborate again.

Luckily, reinstalling the launcher is as easy as launching a Collaborate session! Here are the quick steps for downloading the new launcher:

1: Navigate to the desired Collaborate session.

2: Enter your desired session and click the “download the Collaborate Launcher” link under “Join Room”

3: A popup will appear, click the green “Download Launcher” Button

4: After you click the launcher, save the file and then open it (after the download has finished).  Progress through the install prompts until your install is complete.  

5: Go back to your Bb session and click the green “Join Room” button and your Collaborate session will launch shortly thereafter.

These instructions can be used for moderators and participants so feel free to share!  If you have any other Blackboard Collaborate questions, please feel free to email me, Tristan Plimmer, at tplummer@su.edu