Annual Report 2004–05

Computer and Information Technology Services As the University's daily activities are greatly facilitated b y IT, the ITSC continued to enhance its existing services i n the year u n d er r e v i ew w h i le i n t r o d u c i ng n ew services a nd technologies to s u p p o rt the administrative, teaching, research, a nd p u b l ic service activities of the University. Information Infrastructure Op e r a t ed b y ITSC, H K I X has witnessed the g r o w th and r a p id d e v e l o pme nt of the local Internet i n d u s t r y. A s t he v o l u me of I n t e r n et t r a f f ic p a s s i ng t h r o u g h i t d o u b l es e v e ry year, the e s t a b l i s hme nt of a secondary site, H K I X 2 , i n Ce n t r al u n d er a n o n - c omme r c i al c o o p e r a t i on between C U H K and C I T IC 1616 b r o u g ht instant relief to Internet traffic a nd strengthened its role as H o n g Ko n g 's ma in Internet gateway. Bo th sites h a d identical software a nd h a r dwa re setups and were l i n k ed u p by t w o 10 Gbps cables to f o r m a m i r r or architecture so that load balancing as w e l l as f u ll r e d u n d a n cy were ensured. As the University's computerization progresses, the exponential g r o w th in data v o l ume becomes a challenge to data backup. To safeguard the University's valuable i n f o r ma t i on assets, the central backup system has been enhanced b o th i n capacity a nd speed — f r om standalone b a c k up devices to centralized, large scale backup t h r o u gh n e t wo rk connections; a nd f r om traditional D L T (Digital Linear Tape) to the a d v a n c ed L TO (Linear Tape O p e n) technology. Everyday, incremental a nd f u l l data backups are p e r f o r med for nearly 200 a dm i n i s t r a t i ve a nd academic c omp u t er systems to ensure instant data recovery. Ov er 20 a dm i n i s t r a t i ve a nd academic d e p a r t me n ts use e-Services w h i c h comprises one-stop, we b - b a s ed office f u n c t i o ns such as server, database a nd e - ma il system. W i t h h a r d w a re a nd software centrally ma n a g ed b y ITSC, this service is particularly we l c omed b y small to me d i um- sized d e p a r t me n ts as it frees t h em f r om mu n d a ne tasks such as system u p g r a d e, data b a c k u p, a nd computer security setup. The total cost of own e r s h ip for the Un i v e r s i ty has been reduced as a wh o l e. Mo st i mp o r t a n t l y, it demonstrates that consolidation i mp r o v es efficiency i n resource utilization. Computer Application Systems A n electronic p l a t f o r m, e - News, was l a u n c h ed for q u i ck dissemination of i n f o r ma t i on to staff, students a nd stakeholders. Besides l i g h t e n i ng the l o ad of the Camp us W i de E - ma il System, this cost-effective a nd c o n v e n i e nt p l a t f o rm also frees i n d i v i d u al d e p a r t me n ts f r om the b u r d en of m a i n t a i n i ng a contact list. The e - N e ws p l a t f o rm has p u b l i s h ed o v er 30 issues of CUHK E- Newsletter, the Library Newsletter a nd the ITSC Digest to date and has sent o ut a r o u nd t w o m i l l i on e-mails. The University's enterprise resource p l a n n i ng system, SAP, was u p g r a d ed b o th in h a r dwa re and software for better cost-effectiveness a nd performance. Besides s u p p o r t i ng d a i ly operations of the Bursary, the u p g r a d ed SAP system also accommodates the needs of the Estates Ma n a g eme nt Office. A n ePayment System was introduced in the year to p r o v i de a convenient yet secure means for students to p ay t u i t i on fees, hostel fees, a nd other fees online, w h i le at the same t i me d o i ng away w i t h the need for data entry. The Staff Su p e r a n n u a t i on Scheme A dm i n i s t r a t i on System was also enhanced so that scheme memb e rs can enjoy mo re f l e x i b i l i ty w h e n c h a n g i ng investment 敎 學 輔 助 設施 A c a d e m ic S u p p o rt Facilities 8 9