Facilities Update: 29 Oct 2002
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Since April 2002, Cormac and I have been very busy:

  • buying new hardware, software and accessories (completed 1 Jul 2002),
  • putting the new purchases to use (much still in process), and
  • planning near-future lab space and infrastructure (in process also).

New Purchases

This first section will concentrate on the new purchases. We have so much new stuff, I'm not sure where to begin. I hope that my categorization of the intended use of the purchases will help make sense of it. Unless otherwise noted, there is only one of the item listed.

Faculty/Staff Use: General

This category is intended for faculty/staff use only. That is, students may use some of the equipment on an as-needed basis, but it is not generally available for student use, and preference will be given to faculty/staff use.

  1. Hardware

    1. Digital Video Camera, Zoom Microphone and Tripod

      Intent: record presenters, amplify presenters (zoom microphone), take digital still images, playback tapes for video editing

      • Camcorder (Sony DCR-TRV25 Mini DV)
      • Still image storage (Sony 64MB Memory Stick)
      • Flash/video light (Sony 3 WATT Flash/Video Light)
      • Carrying case (Sony Deluxe Soft Carrying Case)
      • tripod (Sony VCTD680RM Tripod)
      • zooming microphone (SONY ZOOM MICROPHONE)

    2. Digital Camera (simple) -- DigiPen II

      Intent: quick, cheap digital still images

    3. Digital Media Reader/Writer -- Microtech USB CameraMate Reader

      Intent: read/write compact digital media for a PC to access

    4. CD Duplicator and Printer

      Intent: make copies of data CDs with printed graphics on CD

      • Composer Plus CD Duplicator 24x
      • Signature IV CD Color Printer

    5. Ultimate Wireless PC to TV System

      Intent: remote display of PC on TV (many notebooks have this feature, but this can also be used for desktop PCs)

    6. large-format (24"w) color printer (HP DesignJet 500PS 24"-wide)

      Intent: make posters for advertising or decoration

      • low-cost paper 24"x150' (HP Bright White Paper DJ 24x150)
      • medium-quality paper 24"x100' (HP Heavyweight Coated Paper DJ 24x100)
      • high-quality paper, 24"x100' (HP Basic High-Gloss Paper DJ 24x100)

    7. Caveo Notebook Anti-Theft PC Card

      Intent: detect and warn of movement of notebook when not watched

  2. Software

    1. Limited licenses, available on a first-come, first-serve basis, to be installed only on university-owned equipment. The licenses can be returned, but not transferred to others directly (we have to track use).

      Intent: provide industry-standard tools for course development and staff use

      • Adobe Acrobat 5.0 (10 licenses)
      • Adobe Photoshop 7.0 (10 licenses)
      • Adobe Illustrator 10.0 (10 licenses)
      • Adobe Indesign 2.0 (10 licenses)
      • JBuilder 6.0 Professional (5 licenses)
      • JBuilder 6.0 Enterprise (1 license)
      • Macromedia Authorware 6.0 (1 license)
      • Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio (2 licenses)
      • Macromedia DreamWeaver MX (15 licenses)
      • Macromedia Flash MX (3 licenses)
      • Xara (1 license)

    2. Alliance programs (see Sam Chung for details):

      • Microsoft Academic Alliance Program
      • Oracle Academic Initiatives Program
      • Rational SEED Program

  3. Other

    1. Cart
    2. Hand truck
    3. Laminator (12") -- GBC Docuseal 125

      Intent: preserving signs

    4. 20 5.5"x5.5" Mailboxes

      Intent: communicating sensitive papers/media between faculty/staff and students

    5. 6 large mailboxes

      Intent: transferring equipment between faculty/staff and students

    6. Electronics Test Equipment

      Intent: diagnosing electronics/electrical problems, repairing electrical circuits, early use for embedded systems

      • B&K Precision 4040A Signal Generator
      • B&K Precision 1620A Power Supply
      • Fluke 111 Multimeter (qty 2)
      • Agilent E9340A Refurb. Logic Analyzer Options 001 & W30
      • Weller WES50 Soldering Station (qty 2)

Lab Workspace Use

This category is intended for student use in the labs, and, depending on licensing and UWT property restrictions, possibly at home, but at all times for academic, non-commercial use only. Whatever is placed in the lab workspace is or has been directly related to course content.

  1. Hardware

    1. Fast Ethernet Switch -- FS524 24 Port 10/100 Ethernet Switch

      Intent: Beowulf project

  2. Software

    Intent: provide better tools for projects and assignments

    1. Adobe Photoshop 7.0 (10 licenses)
    2. JBuilder 6.0 Professional (20 licenses)
    3. JBuilder 6.0 Enterprise (4 licenses)
    4. Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio (6 licenses)
    5. Macromedia DreamWeaver MX (40 licenses)
    6. Macromedia Flash MX (20 licenses)
    7. Rational Rose and Unified Process (50 licenses)

  3. Other

Lab Infrastructure Use

The purchases for lab infrastructure were intended to support current and future use and maintenance of the labs. While lab infrastructure makes the lab workspace manageable and efficient, it is not directly tied to academic content. Institute servers (e.g., file servers or internal database servers), server software, networks and storage devices are examples of infrastructure, and they have been managed by lab staff since the beginning of the CSS program.

  1. Hardware

    1. Electronic Whiteboard -- Interlink Electronics Freebeam VP 6350

      Intent: for students to capture diagrams drawn on whiteboard

    2. Phaser 860N Color Printer and Xerox Extended Maintenance Kit

      Intent: free black ink comes with this printer -- reduce costs of black & white printing in the labs and provide a color printer for the students

    3. Servers
      • projects server (Dual AMD MP 1600+ with IDE RAID 5)

        Intent: production-level server for externalizing student projects

        • Promise SuperTrak SX 6000 Controller Card
        • LinkSys Instant Gigabit NIC 64-bit
        • Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 60GB Ultra-ATA/100

      • project development server (same specs as projects server)

        Intent: development-level server for student projects; projects may be copied to projects server for longer-term retention

      • terminal server -- Dell PowerEdge 2550

        Intent: remote access to applications instead of just files (which applications are available is a matter of licensing); reduce number of PCs needed for general purposes in labs; provide authentication services

      • secondary terminal server (same specs as projects server)

        Intent: to handle additional terminal serving load

      • repository server (same specs as projects server)

        Intent: see Using the Repository Server

      • file server -- Dell PowerEdge 2550

        Intent: replace aging Dell PowerEdge 2300 with expanded storage and availability (through clustering)

    4. Storage
      • CD Server and Network Attached Storage (NAS)

        Intent: primary use -- a write-once logging server in case of network intrusions; secondary use -- serve installation CDs to students/faculty; only DVD writer in lab

        • Cutting Edge OptiNAS (relabelled Allion FISC CDH), with CD-R/RW and DVD-R/RAM drive

      • Other Network-attached storage -- MaxAttach NAS 4300 480GB

        Intent: maintain versions of student files for faster and more timely (vs. daily backups) restoration if deleted

    5. Tape backup systems
      • Seagate LTO Ultrium Viper 1.1/2.2TB Autoloader

        Intent: backup hundreds of GBs of data, unattended

      • HP Ultrium 215i LTO 200GB Tape Drive

        Intent: backup drive in case the one in the Viper fails

    6. Networking
      • LinkSys 8-port 10/100/1000 Switch

        Intent: backbone for internal network for infrastructure servers

      • Network tester -- NetTool Standard Model

        Intent: portable network testing tool

    7. SCI113 Computer upgrades (qty 20)

      Intent: improve speed of installations and testing; allow students to administer computers; reuse limited number of computers by using removable hard disks

      • Soyo Dragon Plus Barebones Plus Kit
      • Pine SiS6326 Video Card
      • Samsung 48x CDROM drive
      • Seagate 40GB 7200RPM Hard Disk (qty above + 10)
      • Dataport V Plus ATA 66 Metal Assembly (qty above + 10)

  2. Software

    1. Operating system -- Windows 2000 Advanced Server (qty 5)

      Intent: allow for clustering and other desirable Windows 2000 services

    2. Test tool -- Vermont High Test

      Intent: design and implement test cases for the installation of lab software to make sure it runs

    3. Barcode software -- WASP Barcode Reader and Software

      Intent: inventory; checkin/out equipment/books/media

  3. Other

    1. Security Cameras and audio module

      Intent: discourage theft; remotely check on status of labs; remotely communicate with students to resolve problems; record lab activity to try to resolve thefts

      • AXIS 2100 Cam Starter Kit 3Pk
      • AXIS 2191 Audio Module (qty 2)
      • Voice Array Microphone

    2. Vacuum cleaner

      Intent: to clean lab workstations surfaces (not touched by janitors)

    3. Storage cabinets (qty 3)

      Intent: to secure some equipment in open lab areas

    4. Toolkit

      Intent: to have better and more portable toolkit for repairs and installations

    5. Key cabinet

      Intent: to organize and secure keys (primarily to mailboxes)

    6. Securing equipment

      Intent: to discourage theft; to keep shared items in one location

      • various cables, security plates, and related parts
      • 30 mm Combination Padlock (qty 30)
      • H.K. Porter Crimper/Cutter

    7. server cabinet (Mayline Server Cabinet 84"HX24"WX36"D Graphite)

      Intent: for rack-mounted servers and other equipment

    8. Lab notebook -- Dell Latitude C610 Notebook w/256MB RAM, 2 batteries and case

      Intent: inventory; testing mobility issues; emergency notebook for presentations; lab staff projects

    9. Enclosures

      Intent: quickly expand disk capacity; use PC (a.k.a. PCMCIA) Cards in a PC; house internal drives

      • ION-Drive 3.5" USB 2.0 HardDrive Enclosure
      • 3.5" FireWire Hard Drive Enclosure
      • DataChute PCI Internal PC Card READER/WRITER
      • 5.25 2-Bay Steel SCSI HD68 Enclosure
      • 3.5 1-Bay Steel SCSI HD68 Enclosure

    10. Various SCSI, IDE, and mounting parts

    Faculty/Staff Use: Technology Exploration

    This category is intended for faculty/staff use only. Some atypical and/or new equipment was purchased simply for the purpose of exploring the technology, to see what it is and what one can do with it.

    1. Hardware

      1. USB 2.0

        Intent: investigate speed and utility; interface with digital camera or other USB devices

        • USB 2.0 4-port hub (Belkin USB 2.0 4-port Hub)
        • USB 2.0 5-port PCI Card (IOGear USB 2.0 5-port PCI card)
        • USB 2.0 6ft male-to-male Cable (qty 6)

      2. iButtons

        Intent: explore J2ME using Java iButton; try different authentication mechanisms for logging in; explore uses in electronic locks

        • Java-powered button 2.2 (qty 2)
        • Blue Dot Receptor, Parallel Port (qty 7 (no adapters))
        • Blue Dot Receptor, Serial Port (qty 3)
        • Universal Serial Port Adapter (qty 3)
        • 64kbit Memory iButton (qty 4)
        • 64bit ROM iButton (qty 20)

      3. 802.11a wireless network

        Intent: investigate fast wireless capability

        • access point controller (Proxim Harmony Access Point Controller)
        • access point and 2 PC cards (Proxim Harmony 9714 802.11a Wireless Bundle)

      4. Linux PDA -- Sharp SL-5500 Zaurus 64MB

        Intent: see how well embedded Linux works; determine usability of Linux for general PDA functions

    2. Software

    3. Other

      1. Electronic locator

        Intent: locate items frequently misplaced

    Near-Future Plans

    Pinkerton Building

    Expected move-in: 1 Dec 2002

    • Classroom 104 (550+ sq ft: max dimensions: 25'(West-East)x22'(North-South))

      nothing planned -- not a computer classroom

    • "Classroom" 130 (370+ sq ft: max dimensions: 17'(West-East)x22'(North-South))

      small graduate lab

    • "Classroom" 131 (550+ sq ft: max dimensions: 25'(West-East)x22'(North-South))

      larger graduate lab

    The contents of the labs are to be determined very soon now. At a minimum, expect some standard (development-lab-like) computers in each lab.

    Wireless capability, supported by Computing & Communications (C&C) at UW Seattle: 802.11b

    Cherry-Parkes Building

    Expected move-in: 30 Sep 2003

    1. Labs

      Notes:

      • Labs will be special-purpose or subject labs.

        Ideas (from faculty) are:

        • Robotics and Embedded Systems
        • Digital Media
        • Parallel Computing

      • Whiteboards, display areas, and shelves are included in all labs.

      • All labs have key card access.

      • Data and electrical outlets are moveable by staff, originate from overhead racks, and can lay flat on the floor.

      • Data outlets on the wall are dead.

      • Each lab will have one printer and some number of standard (development-lab-like) computers.

      • Occasionally, furniture will be moved to accomodate project needs.

      • Wireless capability, supported by Computing & Communications (C&C) at UW Seattle: 802.11b

      The square footage mentioned below is the approximate open space area, not including the special-purpose rooms and storage rooms.

      1. 206D (1800+ sq ft: max dimensions: 54'(West-East)x33'(North-South))

        Within the lab:

        1. 206F: 12'(WE)x8'(NS) staff-and-student-managed network room

          • network cabling from all labs and 206N end up here
          • all connections outside of labs are made through here
          • select students can manage network equipment in a small rack
          • staff manage outside connections via network equipment in small locked rack
          • copper ethernet via Cat 5e cables
          • 6 strands of fiber to each lab
          • walls are plywood to allow mounting of equipment

        2. 206E: 12'(WE)x12'(NS) staff-managed locked server room

          Intent: servers protected from student changes and that may serve aspects of these and other labs are housed here

        3. 206N: 12'(WE)x12'(NS) student-managed locked server room

          Intent: servers that select students can change that may serve aspects of these labs are housed here

        4. 206O: 7'(WE)x14'(NS) locked storage room with shelves

          Intent: faculty/staff access only

      2. 206H (660+ sq ft: max dimensions: 22'(WE)x30'(NS))

        Within the lab:

        1. 206P: 8'(WE)x8'(NS) locked storage room with shelves

          Intent: faculty/staff access only

      3. 206I (640+ sq ft: max dimensions: 24'(WE)x27'(NS))

        Within the lab:

        1. 206K: 9'(WE)x9'(NS) locked storage room with shelves

          Intent: faculty/staff access only

      4. 206M (640+ sq ft: max dimensions: 30'(WE)x23'(NS))

        Within the lab:

        1. 206L: 12'(WE)x12'(NS) student office/locked storage room with shelves

          Intent: select student and faculty/staff access only

    2. 206J: Repair Room (fixed and lockable cabinets, sink, soldering hoods)

      Intent: repair, maintenance and creation of lab equipment by lab staff and select students

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