Center for Information Technology Services

Internet2 Day Held; New Demos Planned

Internet2 is the high-speed, research-oriented alternative to the commercial Internet. It is also the name of the consortium being led by over 200 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of the next mainstream Internet. According to Greg Moore of Indiana University, Internet2 is particularly well suited to "research applications that use enormous amounts of bandwidth and that won't work over a regular Internet connection."

UMB celebrated its membership as an Internet2 (I2) school by holding an "Internet2 Day" in March of this year. As part of this special event faculty from the schools of Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy demonstrated the potential of this network and discussed the benefits of collaboration with their peers around the world. President Ramsay and Dean Wilson were present to show their support for this new initiative.

In order to acquaint faculty and staff with potential uses of the Internet2 a series of lunchtime demonstrations are being planned for the fall. Staff from the Center for Information Technology Services (CITS) will demonstrate the use of video conferencing and file transfer over I2 at the dates and times listed in the table that follows. We welcome you to attend one of these demonstrations. For more information about Internet2, consult the Internet2 website, at: http://www.internet2.edu .

Upcoming Internet2 Demonstrations

Customer Services
The CITS Customer Service group (Faye Synan, Valerie Agwale, Dorothy Bowman, and Jean Stiffler) is responsible for a variety of tasks in support of not only CITS personnel, but also the UMB campus community as a whole. This unit is the center of activity for all personnel, payroll and leave actions for CITS employees. CITS procurement, budget analysis, accounts receivable/payable, and financial tracking also fall in the realm of Customer Services. Of special interest to the rest of the campus community are their services involving Software Licensing and the USM Interactive Video Network (IVN).

Software Licensing
The Software Licensing Office was instituted to provide members of the University of Maryland, Baltimore computing community with the software necessary to get their respective jobs done, at special educational pricing. This helps manage overall costs, facilitates consistency campus-wide, and maintains control of licensed use of the software products on campus.

The Software Licensing Office provides the campus with the following services:

The Software Licensing Office is staffed by Kent Buckingham (Director), Jean Stiffler (Coordinator), and Valerie Agwale (Assistant). Office hours, in Suite #230 of the HS/HSL, are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They can also be reached at campus telephone #6-8166 or via email at: software@umaryland.edu.

Interactive Video Network (IVN)
To schedule a session using the USM Interactive Video Network (IVN), email Jean Stiffler (jstiffle@umaryland.edu) with your request. The classrooms are located in the School of Nursing Building.