Meeting Archives: August 2007 to May 2011

(Reverse chronological order.)


CalShare: An overview of SharePoint 2010 for the end user
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Michael Leefers will discuss some of the new features available, some of which include better support for Macs and non-Microsoft browsers, Office Web Apps, and much more.

Update: A video of this meeting is available for viewing and a PDF version of the the PowerPoint slides, CalShare (SharePoint 2010) Collaboration powered by You [PDF], can now be downloaded. The presentation is also available in CalShare.


Data Security and Protection
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Ann Geyer, Esq., Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Information Security Officer, and Security, Privacy, and Policy staff Karen Eft, Erika Donald, and Matt Wolf.

Update: A PDF version of the slide presentation, Security, Privacy, and Policy, is available for download.


What can ReadyTalk do for you and your department?
Thursday, March 24, 2011
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
5 Haviland Hall (note change in day and location)

ReadyTalk

What can ReadyTalk do for you and your department?

  • Save you money and help you achieve your budgetary goals
  • Reduce your carbon footprint
  • Make meetings more engaging and productive

The University of California agreement with ReadyTalk offers competitive rates for reservation-less (on demand) audio conferencing with the option to simultaneously conduct web conferencing in order to add real time visual content to your meeting. All you need is a telephone and a computer with internet access (Java installed). ReadyTalk provides a complete meeting solution as a cost-effective alternative to meeting in person. Learn more about how ReadyTalk can serve your department's meeting needs at this Micronet meeting.

Update: Follow-up materials for the ReadyTalk presentation are now available for viewing and download:


The Gathering Storm(s)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Michael Sinatra: The Gathering Storm(s)

A number of factors are conspiring in the world of networking that present difficulties for the future of the Internet. Michael Sinatra will discuss these issues and potential solutions, some of which raise their own set of difficulties.

There will be a brief announcement at this meeting naming the Security, Privacy and Policy tutorials iPad winner, as well as runner-up recipients of Kensington security cables.

Update: Michael's slides and notes are available for downloading. (PDF format documents)

Michael's presentation was inspired by two other talks:

"I didn't realize that I had picked (almost) the same title as Kevin for my talk until over the weekend. (I thought his was called "It's the end of the world...") Of course, we both ripped off Winston Churchill." — Michael Sinatra


Organizational Simplification
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

James Dudek: Organizational Simplification

The Shared Services Design Team of the Organizational Simplification initiative would like to update Micronet on its progress and seek feedback.

Background: The Organizational Simplification initiative is comprised of two distinct components:

  1. Restructuring of units to create a flatter, more effective organization
  2. Designing shared service centers for delivery of common administrative functions in HR, Finance, and IT

The Shared Services Design team is working on the second component. A key part of the team's work involves obtaining input from campus stakeholders and service recipients, and drawing upon the experience and expertise of our campus community. This forum is another opportunity for the team to share progress, hear from a wide range of constituencies, and answer questions.

More information can be found at http://oe.berkeley.edu/orgsimp/index.shtml


Hosting Departmental Web Sites with cPanel
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Many departments have limited access to expert sysadmins, and just need low-friction, low-cost web hosting solutions. In the commercial sector, virtually all web hosting accounts come with sophisticated control panels that simplify routine administrative duties and help to manage complex multi-site hosting arrangements securely. cPanel is by far the most popular control panel out there, and the good news is that cPanel licenses are free for .edu sites.

Scot Hacker (Graduate School of Journalism) will demonstrate how cPanel servers are set up and managed, how to segment user-facing self-serve operations from admin duties, the numerous security features built into cPanel, and how cPanel systems could contribute toward the goals of Operational Excellence.

Update: Scott's slides are available for viewing.


Campus Operational Excellence: Design, Implementation and Information Technology Opportunities
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Shelton Waggener, Associate Vice Chancellor & Chief Information Officer, will present an update on the design and implementation of the Operational Excellence (OE) effort. He will discuss how the OE IT team is structured, and how it is approaching the design effort. Micronet members will have an opportunity, during this meeting and beyond, to share ideas on where the campus technical community sees opportunities.

Shel asks that members attending this meeting review the OE report from the Diagnostic Phase, available on the OE website, particularly pages 72-82. If you have questions you wish to submit in advance, please send them anonymously to fyishel@berkeley.edu.

Update: Shel's slides are available for downloading (PDF format document).


IST Platform Services and Web Hosting Options
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

A presentation and discussion of IST Platform Services and Web Hosting Options by Walt Hagmaier and Don MacLeod.

In response to a discussion on the Micronet list, this presentation is intended to be an open discussion of the various hosting options available from IST Platform Services. We will be emphasizing web hosting options from the UNIX Services group, but will be touching on other services as well. We will briefly discuss how we arrived at our current service portfolio, what that portfolio looks like today, and what it might look like tomorrow.

IST is very interested in your input with regard to requirements for future services and this discussion is specifically intended as a forum for Micronet to provide such input. We will also briefly cover related discussions from ITAC and the SAC, two other campus forums from which we are soliciting input.

Update: Don's slides, IST Platform Services and Web Hosting Options [PDF], are available for downloading.


Identity Management
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

What is identity and access management? At the May Micronet meeting, Dedra Chamberlin will review some of the many possible answers to that question and where the CalNet team is focusing its effort. We will spend a good portion of the time reviewing progress on our guest account management project and giving a sneak preview of our first significant guest access integration. We will also describe some of the potential new projects the CalNet team may tackle in the coming year and solicit your input on identity management priorities in your department.


Campus Security Initiatives
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

The goal of the Data Security Review Program is to implement consistent strategies campuswide that will lower departmental and institutional risk, and maintain our systems in compliance with system policy and state and federal regulations, with minimal local investment.

At this joint meeting of Micronet and the campus Security SIG, Ryan Means will present an overview of the program and talk about the methodology that the team has developed to assess risk and protect data. Questions and feedback are welcome!


IST: Future Directions
Friday, February 5, 2010
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
2521 Channing Way, Berkeley (At the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE), 1/2 block East of the corner of Channing and Telegraph, in a large white building across from a parking lot.)

A presentation on IST's future directions by Michael Mundrane, Deputy Chief Information Officer. Please come with your questions on this important topic

Update: Michael's slides, IST: Finding Value in Uncertain Times [PDF], are available for downloading.


Web Applications Group Planning, Micronet's 20th Anniversary Celebration
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
9:30 am to 11:30 am
150 University Hall

9:30 am to 10:30 am: Devin Jones of the Boalt Hall School of Law will kick off planning for a new voluntary professional organization (a la Micronet) for employees involved with web-based applications, starting with a brief conversation to gauge interest in potential topics and resources. Anyone interested in joining in on the planning can email him directly at djones@law.berkeley.edu.

10:30 am to 11:30 am: Micronet's 20th Anniversary Celebration. Come celebrate with us as Micronet reaches the 20 Year milestone, since the group's founding in late October 1989! We'll take time to reminisce and reflect on, and rejoice over, our first two amazing decades!


State of IT: Its Role in Campus Operational Excellence Efforts
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Shelton Waggener, Associate Vice Chancellor & Chief Information Officer, will discuss the Operational Excellence work that the Chancellor announced on October 1, 2009, and the role information technology on campus will play in reducing costs and improving campus operations. There will also be time for Q&A.

Update: Shel's presentation slides are available for downloading (PDF format).

At the beginning of the meeting, from 10:30 to 10:40 am, Peggy Huston will introduce a brand-new campus website on Green Computing, focused on energy-saving ideas and projects happening throughout the IT community, and will invite participation from the Micronet community toward this goal. This site will spotlight and share activities occurring in the Office of the CIO (OCIO) and elsewhere on campus to significantly cut energy consumption from IT, using techniques such as power management software, CRT replacement, server co-location, server virtualization, and desktop virtualization.


Career Compass Project and IT Job Mapping
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Karen Berardi and Jeff Green of Human Resources will talk about how Career Compass job standards were created and how campus information technology (IT) jobs were mapped. The discussion will span such topics as important dates, how to appeal mapping, and career development.

Career Compass has been a multi-year series of initiatives focused on creating new job standards, improving performance management, and providing greater career development opportunities for staff at the University of California, Berkeley. For more information, please see http://careercompass.berkeley.edu.

Please bring your questions and concerns to the meeting. You may alsosend questions ahead of the meeting to Micronet's Co-Coordinator, Claudia Waters, claudiaw@berkeley.edu.


Navigating your way through Dell and TSW
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

A presentation led by Amy Knowles and April Roy on navigating your way through Dell's product line, and on purchasing Dell products through the campus's computer store, The Scholar's Workstation (TSW).

  • Dell Team Introduction: How to reach us
  • Desktop/Laptop Roadmap: Amy Knowles, Dell Account Executive
  • Printers: Dan Nichols, Printer Consultant
  • Server Update - Have you heard about 11G?: Mike Andrews, Systems Consultant
  • Purchasing Dell products at UCB: April Roy & Amy Knowles

Supporting Administrative Computing, Challenges and Best Practices
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

A presentation by Kevin Burney of Administration on selected computing support practices of the COIS unit, which supports a large audience of administrative computer users.

Update: Kevin's slides and handouts are available for downloading (PDF format documents).


UC Backup
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

A presentation and discussion led by the UC Backup Team of Information Services and Technology (IST), on UC Backup Services and IST SAN (Storage Area Network) services:

  • History of the Storage and Backup Group (SBG)
  • Current Personnel and Functions
  • Current and Proposed New Service Offerings
  • Development Projects
  • Q&A. Please come with your questions!

The Year in Networking
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

A presentation by Michael Sinatra of Information Services and Technology (IST).


Managing Computer Labs on Campus
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Do you manage a computer lab on campus, work at a lab, or use one of the many labs for students, staff and faculty? We plan to have a discussion involving current lab managers from IST, Law, Residential Computing, and Social Welfare. How do you get labs up and running efficiently, what unique problems do you have, and what are our common issues? Also to be discussed are lab innovations: how do we change labs to reflect the new uses that we all make of computers and technology?

Sian Shumway, Tim Faircloth, Vanessa DeGuzman, Thomas Lee, Yu-Hung Lin, Roger Emond, and Claudia Waters will lead a discussion on managing computer labs on campus, covering best practices (what works and what doesn't?), campus resources, and outside resources.


Design of the UC Ready Application: An Inside Look
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 (note change of date to second Wednesday for November only)
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
2521 Channing Way, Berkeley (About 1/2 block East of the corner of Channing and Telegraph, in a large white building across from a parking lot.)

Paul Dimond and Adam Cohen of the Office of Continuity Planning (Business Resumption) will present an inside look at the UC Ready application, the new version of Berkeley's continuity planning tool, focusing on how usability and functional requirements guided design decisions.


Overview of CalNet Active Directory for Campus IT Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Mike Blasingame and the CalNet Active Directory team will present an overview of CalNet Active Directory for campus IT staff. What does it offer to departments, how do you get started, integration with Windows Server, Group Policies, next steps. What are best practices, what services and consulting does the CalNet AD team offer.

Have your questions ready. You may post questions on Micronet or send them to claudiaw@berkeley.edu.


IST Technical Account Management (TAM) Services
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
60 Barrows Hall (note change from previous location of 150 University Hall)

Representatives of several IST departments will present and discuss many of IST's services available to campus units, including those offered within the Campus Data Center and offered onsite. They will also spotlight the role of IST's Client Services-Technical Account Management (TAM) group, which can help you navigate these offerings to find the mix of standard or customized services that will best meet your needs.

IST representatives and topics to be covered will include:

  • Technical Account Management, Susan Tobes
  • Enterprise Windows Services, Mike Blasingame
  • Enterprise Unix Services, Jeff Makaiwi
  • Database Services, Karen Kato
  • Web Applications, Vahid Nadi
  • Co-location/Data Center Services, Steve Aguirre
  • Departmental On-Site Computing Services (DOCS), Michelle Bautista

Building the New Campus Website: Technical Challenges
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 (note change of day of week)
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Steve McConnell of Public Affairs will describe his team's challenges in building the new campus website at www.berkeley.edu.

Steve will speak about some of the technical challenges the team faced in designing, building, testing and launching the site, some of the things that didn't work, and some thoughts about where to go from here.

Have your questions ready. You may post questions on Micronet or send them to claudiaw@berkeley.edu.


CIO Shel Waggener on Campus Computing Issues, including the Campus IT Bank
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

UC Berkeley's Chief Information Officer, Shel Waggener, will speak about computing questions of concern to the campus community, including the Campus IT Bank, through which the campus is investing in technology and technology staff. Please bring any questions you may have for Shel.


Server Virtualization, Storage Consolidation and Data Management
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
60 Barrows Hall (note change from previous location of 150 University Hall)

Mark Spitzer and/or other speakers from Dell will discuss server virtualization, storage consolidation and data management:

Server virtualization trends:

  • What is virtualization?
  • What are its manifestations?
  • How is it changing the server market?
  • When is it appropriately utilized?
  • What are its benefits?

Storage consolidation and data management trends:

  • What factors are driving storage consolidation?
  • How is storage consolidation affecting data management?
  • How are current trends affecting data backup, archiving, and recovery?

UCB and IPv6: What You Need to Know Now!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
126 Barrows Hall (last-minute room change: originally in 150 University Hall)

Michael Sinatra of IST will be presenting "UCB and IPv6: What you need to know now!" and discussing UCB's transition to IPv6. Be there or risk having to wait for IPv10!

These questions and much, much more will be answered at January's Micronet meeting:

  • Are we really about to run out of IP addresses?
  • What is IPv6?
  • Am I really going to have to start using it soon?
  • Are ICANN and the US government really mandating IPv6?
  • Will I really need to configure my computer with addresses like "2607:f140:ffff:ffff:2a0:c9ff:fe9c:7291" just to get on the net?
  • Is it true that IPv6 and IPv4 can't coexist?
  • Do I really need a 64 bit OS to run IPv6?
  • Do I need Cat6 wiring for IPv6?
  • Will all of the new addresses in IPv6 cause us to run out of DNS names and will we have to replace DNS?
  • Won't NAT just solve the problem?...wait, am I really going to have to run NAT everywhere?
  • Is it true that IPv6 tunnels around firewalls and security devices?
  • Will I be able to track down rogue IPv6 devices on my network?
  • Is IPv6 really going to happen and am I going to have to do something to prepare?
  • Is IPv6 really the next Y2K (only for real this time)?

Update: Michael's slides are available for downloading (PDF format).


IT Career Development
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

1. Forum on IT Career Development

We have invited (or strong-armed) five staff working in IT on the Berkeley campus to discuss their experiences and offer their perspectives on how to develop an IT career on campus. The forum participants represent staff at different career stages working in a variety of IT positions and departments on campus:

  • Graham Patterson, System Administrator, Lawrence Hall of Science
  • Michael Sinatra, 'Network Busboy V' (wonder what this maps to?), IST
  • Amber Sanchez, Programmer/Analyst I in the Law School
  • Kevin Zimmerman, System Administrator, Berkeley Wireless Research Center
  • Usha Manandhar, Programmer/Analyst, IST Client Services

We would also like to invite Micronet members to participate in this forum. Our goal is to share ideas on how staff can advance their careers and their knowledge of the IT field.

2. Dell's Mark Spitzer on Micronet speakers, short courses

The last 10-15 minutes of the meeting are reserved for Mark Spitzer, the Dell account executive for UC Berkeley. He has offered to bring in speakers for future meetings or to organize short courses on a variety of topics of our choosing.

Many, many years ago central computing in one of its incarnations used to offer short courses on topics from computer hardware to SPSS/SAS to network technologies. Mark has put together a list of topics that could be offered as talks at Micronet meetings or at separate "short course" sessions. These short courses could be in hands-on or lecture format. Mark will discuss these topics, poll Micronet to see if there is an interest in such sessions.

Lunch will be served at this meeting courtesy of our last speaker.


Career Compass Job Mapping for Campus IT Positions
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Karen Berardi from the campus's Human Resources department will present examples of Career Compass job mapping of campus IT positions.

Some background:

Job mapping tool (Job Family Matrices, Job Description Templates, and related guides) for Information Technology:
http://careercompass.berkeley.edu/jobstandards/mappingtool/infotech.html

Key steps to the mapping process:
http://careercompass.berkeley.edu/jobstandards/mappingtool/mappingprocess.html

You can also review a schedule of Fall 2007 Career Compass Fall Workshops (PDF format), occurring through October 9, 2007. This schedule includes a list of the technical folks who participated in the development of each IT job family. Please do not direct questions to these individual subject matter experts, but rather to compdesk@berkeley.edu and Karen will route inquiries to the relevant experts.


Restructuring of Campus IT Job Titles, IT Energy Conservation
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
10:30 am to 12:00 noon
150 University Hall

Three representatives of the campus's Human Resources department will present and discuss Career Compass, "a series of initiatives focused on creating new job standards, improving performance management, and providing greater career development opportunities for staff."

Rich Lau, Director of Compensation, will present an overview of Career Compass. Karen Berardi will speak about the restructuring of job titles in campus information technology (IT) classifications, and can address questions regarding the IT field. Julie Kolar can answer questions relating to Electronic Communications.

Here is a link Karen has passed on to the mapping tool for IT:
http://careercompass.berkeley.edu/jobstandards/mappingtool/infotech.html

If at all possible, please send questions that you would like to see addressed at this meeting to Micronet's co-coordinator, Claudia Waters, or to the Micronet mailing list, so that the speakers can address your interests.

We will also have a speaker from Cal Climate Action Partnership who will briefly introduce us to a campus initiative on energy use and conservation. She would like to solicit your ideas on what might be possible to do in the area of energy conservation in the IT world.