CNS: Quiety keeping Drew connected

If there's one campus organization that has the entire administration and student body in its grasp, it's Computing and Network Services. Contrary to popular belief, they are more than just a group of computer nerds convening in the Brothers College basement.

"We're not just a bunch of people huddled around a metal desk in top secret making evil plans," CNS Helpdesk Systems Manager senior Jonathan Reams said of his employer.

CNS is primarily known for the free maintenance and repairs it offers for Drew-issued laptops. CNS supports not only the students, but also most of the other campus organizations that rely heavily on technology, including Administrative Computing, Instructional Technology Services, the library and Health Services. "Their applications are running on our equipment," Director of CNS Michael Richichi (CLA '91) said.

There are four main parts of CNS: the helpdesk, systems and networking, telecommunications and the Enterprise Applications group, Richichi said.

Enterprise Integration Specialist E. Axel Larsson (CLA '02) considers his department "the glue" of CNS. Larsson's job is to make all of the Drew applications work together, and he has written some of the programming used in the campus network.

"At Drew, everything is integrated," Larsson said. "Our goal is to insulate the user from having to know about all these systems." Thanks to CNS's work, students, faculty and administrators can use their uLogin ID and password to access all of the University's online programming-everything from e-mail to the new Emergency Notification System, which CNS also facilitates.

This concept-known as identity management, and implemented using the Novell program-is one of the many ways CNS stands apart from similar university technology services. "How we manage our student computing is much more akin to the way you operate a corporate network," Larsson said.

Each laptop distributed to students is a generic machine moments before they receive it, Larsson said. But once it is turned on for the first time, it is automatically customized with the user's personal information. At other institutions, Larsson said, students have to arrange the personal settings themselves. "[At Drew], your computer knows you," Reams said.

The distribution process itself is also innovative. On this year's freshman laptop distribution day, "we had only six people distribute 500 machines in four hours," Reams said. And because of CNS's special customization, the computers were set up in no time. "The longest part of the process was [physically] signing the contract," Larsson said.

Keeping the campus on an integrated system means that students and faculty can access the same specialized academic resources from the comfort of their own laptops, reducing the all-too-common college need for multiple computer labs. "Labs are expensive to run and maintain securely," CNS Manager of User Support Betsy Black said.

CNS has taken its unique, custom programming on the road, presenting it at technology conferences around the world. Most recently, Richichi and Larsson spoke at Novell conferences in Utah and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Richichi was also invited to the Frye Leadership Institute in 2006.

CNS has multiple programs and network applications in development. Richichi hopes to get more students using the shared calendar features offered by the GroupWise system. "We want to build linkage between course schedules, campus events and the [GroupWise] calendar," he said.

This would reduce the reliance on the campus-wide e-mails, which students often "read with the delete key," Richichi said. Students could add events to their calendars in advance, and GroupWise would send them reminders as the date and time approaches, Reams said.

Another major way to keep students updated on campus activities is the ever-popular social networking site facebook.com.

"A lot of university activities are being [unofficially] coordinated on Facebook," Larsson said. "We can't compete, but we want to work better with it."

CNS is collaborating with the computer science department to take advantage of the recently created "applications" function on facebook by creating a special Drew facebook application that would connect to the campus network. The application would automatically put a course schedule on the student's profile page, as well as offer access to Drew blogs, Larsson said.

Richichi wants to make Drew identity management available to alumni and prospective students.

That way, alumni could continue to use the Drew network for relevant services such as access to their transcripts, Richichi said. "And any services appropriate to prospectives, like community forums, could be made available," Larsson said.

Richichi said he hopes students will let CNS know what kinds of services and applications would benefit them. "Don't be afraid of us," Larsson said. "Talk to us."

CNS will soon help students and faculty upgrade to the new Microsoft Office 2007, Richichi said.

He hopes to also upgrade student computers to Microsoft Vista in early 2008, but must wait until there is more testing. He said that all students-not just freshmen-will get Vista at that time.

CNS is looking to hire students to work at its helpdesk. "You should be dependable, reliable, thorough, with good customer service skills," Richichi said. "Technical skills are great, but we can train."

"The students do some neat stuff," Reams said. "I've written programs. If you show interest in more than just answering phones and fixing computers, there are opportunities for you."