IT Managers Plan for the Provision of IT Facilities - Essay Example

?IT Manager's Plan for the provision of IT facilities to the new department of Computer Science Table of Contents Successful project management is a key to success of a project. Particularly, in projects involving implementation of information technology and information systems we are more concerned with the availability of the technical knowledge and information. This report is about the establishment of the new Department of Computer Science in one of the major universities of UK. This report is aimed to analyze the implementation of information technology aspects. This report outlines the suggestions for the establishment of Department of Computer Science i.e. overall staffing, recruitment timescales for these staff members, establishment of the network infrastructure, implementing server and desktop facilities, enabling the administrative systems, implementing the general purpose PC areas, offering support facilities, lot of other related aspects regarding the new department establishment. 2- INTRODUCTION Computer science sometimes refers to the information technology is currently an essential element of society as well as a vital part of a lot of university programs. Additionally, society more and more requires extremely knowledgeable IT staff members mainly staff members who are able to combine IT with other skills. The Department of Computer Science at our University will offer education as well as research in computer and computational science theory as well as practice for a variety of students groups. Additionally, these actions support immediate computational requirements as well as offer a foundation for lifelong learning in information technology and computational sciences. In this scenario, the effective planning is basic need for the establishment of this new department at our university. The better planning and risk management will offer us an excellent opportunity to effectively manage the main issues and problems of the project. In addition, the establishment of the computer science department will open new horizons of knowledge and information technology research in the local community and will also offer a great deal of support for the research and innovation in the business sector. 3- SCOPE OF PROJECT The scope of this project will cover all the activities involved in the establishment of a new computer science department at a major university in UK. The main aim of establishing this new department is to offer the local community a better enlightenment of new innovations in information technology. Additionally, this new department will open new horizons of information technology and information systems research. We are also aimed at starting the Phd program that will produce new generation of the computer science experts at the university. This will also offer better research and development opportunities at the university level. The development of this new department is also aimed to attract the international community members to take admission for the higher education in our university. For this purpose, we will hire more qualified, skilled and experienced faculty members to provide the students with a better opportunity for conducting research in various areas of computer science and information technology. Some of the important factors/elements of this project are outlined below: Offering information and communication technology based support for education Improving teaching standards Improving quality of knowledge Offering student up-to-date equipment and technology based system facilities. Offering better place for research and development Opening new opportunities for the local community to patricide in new generation information technology era Enrolling high quality teaching staff Improving quality of education of computer as compared to other local universities Establishment of state-of-the-art technology and systems at the Labs Offering improved network and communication facilities Offering the students access to international research and technology libraries Producing high quality graduates and Masters in the market Opening new quality and well paid jobs 4- PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This project has specific aims and objectives that need to be met in order to complete this project successfully. I have outlined below the project aims and objectives: On time project completion Successful opening and operational working of computer science department within nine months Better management of project aspects and areas Successful management of project requirements Successfully meeting the project cost limitations Meeting the project needs On time opening of all working departments Better management of all types of risk regarding the project Effectively dealing with project limitations Establishment of well defined project working capabilities 5- PROJECT STAFFING This project involves recruiting new staff members for the department. This involves the effective enrolment of better staffing that can effectively manage the overall department. This section is aimed to assess some of the main areas and aspects of the project staffing: 5.1- Staff Requirements The department of computer science will have academic staff of 60 people. Additionally, this academic staff will be divided into three research groups; each of them will be headed by a senior professor. Then we will require six clerical and administrative staff members to deal with extra activities such as timetabling, financial accounting comprising expense claims, secretarial work as well as examination scheduling. 5.2- Staff Already Present Currently four people are working in this department. Here I am working as an IT manager and also working as a Head of Department. Then we have one academic staff person who is a Lecturer, a Lab in-charge and one person in clerical and administrative staff. 5.3- Staff We Need To Recruit For this project we have to recruit 59 academic personnel and 5 from the clerical and administrative staff. In addition, we will also require few lab attendants and security staff for the better management of departmental operations. 5.4- Recruit Standards For the recruitment of the department’s staff we have established high-quality recruitment standards. These standards need to be fulfilled in order to achieve the quality education at the department. Below given table outlines the standards for the different categories of staff we are going to recruit. 5.4.1- Standards for Academic Staff No Post Education Experience 1 Professor Phd 10 Years 2 Assistant Professor Phd, MS 5 Years 3 Lecturer BS, MS 2 Years 4 Research Assistants BS 0 Years 5.4.2- Standards for Clerical and Administrative Staff Academic Staff No Post Education Experience 1 Clerk Graduate 2 Years 2 Admin In-charge Masters 2 Years 3 Exam Controller Masters 3Years 4 Secretary Masters 2 Years 5.4.3 - Standards for Labs Management Staff No Post Education Experience 1 Lab In-charge BS, Graduate (Computer Diploma) 1Years 2 Lab Technician (Hardware/Software) Computer Diploma in Hardware/Software 1Years 3 Electrician Diploma in Electronics 3 Years 5.4.4 - Standards for Network Management Staff No Post Education Experience 1 Network Administrator Masters in Computer Networks + Network Certification 5 Years 2 Network Assistant BS in Computer Networks + Network Certification 2 Years 3 Network Technician Computer Networks Diploma in Hardware/Software 1 Years 4 Electrician Diploma in Electronics 2 Years 5.4.5 - Standards for Non-Academic Staff No Post Education Experience 1 Security Staff Intermediate 1 Years 2 Sweeper Nill 1 Years 3 Plumber Intermediate 1 Years 4 Office Boy Intermediate 1 Years 5.5- Recruitment Procedure For the recruitment of staff we will adopt the proper procedure. We will advertise the job through a newspaper and university website. Then we will receive the applications. The next process will be about issuing the test letters to eligible candidates. Then we will conduct the test. After that the people who have passed the test will be called for the interview. The university management will conduct a comprehensive interview that will recruit the only well qualified and top knowledge personnel for the department. 5.6- Training After the recruitment of the staff members for the university we will conduct the training of staff members. In this training we will teach the staff members regarding latest trends of information technology. This will help them to adjust themselves in this new environment. 6- RECRUITMENT TIMESCALES FOR STAFF For the recruitment of all the above stated staff members we will establish a proper timetable. This will offer us a chance to start the academic year on time. Below given table outlines the timeline for the staff recruitment: No. Recruitment Task Start Date End Date Responsible 1 Staff Requirements Analysis 1-6-2011 5-6-2011 University Management 2 Advertisement 06-06-2011 15-6-2011 University Management 3 Applications Intake 16-06-2011 21-6-2011 University Management 4 Applications Processing 22-06-2011 01-7-2011 University Management 5 Call for Test 02-07-2011 15-7-2011 IT Manager 6 Test 16-07-2011 30-7-2011 IT Manager 7 Interview 01-08-2011 15-8-2011 IT Manager & University Management 8 Appointment 22-08-2011 30-8-2011 University Management 9 Joining 01-09-2011 15-09-011 IT Manager 7- NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE This section presents the analysis and recommendations for the new network technology based system implementation at the department of computer science: 7.1- Proposed Network Infrastructure For the implementation of new network technology at the computer science department we have conducted a detailed analysis and finally specified a much better network technology. For this project we have decided to implement a LAN (local area network) inside the computer science department that will be used to offer the staff members and students access to all necessary information and working resources. This network will also be linked to the internet for offering the staff member and students an opportunity to use internet. In addition, we will also establish a shared network for sharing printers and scanners. Thus, it will be used to support the university’s management. 7.2- Network Topology A network topology is a way to connect computers in a network. For establishing a network at the department we will use the Bus topology, which will connect all the systems to the central network servers where university’s data is located. In a bus topology, all the systems are connected to a single cable using terminators. The network topology also offers the shared network access and resources to all the network and administrative departments (Wells & Wilborn, 2011) and (Mitchell, 2011). 7.3- Network Servers Infrastructure We will have a number of network servers for managing the communication and collaboration at the Computer Science Department. Below I have outlined some of the main aspects of network server technology arrangement: 7.3.1 - Data Server This network server will store all the necessary data and information of Computer Science Department and also students’ data. This data server will hold a lot of information and data regarding network resources and areas. 7.3.2- Internet Server The internet server will manage the distribution of internet all through the departments. The internet server will hold a great deal of power for routing the data and information all through the departmental labs and offices. 7.3.3- Backup Server The backup server will take the data backup in order to protect the possible data crash or deletion. The basic purpose of this server is to ensure data safety. 7.3.4- Print Server This server will work as a shared printer arrangement inside the department. Through this print server the university students and staff members will be able to take high quality prints of documents by using network printer arrangement. 7.4- Network Cabling For establishing a network at the department of computer science, we will use the UTP-5 cables. In this scenario we will connect the overall network resources and arrangement to the main network architecture for the better communication and collaboration establishment. 7.5- Timescales for Network Installation No. Recruitment Task Start Date End Date Responsible 1 Network Requirements Analysis 16-09-011 22-09-011 IT Manager & network Manager 2 Taking Approval 22-09-2011 25-09-2011 University Management 3 Contacting for Network systems purchase 26-09-2011 30-09-2011 IT Manager & network Manager 4 Contractor selection 01-10-2011 05-10-2011 IT Manager & network Manager 5 New network systems purchase 06-10-2011 15-10-2011 IT Manager & network Manager 6 Shifting to department 16-10-2011 29-10-2011 IT Manager & network Manager 7 Installations of new network systems 30-10-2011 15-11-2011 IT Manager & network Manager 8 Configuration of network services 16-11-2011 30-11-2011 IT Manager & network Manager 9 Testing and quality assurance 01-12-2011 15-12-011 IT Manager & network Manager & University Management 8- SERVER AND DESKTOP FACILITIES For the establishment of new network infrastructure the computer science department we have researched the local and web based computer systems and network servers market. In this scenario we have analyzed the overall requirements for university systems and assessed performance capabilities. After a detailed analysis we have chosen the Dell PowerEdge T110 II and Dell PowerEdge R210 II network servers. The detailed specification of these servers is available at: http://www.dell.com/poweredge that is official web site of Dell systems. Figure 1- Dell PowerEdge T110 II, Image Source: http://getitequipped.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/dell_poweredge_t110_1.jpg By making use of the new technology Dell will offer a flexible server technology portfolio to tackle our business concerns such as data protection, reliability, greater memory capacity as well as I/O, and improved performance through the newest and maximum power based processors for computer science department environments. In addition, Dell’s servers are scalable, manageable and flexible. The server we have selected for the computer science department environment is Dell PowerEdge server that presents a variety of alternatives by means of simple and powerful open-standard systems administration, configuration, flexible and scalable storage services. Moreover, Dell’s servers offer new technology of the PowerEdge T110 II and PowerEdge R210 II which present small and medium business customers the correct combination of reliability, characteristics and performance with the novel Intel Xeon processor that belongs to the high tech E3-1200 product family (Dell, 2011). 8.1- System Specifications Core We have selected the system PowerEdge T110 II Chassis with Cabled 4x3.5 Hard Drives (Dell, 2011). Memory This system has 1GB Memory (1x1GB), 1333MHz, Single Ranked UDIMM (Dell, 2011). Processor This system consists of Intel® Core® I3-2100 3.10GHz, 3M cache, Dual Core/4T (65W) (Dell, 2011). Hard Drive Configuration This system comes with PERC S100 (Embedded SATA Software RAID) supporting 2 Hard Drives – RAID 0(Dell, 2011). Embedded Management This system comprises Baseboard Management Controller (Dell, 2011). Network Adapter This system offers On-Board Single Gigabit Network Adapter (Dell, 2011). Internal Optical Drive A DVD Drive is attached to the system. Power Cords This system comprises NEMA 5-15P to C13 Wall Plug, 125 Volt, 15 AMP, 10 Feet (3m), Power Cord (Dell, 2011). Hard Drives (Multi-Select) This system comprises 250GB 7.2K RPM SATA 3.5" Cabled Hard Drive (Dell, 2011). Hardware Support Services This system comes with 3Yr Basic Hardware Warranty Repair: 5x10 HW-Only, 5x10 NBD Onsite (Dell, 2011). Total Price The total price of this system is $853.00 (Dell, 2011). 9- DESKTOP SYSTEM We will also select suitable and high-tech desktop systems for the effective processing and working of the students and staff’s usage. In this scenario we will also choose the Dell’s systems. In this scenario, we have selected Dell Vostro systems for establishing Labs at computer science department. These systems are extremely powerful in offering better processing and operational capabilities for all the areas of department. The further explanation of these systems will be given in the next section. 10- ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS This section outlines the specification of the systems that are mainly required for the administrative tasks. These systems need to be powerful in offering better processing and operational capabilities. In this scenario, our main concerns are better processing power and high storage capacity. However, these systems will be different from the systems we have selected for establishing Labs of the computer science department. For this purpose I have selected Dell Precision T7500 system that is presently the high class system for handling and managing the most of the large size operations of high tech processing and working needs (Hamlett, 2010). 10.1- System Specifications Dell Precision T7500 64-bit is designed for greatest scalability as well as performance on huge data sets and complex multi threaded applications, the Dell Precision T7500 is the flagship computing workstation of the novel Dell Precision line. The main features of this system are outlined below: (Dell2, 2010) and (Hamlett, 2010) Embedded high-tech next generation Intel Xeon processors are useful for revolutionary performance on difficult workstation applications and processing intensive tasks. Additionally, it comprises huge memory scalability (that is up-to 192GB2 of DDR3 Registered ECC memory) for managing and processing huge data sets with simplicity. In addition, it comprises more than 1 billion potential configurations configurable to virtually some industry, environment or application (Dell2, 2010) and (Hamlett, 2010). Processor It comprises processor Dual Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5603, 1.6GHz, 4M L3, 4.8GT/s (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). OS (Operating System) It comes with the genuine Windows® 7 Professional, No Media, 32-bit, English (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). RAM It comprises memory 4GB, DDR3 Memory,1333MHz, ECC (4 DIMMS) (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Graphics Card It comes with Graphics Dual 6.0GB NVIDIA® Quadro® 6000 with SLI, Dual MON, 1 DP & 1 DVI (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Input Devices Keyboard Dell USB Data Entry Keyboard, with English version (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Mouse Dell MS111 USB Optical Mouse (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Accessories Logitech MK710 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Hard Disk Boot Hard Drive 250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 8MB DataBurst Cache™. Hard Drive Configuration C1 All SATA drives, Non-RAID, 1 drive total configuration. Hard Drive Internal Controller Option Integrated LSI 1068e SAS/SATA 3.0Gb/s controller (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). DVD ROM Optical Devices 16X DVD-ROM with Cyberlink Power DVD™ with no other Media (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Application Software Productivity Software Microsoft Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word and Excel with ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Monitors Multi Select Monitors Dell UltraSharp™ 2007FP 20in HAS Monitor, VGA/ DVI (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Sound Card It comprises Sound Card SoundBlaster® X-FI XtremeMusic™ (D)w/Dolby® Digital 5.1 (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Warranty It comes with 3 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 3 Year NBD Onsite Service for Hardware services (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Power Supplies It comprises Precision T7500 Power Supply (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). Figure 1Dell Precision T7500, Image Source: http://www.dell.com/us/en/enterprise/desktops/workstation-precision-t7500/pd.aspx?refid=workstation-precision-t7500&cs=555&s=biz 10.2- Total Cost Total cost of system including all the accessories is $12,262.99 (Dell2, 2010) and (Dell3, 2011). 11- GENERAL PURPOSE PC AREAS For the general purpose PC analysis we will select those systems that can be established inside the computer labs for the students’ overall practical works. Thus, for this purpose we will select a system that is more effective and powerful in supporting all necessary areas of performance and working. In this scenario I have researched the overall market and business areas for the search for most effective technology based systems. In this scenario I have selected Vostro 230 Slim-Tower that is powerful, low cost and will offer high quality performance for the computer science department labs. I have presented below the system specification and image: Figure 3- Dell Vostro 230 Slim-Tower Image Source: http://www.techlocation.com/files/2010/03/Dell-Vostro-Mini-Tower-Price-580x420.jpg 11.1- System Specifications PROCESSOR This system comprises Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5800 w/VT (3.2GHZ, 2MB L2, 800FSB) (Dell4, 2011) OPERATING SYSTEM This system comprises Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit (Dell4, 2011). OFFICE SOFTWARE This system comes with Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. But it does not include PowerPoint or Outlook (Dell4, 2011). SERVICES & WARRANTY This system comes with 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service (Dell4, 2011). MEMORY RAM This system comes with 3GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHZ - 1x2GB 1x1GB (Dell4, 2011). OPTICAL DRIVE (DVD) This system comprises Single Drive: 16X DVD-ROM Drive (Dell4, 2011). HARD DRIVE (Main Storage) This system comprises 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache (Dell4, 2011). VIDEO CARD This system comprises Integrated Video, Intel® GMA X4500 (Dell4, 2011). MONITOR We have chosen Dell 18.5 inch Widescreen E1910H Flat Panel Display (Dell4, 2011). SECURITY SOFTWARE This system offers Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services, 15-months - A $39 Value! (Dell4, 2011). MODEM & WIRELESS This system does not allow any Modem Option (Dell4, 2011). MEDIA READER This system comprises No Media Reader (Dell4, 2011). KEYBOARD & MOUSE This system comes with Dell USB Keyboard and Dell USB Optical Mouse (Dell4, 2011). SPEAKERS This system does not comprise any speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system) (Dell4, 2011) BASE SYSTEM This system comes in Vostro 230 Slim-Tower Base (Dell4, 2011) MOUSE This system comes with Mouse included in Bluetooth selection (Dell4, 2011). Documentation and Power Management This system supports Vostro 230 Documents and 110 Volt Power setting (Dell4, 2011). Network Interface This system comprises Integrated PCIE 10/100/1000 System Total Cost The total cost of this system with necessary accessories is $389.00 (Dell4, 2011). 12- STUDENTS’ ACCESS TO PRINTERS We have decided to offer students a free access to network printer. These printers will offer facility to student to get prints of their notes, assignments and other information. For this purpose I have conducted research and assessed the different printer technologies. In this scenario I have assessed that HP Jet P2035N Laser Printer is one of the best network printers thus I have selected it for the computer science department. This printer has a high speed printing capability with fine results. These printers also offer greater capability of printing a lot of pages with small time frame. The cost of this printer is: $389.99 (Hewlett-Packard Development Company, 2011). 12.1- Printer Specification This sspecification is taken from (Hewlett-Packard Development Company, 2011) Print Speed (Black, Normal Quality, A4) Up to 30 ppm Print technology Laser Pages per month Up to 25000 pages Standard memory 16 MB Maximum memory 16 MB Processor speed 266 MHz Hard Disk Capacity None Standard Printer Languages Host Based Power consumption (active) 550 watts Figure 4- HP Jet P2035N Laser Printer Image Source: http://img01.static-nextag.com/image/HP-JET-P2035N-Laser/1/000/006/267/662/626766284.jpg 13- SUPPORT FACILITIES For the smooth working and operations of the computer science department we will offer departmental support facilities. Here we will create a support committee. This support committee will work under the supervision of the head of department. This committee will consist of some students, staff members and technical staff. Thus, in case of any issue or problem this support committee will take actions and fulfill all necessary underlying requirements. 14- IT PROVISION IN LECTURE ROOMS AND TEACHING LABORATORIES In order to offer IT provision in lecture rooms and teaching laboratories we will establish a proper mechanism. In this scenario only departmental students or particular students with computer science courses will be offered the access to lecture rooms and teaching laboratories. In this scenario we will establish a proper mechanism that will involve the proper students and staff security. For this purpose we will issues department identity cards to students. The students will be required to show their cards in order to enter into the lab. Thus, security staff will only allow the students with proper departmental identity card. In this way we will be able to restrict the illegal access to labs. This will be helpful in reducing various issues and damages to labs equipments. 15- DESIGN AND PROVISION OF DEPARTMENTAL WEB PAGES We are also aimed to build the departmental website that will offer an easy access to staff and students to the web pages of computer science department. This website will present the necessary information and data about the university, departments or other activities. In this way students from all over the world would be able to know about our university, courses and other activities. 15.1- Design of Web Pages For designing the web pages of computer science department we will follow the same working theme. This will offer us a better opportunity to manage the website design. The main reason to follow such design theme is to have a better opportunity of designing attractive websites. 15.2- Provision to Web Pages We will develop a proper web based system that will offer access to students in order to view lecturers’ schedules, assignments, library access, etc. This website will be accessible to the students and staff members through a proper log-in based system. This will also lead to better performance and working of the systems. This web site will also allow the students to communicate with their teachers. 16- RISK ASSESSMENT AND DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN While establishing computer science department we can face various risks and issues. Below I have outlined some of the main risks regarding this project: 16.1- Cost Risk In order to deal with cost based risk in this project we will strictly follow the established plan of the project. In this scenario, we will try to minimize the project cost risk through better time and resource management. 16.2- Time Risk Time risk is also one of critical project risks. In our project we have to complete the overall project within the given time line of nine months. Thus, we need to plan and manage this project effectively in order to complete it within given time. For this purpose, we will strictly follow the established timeline and schedule. 16.3- Technology Risk Technology risk is also one of the important risks in any project. For the better management of this risk we need to better manage the technology with the collaboration of some technology based systems expert. In this way we will be able to manage the overall project in an effective way. 17- CONCLUSION A project is a temporary activity to achieve some specific goal. At the present, almost all the organizations carry out their business activities in form of projects. For this purpose they assign a project manager along with some resources to a project. Additionally, every project has a specific time period. And the success and failure of a project depends on the skills and capabilities of the project manager. This report has presented a detailed analysis of some of the important aspects of a project. This project involved the establishment of a new computer science department. This report has outlined some of the critical aspects of this project such as staff recruiting, new labs management, and technology based systems specification. I hope this report will offer a better insight into the overall analysis of new information technology department establishment at UK University. 18- REFERENCES Dell, 2011. Dell PowerEdge T110 II - New! [Online] Available at: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=555&l=en&oc=MLB1787&s=biz&fb=1&vw=classic [Accessed 06 May 2011]. Dell2, 2010. Dell Precision T7500 Tower Workstation. 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