211 Tel-Com
4:00-5:30pm
Attending: Robert Wolpert (chair), Bill Auld, Landen Bain, Pakis Bessias, John Board, Michael Blum, Leslie (Pete) Boyd, Jim Coble, Bob Currier, Jim Dronsfield, Nevin Fouts, Paul Harrod, David Jamieson-Drake, Dave Kirby, Matthew Kottler, Alvin Lebeck, Betty Le Compagnon, Roger Loyd, Jonathan Luebbers, John McCann, Melissa Mills, Mike Pickett, Rafael Rodriguez, Hank Tomlinson, Annette Foster, Guests: Ed Sharpe (Procurement), Pat Kimbrough (Genetics).
Call to Order: 4:03 pm, by Wolpert.
Minutes
Minutes of October 9, by Lebeck, were approved as circulated.
Announcements
Kirby announced a virtual open house on 10/24 at five sites for Tel Ed.
Updates
The meeting was a series of updates on issues; no actions were taken.
1. Ivy + (Le Compagnon)
Issues discussed included re-engineering, year 2000 problem, ADSL/cable modem trials, libraries, distance learning, and staff structure for CIO's within universities. Overall, Duke's work on these topics compares well with others.
2. Internet2 (Currier)
Internet2 (I2) is a project to remedy the current dysfunctionality of the Internet (congestion, lack of bandwidth, lack of service guarantees, inability to handle volumes of traffic gracefully). Membership is now over 100 institutions and corporations, each of which agrees to some funding to build a high-capacity alternative to the Internet. Some links are now active or nearly ready to activate (MCNC to Georgia Tech, e.g.). Strategy is to build big pipes to provide a framework for developers to run large-scale applications. North Carolina is focusing on issues of authentication (especially important to libraries). Molly Broad (UNC) and Betty Le Compagnon are in leadership roles at various levels. Duke needs to do institutional planning for I2 implementation.
3. Cable modem (Rodriguez)
The issue is high-bandwidth, remote access technologies, including both cable modem and ADSL. Time Warner is preparing a cable modem offering. A similar offering, now being used by MIT and Harvard, is priced about $39.95 or $49.95/month/subscriber. TW expects to set up a trial in Durham, with possible implementation area-wide by late 1998. ADSL technology (GTE) will face stiff competition from cable modems. Recent tests (by Bob Currier) found up to 2.8MB downstream speeds via cable modem. Price will be based on speed and security; TW could offer encryption, changed daily.
4. Procurement Card (Pickett, Sharpe & Kimbrough)
The Procurement card is a MasterCard that debits a Duke account. Purchases can be credited back to different fund codes by staff in departments. This is a new method of procurement, which should save money. Kimbrough reported that the card had been favorably received by her department. The SAP software package has been chosen for procurement overall; PARIS software, from GTE Capital, has been chosen for the Procurement card. Current issue: PARIS software was designed for a relatively small application, and must be scaled upward significantly for Duke-wide rollout. Procurement cards are for non-capital purchases, under $500, including business meals, and have Duke's tax-exempt number.
5. Intel Grant (Board)
Intel invited Duke (via the Provost) to apply for a major grant of hardware, as one of thirty universities. Board wrote the proposal, with a large group of collaborators. Deans Chafe and Dowell have found funding to provide staff support for the new computers: 165 workstations, single and multi-processors, worth $1.6 million. Clusters will be upgraded and added to, in existing space. At least half of the machines will be available for development. The plan is to add a dual-bootable Unix system to the Win NT system that came with the machines. Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering will get machines. ITAC welcomed the news of the grant, and applauded Board's leadership in it.