Page 3 - OIT Progress Report 2014

Residential Commons
New buildings and more on campus residents, includ- ing Faculty in Residence, provided exciting chal- lenges for departments across SMU. OIT oversaw the installation of cabling, antennas, Wi-Fi access points, card readers, audio-video, classroom technology, and other network infrastructure equipment. In addition to the equipment installation and configuration, we launched two initiatives to support these buildings during their inaugural back to school rush.
New Device Registration: When residents connect their various devices to the SMU network, they have three options which have their own unique configura- tion and registration processes: wired, PerunaNet, or SMU_Guest wireless. In the past, device registration created confusion, which resulted in an increase in sup- port calls and registration requests. To streamline this process, we built an application that interfaces with the wired and wireless networks. It allows residents to connect their devices faster without contacting the IT Help Desk. This fall alone, it saved the IT Help Desk from registering approximately 400 devices manually, saving students hours in waiting for connectivity.
Move-in Tech Help: Tech Agents (SMU OIT staff) assisted residents with registration, email, network, cable TV, and more. By the first day of class, we set a new record for concurrent wireless connections on campus! The Tech Agents also distributed IT Help Desk contact information, informing students and parents where to get technology assistance throughout the semester.
We look forward to next year. We are committed to further improvements to support campus residents.
4 Objective 1: Support for a living/learning environment that enhances personal exploration and growth.
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