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Governance Minutes ArchiveOctober 7, 1987
MINUTES Computer Committee Newman Library Board Room October 7, 1987 3 PM PRESENT: Jim Thomas, Don Allison, Jeff Birch, Sharon Crawford, David Goodyear, Bob Heterick, Bea Mahan (for Katherine Johnston), Harry Kriz, Tom McAnge, Jim Montgomery, Vernon Shanholtz, Al Steiss, Jeff Wilcke, Mike Williams, Michael Leahy, Chris Chenard ABSENT: John Burton, Randy Crockett, Ray Dessy, Jim Hicks, Janet Johnson, Dennis Jones, Paul Torgersen VISITOR(S): Lore Balkan-Vickers, Rosie Higdon, Sam Hicks, Charles Nunnally, Sandy Birch AGENDA ITEM 1: MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING Motion made, seconded and passed to approve the minutes of the June meeting. AGENDA ITEM 2: ANNUAL REPORT FOR 86/87 (THOMAS) Dr. Thomas wrote and presented the committee's annual report to the University Council. The Council accepted the report. AGENDA ITEM 3: V. P. REPORT (BOB HETERICK) o The University Council received several annual reports. They have asked for the minutes from the Computer Committee's meetings and a more comprehensive annual report. o The new building in the Corporate Research Center will house the Computing Center and Communications Network Services. The design/build team for the new building will be selected in the next two to three weeks. The building should be com- pleted by late summer 1989. o A letter from Dr. Caceci (Vet Med) was distributed. Dr. Caceci is concerned about accessing the library system from home. Dr. Thomas will talk with Erv Blythe to determine which committee should address the concerns that Dr. Caceci raised. o The Digital Switch work is progressing. However, one of the vendors has protested the bid award. Virginia Tech represen- tatives appeared at a hearing of the Appeals Board in Richmond. The outcome looks favorable but it will be a month before the Appeals Board makes their recommendation. o The PC Auxiliary is being closed. All student purchases will be handled through the Bookstore. AGENDA ITEM 4: COMPUTING CENTER REPORT (WILLIAMS) A handout showing comparative usage statistics of the mainframe systems this year versus last year was presented. Several obser- vations were made; most notably it was observed that mainframe usage has increased by more than 50% and that scientific usage has increased substantially more than this. The level of com- puter expenditures is at about the same level this year as last. The rate structure adjustment made on July 1, which was intended to induce more effective use of the system, appears to be suc- cessful. The DEC 11/780's, primarily used for undergraduate instruction, are in need of replacement. The maintenance on this equipment is disproportionately expensive and there is not enough capacity to add new applications. A DEC 8000 series computer would provide a one year warranty, reliability, cost advantages and additional capacity. A model has not been determined, but negotiations are underway. A conversion is being planned to move from reel-to-reel tapes to cartridge tapes on the IBM systems. This will have some impact on users, however, it is expected to be minimal. Several offices within the Computing Center, including Computer Accounting, will be moved in October. The Hillcrest facility will be reduced in size to accommodate one of the digital switch nodes. The node must be located there for strategic reasons. An additional location for a terminal access facility is being sought. Because of capacity and configuration needs, a reorganization of the VM nodes may be necessary. The primary reasons for making any changes are: 1. The CAD/CAM system is out of capacity; moreover, the type of applications run on this system are well- suited to the IBM 3090. 2. A proposal from IBM has been re- ceived to run some new operating system software of critical value to the VPI&SU large-scale-computing community on the 3090 (VM1). In order to satisfy capacity and resource needs, a mi- gration of some users from one node to another may be necessary. A plan is being prepared that will minimize the trauma. Business activities was discussed. AGENDA ITEM 5: SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Graduate and Research Computing Subcommittee Report (Steiss) The Graduate Commission has established a committee to study the issues of graduate student access to computing. That report will be shared with the Computer Committee. AGENDA ITEM 6: NEW ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION (THOMAS) o Statement of principle on Software Copyrights Postponed until the next meeting. o Computer Bulletin Boards The Committee, in a previous consideration (almost 3 years ago), felt that bulletin boards should not be established on the university mainframes. Electrical Engineering is running a bulletin board on a PC. Legal council was involved in es- tablishing the bulletin board and procedures are in place to determine what should be available. There are other bulletin boards available such as the listserve facility on BITNET. The software and capabilities exist for users to establish their own bulletin boards. No action was prescribed; bulle- tin boards established on university facilities are the re- sponsibility of the sponsoring unit. AGENDA ITEM 7: SUBCOMMITTEE STRUCTURE (THOMAS) Subcommittees are established to look at specific issues. Cur- rently there are four subcommittees. The committees are: o Personal Computer (Nunnally) o Graduate and Research Computing (Steiss) o Budgeting (Kathye Johnston) o Printing (Steve Chapman) AGENDA ITEM 8: ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA None If any of the new members are interested in serving on a commit- tee, please contact the chairperson. The next meeting will be held November 4, 3pm in the Library boardroom.
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