Web Services Meeting

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Web Services Meeting
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Overview
Introduction

• Welcome
• Introductions
• Objectives of meeting
• Review Agenda
• Review web survey
• Overview of VCMS, LSA site project
• Engagement and web processes
• Web design
• Legacy web services, College web apps, UNIX web
  services
• Contact Information, DMC site
• QA

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Survey Details
Web Survey

• September 2003
• 32 responses, 20 response rate
• Sent to key communicators and web information
  lists

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Survey Results
Web Survey

• Department web priorities
• Student Recruitment
• Student Support
• Outreach Development
• Promoting Research
• VCMS features most important to respondents
• Easy updates
• No HTML
• Improved design

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Survey Results
Web Survey

• Staff knowledge
• Low level of comfort with HTML
• Only one respondent was knowledgeable in more
  advanced web topics
• Full-time staff
• Spends average of 13 of time on web-related
  work
• Almost all units have at least 1 staff member
  doing web work
• Several respondents report as much as 35 of
  time is spent on web-related work

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How Change Came About
Content Management in LSA

• Focus groups, interviews, committees, etc
• Lack of consistency
• Difficult to navigate
• Rising costs of maintenance and redesigns

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Recommendation for a CMS
Content Management in LSA

• Why?
• Product we chose Vignette (VCMS)
• What is it? What does it do?

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Content Management in LSA
One way to enter content
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VCMS in LSA
Content Management in LSA

• Ground-up redesign of the site
• New functionality ties to Pathways,
  navigation, events
• More content contributors than ever before with
  most of the CMS sites new editing toolbar in
  place

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What Next?
Content Management in LSA

• Product and environment enhancements
• New LSA course guide, improved search
  functionality, improved reporting, redundant
  server environment, and more
• Improve and streamline our web environment
• Continue migrating units and projects into the
  CMS

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Who Does What?
Process

• Development, Marketing, and Communications
• LSAIT (Windows web services)
• MIS
• LSAIT (UNIX web services)

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Engagement Process
Process
Initial Contact
Integration Opportunities?
DMC Web Team Discusses Project
Needs Analysis
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Web Process
Process
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Web Process
Process
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Web Process
Process
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design is art communication
Michael Vanderbyl, president of the American
Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
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design is powerful
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art disturbs, science reassures
Georges Braque, French cubist painter
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design falls somewhere in between
design can solve problems and facilitate
communication
the periodic table of elements
signage and information system Copenhagen Airport
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LSA Development, Marketing, and Communications
web design strategy

• conduct research and administer a needs
  analysis
• identify problems, opportunities, and goals
• learn the departments language
• get immersed in the work
• integrate usability standards
• apply CMS functionality
• assess overall quality
• broadcast and communicate launch

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LSA Development, Marketing, and Communications
web design strategy
Institute for the Humanities
Germanic Languages and Literatures
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LSA Development, Marketing, and Communications
web design strategy
College of LSA
MCDB Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology
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design has a social role it moves people
Milton Glaser, designer and founder of Pushpin
Studios
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LSAIT

• The SST Windows group provides Web services for
  the College that are used by LSA students,
  faculty and staff. The major services include
• Vignette Content Management System (VCMS)
• Automated Desktop Build
• Departmental Web sites (Legacy)
• Personal Web sites

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LSAIT
Web Infrastructure

• Evolving Web Architecture
• - High volume
• - High availability
• Production Environment
• Development Environment
• Organization of Web Space
• Public Internet
• Intranet
• Personal Web sites

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Application Development
LSAIT

• Development Tools Supported
• Microsoft Visual Studio (Interdev)
• Adobe GoLive
• Macromedia Dreamweaver

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Web Server Access
LSAIT

• Share Points
• VCMS Access Control
• - Integrated via LDAP
• SSL and Certificates
• - Encrypted data due to public access
• IIS and NTFS Permissions
• - Integrated with LSA and UMROOT Domains
• SFTP
• IP Security Policies
• Firewall Functionality

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Future Directions
LSAIT

• Windows Server 2003
• Internet Information Services 6.0
• Applications Development
• VCMS Release 7.0
• .NET Platform

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Database Resources
LSAIT

• SQL Server Databases
• VCMS System and Content
• Department Data for Web Presentation
• Database Infrastructure
• SQL Server Clusters
• Development Cluster, LSA-CMSDEVSQL
• Production Cluster, LSA-CMSSQL
• Database Administration
• Windows Security with LSA and UMROOT Domains
• Backup and Recovery
• Database Migration

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Applications
MIS Web Apps

• Management Reporting System
• LSA Minors System
• Data Mining Pilot
• Advising Center Support System
• Commitments System
• Open Courses List (during Student Registration)

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Audiences
MIS Web Apps

• Administrative Staff LSA Depts.
• Administrative Staff Central LSA offices
• Faculty (limited)
• Students (limited)

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Management Reporting System
MIS Web Apps

• Data retrieval for Admissions, Student, HR,
  Finance, Budget, and Research Administration
• Data source transparency 4 M-Pathways Oracle
  servers, 2 LSA db servers
• Single Sign-on Uniqname/Umich password
• Output in HTML Tables and Excel (user choice)
• Security based on User Role and Dept
• 400 authorized users, gt 100 reports

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Management Reporting System Goals
MIS Web Apps

• Consistent approach to data retrieval
• Simplified use
• Minimize training and access requirements
• Quickly navigate
• Combine data from multiple data sources easily

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MIS Web Apps
Management Reporting System
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MIS Web Apps
Management Reporting System
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MIS Web Apps
LSA Minors System
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MIS Web Apps
LSA Data Mining Pilot
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MIS Web Apps
LSA Data Mining Pilot
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MIS Web Apps
LSA Commitments System
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MIS Web Apps
LSA Open Courses
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MIS Web Apps
Undergraduate Student Advising File

• M-Pathways Oracle data on pages hosted by MAIS
• Student Advising Report on Wolverine Access
• Peoplesoft 8 student data panels?

• M-Pathways Oracle data on pages hosted by LSA
• student info queried from the M-Pathways ODS
  database
• Study list, current student info snapshot, etc.

CoSign single sign-on web authentication
WebNow browser-based image viewing

• LSA SQL Server data on pages hosted by LSA
• Advising session notes, advisor assignments,
  appointment history (from Exchange), etc.

• Images on UM ImageNow server
• Documents scanned by UG Admissions
• Documents scanned by LSA Fileroom signed
  authorizations, forms still on paper, etc.

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MIS Web Apps
LSA Advising Support site (Advising Notes)
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MIS Web Apps
LSA Student File
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MIS Web Apps
UG Student Progress Report
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Overview
Unix Web Services

• LSA Information Technology provides an Apache
  Toolkit for faculty or departments who want to
  set up their own web server. Recommended uses
  include
• Instructional web-based applications.
• Research web-based applications.
• Any web-based application that will not run
  under Microsoft Windows and/or IIS.

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Requirements
Unix Web Services

• Faculty / departments must purchase a Sun machine
  for the web server. LSAIT does not provide any
  central, common-use Unix web server.
• The web server will usually reside in the
  department which owns it, although if it meets
  certain conditions it can instead be housed in
  one of the College server rooms.
• Backups of web server data must be arranged for.

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Benefits
Unix Web Services

• The owner of the web server has full control over
  it, can set up any functionality they desire
  without affecting others, and can perform
  maintenance on their own schedule.
• All software updates, security fixes, and
  integration into the University and College
  computing environments are provided by LSAIT.

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Features
Unix Web Services

• Apache HTTPD 1.3.28
• Hardware SSL acceleration
• MySQL 4.0.12 database
• Analog 5.32 web log analysis tool
• PHP 4.3.4
• mod_perl 1.28
• WebDAV

• Kerberos authentication
• cosign 1.1.0
• CGIWrap 3.8
• proxy server
• monitoring and notification scripts
• configuration file change management

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More Information
Unix Web Services

• There are currently 24 web servers using the
  LSAIT Apache Toolkit in LSA. The most notable
  are the on-line examination and homework web
  servers run by the Department of Mathematics.
• For more information as well as instructions on
  how to set up a server, please contactlsa-sst-uni
  x_at_umich.edu or see
• http//unix.lsa.umich.edu/docs/webserver

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Contact Information
Web Services Meeting

• LSA web support
• lsa.web.support_at_umich.edu
• LSA web developers / web info
• lsa.web.info_at_umich.edu
• Faculty web publishing assistance
• www.lib.umich.edu/exploratory
• Development, Marketing, and Communications
  website
• www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/facultystaff/lsadmc
• Process, resources, and contact info

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Web Services Meeting

• Questions?