Transcript Lessons Learned in Building a comprehensive Virtual

Lessons Learned in
Building a Comprehensive
Virtual Documents Room
Erik Bowe, Lead IT Professional
Ed Rugg, Accreditation Liaison
Kennesaw State University
CS-81 Monday, December 10, 2007
KSU’s Success
 8 gigabytes of reports & linked supporting documentation
were easily accessible online
 30 megabyte PDF’s were retrievable in seconds
 No user problems arose with our Virtual Documents Room
 Review Committees were highly complimentary of the Web
site’s contents and ease of use
 Interactive features of the Web site worked well
 Disaster recovery and redundancy saved us one time
 Highly positive reviews of compliance were received
Six Key Dimensions
We will examine six key dimensions in the next sixty minutes:
1. Vision for virtual access to all information
2. Technological architecture of the Web site
3. Content Management issues
4. Document management issues
5. Scalability features to ensure Web site performance
6. Disaster recovery and backup options
Agenda
Six Key
Dimensions
Lessons
Learned
Questions
At the End
Vision for Virtual Access
5 minutes
Technology
Recovery
Content
Vision
Documents
Scalability
Vision
KSU’s critical success factors (CSFs):
 The decision to build an efficient, large,
dynamic virtual documents room on the Web
 The Accreditation Liaison’s early call for IT
support & his collaborative involvement
 Recognizing the expanded role for IT
professionals under the new Principles
 Identifying a lead IT Professional with a
broad perspective & long-range view
Lessons Learned
Vision for Virtual Access to all information
1. Start the IT planning early
2. Emphasize the importance of technology
3. Dedicate sufficient technology resources
4. Strengthen liaison role of Lead IT Professional
Architecture of the Web site
10 minutes
Vision
Recovery
Content
Technological Architecture
Documents
Scalability
KSU’s CSFs
KSU’s Technology Architecture
Existing
Technologies
Alternative
Technologies
Resources
Available
Backup
Options
KSU’s Technology Stack
The software stack:




Microsoft Word XP
Adobe Acrobat 7.x Professional
HTTrack Website Copier 3.x
Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2

Portal
 Oracle Database 10g Release 1

Enterprise Edition
KSU’s Technology Stack
The hardware stack:
 Dell PowerEdge 1855 blade server



Two CPU’s (central processing unit) per server
12 GB (gigabyte) of RAM
Two internal hard drives, mirrored (replicated)
 EMC CLARiiON CX-500 storage area
network (SAN)

Allocated 100 GB disk storage per server
 Campus network
Technology Diagram
Dell PowerEdge 1855
SP-A (x10)
SP-B (x10)
McData FlexPort
PowerVault
51F
SP-A
PowerVault
51F
SP-B
EMC 2
Dell/EMC CX-500
McData FlexPort
Lessons Learned
Technological Architecture of the Web site
1. Do not underestimate technology needs
2. Build in excess capacity
3. Stress test the architecture
4. Assign the most talented IT professionals
Content Management Issues
10 minutes
Vision
Recovery
Technology
Content Management
Documents
Scalability
What is a Content Management System?
 A content management system (CMS) is
used to manage the content of a Web site
 The content includes computer files,
image media, audio files, electronic
documents and web content
 The idea is to make these files available
inter-office as well as for use in an
archive setting
Content Management Issues
 The internal debate of public versus private
posting of information related to the
compliance process & the logistics of
password protection
 Indexing of public information in Internet
search engines such as Google and Yahoo
 The decision to take static snapshots rather
than hyper-links to other Web sites for
evidence used in the Compliance Report
KSU’s CSFs
 Leveraging five years of content management system
experience
 Reviewing other college and university SACS Web
sites and asking questions
 Assessing the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. §
51-18-70) and opting for public posting of information,
but limiting search engine linkages
 Addressing the need to store massive quantities of
digital documents on its website versus hyper-linking
to the necessary sources
Lessons Learned
Content Management Issues
1. Write down agreed upon decisions
2. Communicate the decisions frequently
3. Address massive storage needs
Document Management Issues
10 minutes
Vision
Recovery
Technology
Document Management
Content
Scalability
KSU’s CSFs
 The review of several Web sites related to the
reaffirmation process in order to determine
what KSU thought might work or not work
 The decision to publish all reaffirmation
reports and supporting documentation in
Adobe PDF format
 The utilization of templates in Microsoft
Word
KSU’s Document Lifecycle
4) Hyperlink
5) Convert
3) Disseminate
6) Publish
2) Revise
1) Create
Lessons Learned
Document Management Issues
1. Document the process
2. Have easy to follow instructions
3. IT professionals should provide feedback
4. Hyperlink to durable URLs
5. Utilize Web 2.0 collaboration software
Scalability for Performance
10 minutes
Vision
Recovery
Technology
Scalability Features
Content
Documents
Scalability Issues
Questions to ensure proper performance:
 What technologies could be used to deliver
30+ MB (megabyte) Adobe PDF documents in
a matter of seconds from a Web site?
 Does the technology architecture selected
guide the efforts required to performance
tune the Web site for optimal browsing
capabilities?
KSU’s CSFs
 The technology architecture selected


The use of OracleAS Web Cache
The use of 12+ gigabytes (GB) RAM per
host
 The Lead IT Professional’s experience
 The CIO’s emphasis on having excess
capacity
Lessons Learned
Scalability features to ensure Web site Performance
1. Align the Web site design with the architecture
2. Have patience with the IT professionals
3. Outsource IT performance tuning
Disaster Recovery & Backup
10 minutes
Vision
Scalability
Technology
Disaster Recovery
Content
Documents
KSU’s CSFs
 Planning included the creation of a
backup SACS Web site on a different
server after the primary site had been
completed
 The Lead IT Professional’s role was
established as the key player in
ensuring that proper tape backups of
KSU’s SACS web site were made
Why a Backup Web Site?
Due to the following business decisions:
 The technological architecture
 Use of a content management system
 The document management lifecycle
and use of Adobe PDFs
…KSU generated approximately eight
gigabytes (GB) of content…
Why a Backup Web Site?
KSU’s pros and cons:
CD-ROM
DVD-ROM
•700 MB limit
•Instructions
•Write speed
•Read speed
•Control
(loss)
•4.7 GB limit
•Instructions
•Write speed
•Read speed
•Availability
•Control
(loss)
Flash
Drive
•4 GB limit
•Instructions
•Cost
•Availability
•Drivers
•Control
(loss)
Web site
•Dependable
network
•Maintain
Control
•Existing
infrastructure
Lessons Learned
Disaster Recovery & Backup Options
1. Perform a test recovery of the Web site
2. Plan for redundancy in hardware
3. Plan for redundancy in accessability
Lessons Summary
 Have a strong vision
 Plan the technological architecture to
include excess capacity
 Utilize a content management system
 Use a document management process
 Ensure proper scalability and
performance
 Have a working backup
References
 Adobe

http://www.adobe.com
 Building Corporate Portals with XML

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Corporate-Portals-CliveFinkelstein/dp/0079137059
 Content Management Systems (CMS)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system
 HTTrack

http://www.httrack.com/
 KSU SACS Web site

https://sacs.kennesaw.edu/portal/page/portal/PG_SACS_INF
ORMATION_CENTER
 Oracle

http://technet.oracle.com
Contacts
Thank you for your time!
Contact Information:
http://vic.kennesaw.edu/
Erik Bowe
Director
Enterprise Data Management
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road, MD 0110
Kennesaw, GA 30144-5591
770.499.3360
[email protected]
Ed Rugg
Executive Director
Enterprise Information Management
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road, MD 5400
Kennesaw, GA 30144-5591
770.499.3609
[email protected]
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