Thameena J. Giturwa
Reporter
October 26, 2004
The Information Technology department at Milligan College has installed new equipment across campus in what the department calls the “hand-me-down approach” in an attempt to complete the school’s overall technology goal.
One hundred new Ultra Pentium 4 2.4 gigahertz computers were installed in several faculty offices as well as Derthick, Hardin lab and Wilson over the course of the summer and this semester.
In addition to the new computers, two servers, two firewalls, two electronic white boards and wireless access points were also installed. The wireless access points have been installed in the library and Student Union Building. The total cost for the computers was just under $100,000. The rest of the equipment came to about $35,000, according to Mike Smith, director of information technology.
The Board of Trustees approved the idea which was formed in May 2003 by academic dean Mark Matson and Smith, to create a three-year cycle of restoring computers and other upgradeable equipment. Matson was unavailable for comment.
The installation came as part of a target for the IT department to replace all computers every four years and all servers on a five-year basis.
“Before we started this program, nearly 90 percent of the computers on campus were three years old and over two-thirds of the computers on campus were over four years old,” Smith said.
According to Smith, faculty and staff who need more powerful computers usually get the newer ones. The older machines are the passed down to people who use their computers mainly for e-mail and Internet. This is called the “hand-me-down approach.”
Thomas Barkes, associate professor of computer information systems and recipient of a new computer, said “There’s no difference. I don’t see where anything has changed, but I’ve always had pretty good equipment.”
Network manager Chris Haskins said the new firewalls protect the campus network from outside threats such as viruses, worms and other malicious traffic.
“In the event of a failure of one of the firewalls, the other firewall will automatically take over so that we don’t lose our connection to the internet,” said Haskins.
The electronic white boards are located in Derthick rooms 208 and 210. The boards provide touch access to perform functions such as saving and editing documents and making changes to PowerPoint. This means a professor can project his or her personal computer on a plain white board from the ceiling mounted projector and touch the actual board to make modifications, said Smith.
Haskins said for each new piece of equipment or technology, he is challenged to learn a bit more so he provide better support.
“This year, I have learned to support and configure the new firewalls as well as clustering web services,” he added.
According to Haskins, the wireless access points much slower than the average wired network connection.
“The MBA program has certainly benefited from the wireless access in Hardin and Derthick,” says Haskins.
The department has arranged for its vendor, Saratoga, to dispose of computers that are not recycled or given away.