The college network (SCCCNet) consists of the wide area network interconnections among the campuses, the campus backbones and sub net infrastructures; and the college and campus servers connected directly to this infrastructure. The College Computing Council has the responsibility for directing college-wide network development. The Office of Computer and Information Systems (CIS) has the responsibility for designing, implementing and administering this resource. In general, college funds will be used be to purchase and implement SCCCNet facilities and services. The Office of Computer and Information Systems funds will be used to maintain SCCCNet.
Departments may purchase and install PC’s, PC workgroups, LAN’s and software; and may request individual PC’s, workgroups and LANs be connected to SCCCNet. Connection of these devices and facilities will be based upon campus and college technology priorities. Departments are responsible for adhering to equipment and software standards established by the College Computing Council in order to receive college-wide services.
Local facilities are the responsibility of the individual departments and need an assigned network administrator/technical support person to provide on-site management and to serve as a liaison to CIS technical staff. Department LAN connections to SCCCNet are enabled and administered by the Office of Computer and Information Systems, and must conform to the college’s network standards. Departmental LAN users must conform to the college’s network utilization policy when accessing resources via SCCCNet. Department LANs may be disconnected from the network by CIS staff for reasons of technical malfunction or use outside college policies.
The college's technology resources are maintained through a collaboration among central based support staff, campus/department based operations personnel and computer end users.
2.1 Central Support is provided through the Office of Computer and Information Systems. Campus support is available from your campus ETU.
Office of Computer and Information Systems based services include:
For Academic Computing based services contact your campus ETU:
2.2 Campus and department specific facilities are supported by campus or department personnel. The college relies on local individuals to provide on-site administration and operations support for LAN sub nets, including user management and software installations on servers and individual client, work group or Lab based PC’s.
2.3 Office desktop equipment assigned to an individual is the responsibility of that individual. Individuals are expected to exercise good judgment on issues dealing with equipment and data security and system backups, and are expected to load and maintain the integrity of the software licensed for their use. College/campus purchasing support, technical support and training is available for the equipment and software established as standard by the College Computer Council. As indicated above, installation of network, access and college-wide application software is handled through central support staff.
SCCCNet is made up of a primary backbone for the transport of both academic and administrative traffic between buildings, among the campuses and to SUNYNet/NYSERNET and the Internet. Connected to the backbone on each campus will be an academic sub net supporting academic uses and an administrative sub net supporting administrative users. Access to the backbone will be through campus or building routers and/or switches. Administrative traffic will travel solely on the administrative sub net. Academic traffic will travel solely on the academic sub net.
The guidelines governing connections to the backbone are as follows:
All Routers, Switches and Administrative Hubs - Hubs connected to the administrative sub net, along with all routers, switches and hubs connected to the backbone, shall be located in controlled/limited access areas. For locations that are not dedicated to networking, terminal equipment and connections will be placed inside locked cabinets. All terminal equipment is to be manageable from the Computer Center to allow for the port level disconnection in the event of a technical, utilization or security problems.
Campus and College Servers - Campus and college servers will normally be connected to the appropriate sub net via a high speed, non collision type connection. Servers and physical connections are to be located in secure, monitored areas where on-site administrative support is available. Campus and college servers will normally be considered part of the college’s network infrastructure and designed, funded, installed and maintained as described above.
Remote Access Servers - Terminal servers and other remote access devices will be placed in secure, monitored locations where on-site administrative support is available. These devices are considered part of the college-wide infrastructure and are to be designed, funded, installed and maintained as described above.
General guidelines for connections to both sub nets are as follows:
Departmental Work Groups/Networks - Work groups shall be connected to the administrative sub net through (1) a server with a second network card providing routing functions, (2) a PC router, (3) a work group or building switch/router. For work groups with servers, LAN design, hubs and servers are the responsibility of the department. The connection to the backbone is part of SCCCNet’s responsibility. Department LAN administrators, however, must adhere to the policies and requirements established for the college wide network in order to obtain and maintain a connection to the college backbone (See Responsibilities section above).
Administrative Workstations - Isolated administrative clients in buildings without servers, switches or routers may be connected directly to an administrative hub on the administrative sub net. Administrative workstations and connections are to be located in areas where access is controlled and locked when left unsupervised. Network access is to be password protected using recommended password techniques.
Student Labs, Workstations and Classroom Connections - Student workstations shall be connected to the academic sub net (1) through a server with a second network card providing routing functions, (2) through a PC router (3) through a hub connected to a building switch/router. For classroom or labs with servers, LAN design, hubs and servers are the responsibility of the department. The connection to the backbone is part of SCCCNet’s responsibility. Department LAN administrators, however, must adhere to the policies and requirements established for the college wide network in order to obtain and maintain a connection to the college backbone.
Isolated Academic Workstations - Academic workstations can be connected to the academic sub net if access is provided through a secure server, i.e. a server with a second network card providing routing functions, where both the backbone connection and server itself are located apart from a classroom or lab in a controlled, limited access area.
Remote Access - Remote (dial-in) access to the network for faculty and administrators shall be provided through terminal servers with routing capabilities connected to the administrative sub net. General student remote access shall be provided through terminal servers connected to a college network server providing firewall and routing functions.
Remote clients will be provided with destination specific access based upon user ID and password. A generic log-on and remote phone numbers will be cross referenced to a user PIN and coded into the access software provided to network users by network management. This generic log-on will provide E-mail and Internet services. Access to network servers and applications will be limited to secure, user specific ID’s and passwords.
3.3. Desktops:
General guidelines and procedures for selecting, implementing desktop network connections are contained in the document, Anatomy of a Network Connection: Guidelines for Campus/Central Network Support available online in Word 7.0 format. Responsibilities of network clients are listed in the document, SCCC - Network Utilization Policy.
Access to administrative applications, including those supporting student services, will be provided solely from the administrative sub net. Access to secure resources will be both password protected and address specific. Selection of college-wide applications will come under the jurisdiction of the College Computer Council with content specific issues handled by user groups. Implementation will be provided through the various service groups for the Office of Computer and Information Systems.
Applications providing student access to information about their academic status and providing automation for functions such as registration will be accessible via the academic sub net.
Standardized desktop applications will normally be provided through campus servers. Selection, installation and administration of these applications is under the jurisdiction of the local campus LAN administrator, though bandwidth utilization by applications accessible via SCCCNet require that selection and installation be done in collaboration with the CIS support staff. Campus software selection should adhere to the standards established by the College Computing Council and should conform to the campus’s and college’s technology plan.
Last Update, August 20,1998