CougarNet Dennis Fouty, Ph.D. Associate Vice Chancellor, University of Houston System Associate Vice President, University of Houston Mary Dickerson, MCSE CougarNet Project Manager February 28, 2003 ITCC CougarNet Briefing
Jan 16, 2016
CougarNet
Dennis Fouty, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor, University of Houston System
Associate Vice President, University of Houston
Mary Dickerson, MCSE
CougarNet Project Manager
February 28, 2003
ITCC CougarNet BriefingITCC CougarNet Briefing
CougarNetAgendaAgenda
• Overview • UH Windows Environment• CougarNet • Project Status
CougarNetWhat is CougarNet?What is CougarNet?
Name for UH Active Directory domain• Formerly: Windows 2000 Project,
Active Directory Project
• Project name change to CougarNet
Active Directory – Infrastructure architecture by Microsoft for enterprise environments
CougarNetWhat is CougarNet?What is CougarNet?
A campus infrastructure for Windows resources based on Active Directory User accounts Computers and servers
Expansion & enhancement of Windows services currently provided by IT File and print services Account management
An opportunity for collaboration among campus computing groups Infrastructure planning
CougarNetCougarNet GoalsCougarNet Goals
Collaboration vs. control Better managed environment More resource control at the local level Leveraging of campus resources Increased security
CougarNetCritical Success FactorsCritical Success Factors
UH Colleges & Divisions Involved in CougarNet Design & Implementation
Implementation of MOU’s between IT-CTS and participating colleges/divisions
Comprehensive campus communications plan AD training provided by IT Integration of official UH data feed into account
management process Integration of CougarNet project & other IT
initiatives
CougarNetCougarNet: A Well Planned EffortCougarNet: A Well Planned Effort
Within IT– Representatives from all departments– Dedicated test lab environment
Within Campus – Windows Infrastructure Planning Team– Appointed representatives-Colleges & Divisions– Communication plans for campus
Among Enterprise Vendors– Microsoft– HP/Compaq– Quest Software– Lucent Consulting
Project Recognized by Microsoft– Presentation by Chuck Shomper at MS Higher Ed CIO
Summit, Redmond WA– Presentations by Project Team at multiple MS
Workshops
CougarNetProject MilestonesProject Milestones
1998
Domain restructuring project - cancelled
1999
November – IT Win2K Project Team Formed
2000
February – Windows 2000 AD software available
April – Executive Briefing for IT Management
May – Test Lab Established in Computing Center
November – Campus Workshops by Project Team
CougarNetProject MilestonesProject Milestones
2001
February – Project Team expanded to include College/Division representatives
April – First meeting of campus-wide Windows Infrastructure Planning Team
2002
January – Implementation of “CougarNet” ADMarch – Project timeline defined with campus reps.June – UH System AD issues defined for CIOsSeptember – CougarNet MOU draft reviewed with
campus representativesNovember – CougarNet MOU distributed for signatureOctober – December – Meetings w/campus groups re:
CougarNet
CougarNetProject MilestonesProject Milestones
2003
January - February
Continued meetings w/campus groups re: CougarNet
Implementation of Account Management System
OU Administrator training held this week
June – Target project completion date
CougarNetUH Windows InfrastructureUH Windows Infrastructure
Current Windows NT environment
Why Active Directory?
AD Implementation at UH
Project Lifecycle
CougarNet Infrastructure– ER.UH.EDU (Empty Root Domain)
– Cougarnet.UH.EDU (Account Domain)
– Top-level OU’s – Colleges/Divisions
CougarNetWindows 2000
CougarNetCharacteristicsCharacteristics
Multiple domains/different administrators– High support costs– Security issues
Inability to sub-divide administration – Current NT limitation– Required separate domains
Multiple trust relationships– Managed by many administrators– Adds considerable complexity
Not campus-inclusive – No Windows “backbone” for everyone– Does not scale campus-wide
Current Windows Infrastructure
CougarNetWhy Active Directory?Why Active Directory?
Ability for distributed management– Resource administration closer to user
Simplification of current environment– Domain consolidation– Decreased support costs
Interoperability w/ non-Microsoft services Increased security and auditing
Windows Infrastructure Solution
CougarNetWindows 2000 SecurityWindows 2000 Security
Security of OS is much improved over Windows NT
AD provides opportunity for local support staff to configure resources with tighter security
UH implementation allows for tight security on CougarNet domain controllers – improvement over current NT domain controllers
Account Management process increases account security and provides audit capabilities
CougarNet AD Implementation at UHAD Implementation at UH
IT Windows 2000 Project Team – Identified key deployment issues– IT Executive Briefing–decision to implement AD– Provided foundation for support &
communications
Representatives appointed by colleges/divisions– Representative profile created
Infrastructure Requirements– Interoperability with existing network services – Collaboration with PeopleSoft implementation– Use of existing staff and resources
CougarNetFrom Chaos….From Chaos….
CougarNetTo CougarNet !To CougarNet !
CougarNetCougarNet InfrastructureCougarNet Infrastructure
CougarNetCougarNet InfrastructureCougarNet Infrastructure
CougarNetExample 1: College ImplementationExample 1: College Implementation
• Pharmacy Division OU - PHA• No sub-OUs• All computers and groups managed by
same support staff
CougarNetExample 2: IT ImplementationExample 2: IT Implementation
• One IT Division OU• Delegated Sub-OU’s for each IT Dept.:
ES, CTS, TSS, SDR, VC-VPIT• MOU’s for each Department designating
sub-OU contacts
CougarNetCougarNet MOUCougarNet MOU
Originally - Service Level Agreement
Goal 1: Define services provided by CTS Goal 2: Define college/division contacts
Only addresses Windows issues for participants– Does not involve non-MS clients– Does not involve MS clients not participating– Does not address Exchange issues
CougarNetCollege/Division Options College/Division Options
Option 1:
Decision to participate in CougarNet
College/Division signs MOU with CTS OU Structure defined by College/Division Migration priorities/concerns defined by
College/Division Migration of users/resources Clean-up/redeployment of NT resources
CougarNetCollege/Division Options College/Division Options
Option 2:
Decision not to participate in CougarNet
If currently independent, nothing further to do
If currently utilizing an IT domain, planning must occur to migrate users/resources to new domain maintained by college/division
Note: Decision not to participate in CougarNet may impact future access to some enterprise resources
CougarNetBenefits of CougarNetBenefits of CougarNet Single user account for access to most Windows
Enterprise resources campus-wide PeopleSoft is in the CougarNet AD Delegated administration for local support staff Ability for colleges/divisions to sub-divide
administration of local resources User management is handled through Remedy
by Local units and TSS staff Automated account management system with
official UH data feed Increased security Dedicated home directory space for each user:
Faculty/Staff – 200 MB, Students – 50 MB
CougarNetDrawbacks of CougarNetDrawbacks of CougarNet
• Remedy license required for user account management (1 license provided by CTS)
• All user accounts created through Remedy• Inherently, Enterprise AD administrators have
ability to take ownership of AD resources. Procedure is defined in CougarNet MOU.
CougarNetCurrent Project StatusCurrent Project Status
Production environment in place since Jan. 2002 Signed MOUs or verbal commitments received
from 18 of 27 top-level OUs. NT account migrations in progress Individual college/division issues being addressed
CougarNetWindows 2000 Project -
CougarNetWindows 2000 Project -
CougarNetWeb Site:
http://www.uh.edu/cougarnet
Email Address:
Project Team Leader:
Mary Dickerson, MCSE
Email: [email protected]