Scaling Up for Support
Scaling Up for Support
The MIT Campus Wide Information System is layered upon a highly sophisticated distributed computing environment, known as Athena. Wherever possible, we have leveraged our existing services and experience to augment the infrastructure to support scaling up for extensive use of the World Wide Web.
CWIS Architecture
MIT has a very large TCP/IP campus network, supporting an average of 8,000 unique users a day and 8,500 connected devices. The Network Operations Center manages this resource centrally, using Ethernet (standardized on UTP), FDDI, frame relay and other technologies as the basic infrastructure. MIT also houses the NEARnet connection to the major Internet backbones, such as the NSFnet. Easy access to network connectivity is one of the hallmarks of MIT's computing strategy.
As part of our migration to the World Wide Web as the single entry to information services, we encourage the community to use Mosaic-like browsers and to access the service using the WWW->TechInfo gateway created by Linda Murphy at the University of Pennsylvania and enhanced by MIT developers. Information providers can use Techinfo as a provider tool for the World Wide Web, or they can publish directly using HTML editors and other network tools.
Currently at MIT, numerous organizations and individuals operate Internet Information services. MIT Information Systems is responsible for the MIT Gopher and Official MIT Home Page. The Student Information Processing Board (SIPB) provides Usenet and the unofficial MIT Home Page to the campus. The Libraries and various departments and laboratories also manage Gopher and World Wide Web servers.
Central Internet Information Services
The traffic on MITnet, the campus network, grows at a rate of 30% a year. The number of World Wide Web servers that provide public service has increased from four to thirty in six months.
WWW Servers on Campus
Number of unique users per day
TechInfo (tiserve.mit.edu) since 1989 700 / day
Gopher (gopher.mit.edu) since 1992 688 / day
WWW (www.mit.edu) since 1994 2,700 / day
Traditionally, MIT Information Systems offers extensive documentation, training and consulting to its customers. Economies of scale are accrued by taking advantage of the distributed computing environment to develop and support clients that extend the traditional models for these services (e.g. Athena On-Line Consulting). The World Wide Web is attractive for the support organizations as it offers a single point of entry to the Internet, consolidation of on-line documentation, and a simple point-and-click user interface.
MIT runs an open network environment, and security for the distributed computing environment is based on private-key trust between client and server (i.e. Kerberos). We are currently exploring the introduction of PGP technology into our applications (now that MIT can distribute an unencumbered version of the software). The World Wide Web and its vast commercial implications is a strategic area for MIT to invest technical resources, specifically through our IETF and W30 Consortium activities. As more mission-critical applications are delivered over the network using the World Wide Web, we recognize that ensuring network security is a key success factor.
As MIT Information Systems has begun scaling up to support the World Wide Web as its Campus-Wide Information System, we want to build two types of tools into the infrastructure: provider and centralized support.
Provider
One of the lessons that TechInfo taught about support was that easy-to-use tools for information providers is extremely important, especially for the non-technical organization. We envision enhancing the TechInfo user interface as a basis for World Wide Web content installation. We are also taking advantage of gateways, HTML editors, converters, translators, scanners and imaging software as part of an overall process to ease the mechanistic burdens of World Wide Web publishing.
Centralized Support
MIT Information Systems operates web.mit.edu, the central MIT World Wide Web server. On campus, there are new servers appearing monthly, and we are focusing on the services that IS can provide as centralized support, yet at the same time leveraging the development efforts of the campus server administrators, and building an ecology of users.
Since web.mit.edu can access the distributed file system, we store World Wide Web pages in the Athena environment. We are in the process of introducing some of the following enhancements to the server in the next few months to make it more attractive to providers.
We anticipate that other improvements will come about as a result of Internet and W30 developments.
MIT Information Systems spends approximately $9.5M per year on its distributed computing environment. We specifically reallocated $250K as part of the renewal strategy for the Campus-Wide Information System to support the following:
Additionally, priorities are shifting to put more emphasis on CWIS technology and information design. These investments do not include other MIT spending on CWIS-related activities.
Distributed Computing Expenses
The Approach
The CWIS Facilitator leads the MIT Home Page team, composed of a Communications Officer, a student, and a graphic designer.
The CWIS Facilitator works closely with representatives of the MIT community to review the state of the CWIS, to present key CWIS initiatives, and to discuss CWIS-related policy. Members include:
Support Model
The goal for supporting a scalable CWIS is to create an ecology whereby we provide the necessary resources to enable organizations to become self-sufficient World Wide Web information providers, We have developed a model to better measure our performance in the requisite services.
PLAN
The School of Architecture and Planning produces PLAN, an externally focused newsletter. A team, led by Dean William Mitchell, analyzed requirements for PLAN and developed a short marketing piece that readers would want to keep, either on their walls or coffee tables, because of its visual appeal. There is more information provided now online than previously appeared in the paper version of PLAN. They decided to move from paper to pixel by:
This type of study is useful in scaling up for World Wide Web support as it offers a tangible business case to other organizations within the Institute highlighting the benefits of electronic publication.
Snapshot of MPEG simulation
Course 8.07 Electromagentism II in the Physics Department uses the World Wide Web as an enhancement to the pedagogy. Beyond distributing academic material such as course information, lecture notes and assignments, they have added multi-media support to demonstrate the key concepts using text, images and video, allowing the student see formulae change through time. With the extension of MITnet to student residences and the explosion of World Wide Web usage, this style of teaching enhancement has sparked the interest of the faculty.
Self-paced quizzes
The 7.01 (Introductory Biology) Hypertextbook delivers all the course materials, handouts, and lecture modules in a lively and colorful manner. What differentiates this application is their use of World Wide Web forms for the administration and submission of all quizes and problem sets.
Is it safe?
The MIT Press is an international publisher of topical works of non-fiction. They have established a World Wide Web presence to distribute their catalog and market their products globally. Like any other commercial concern on the Internet, the staff is struggling with the issue of security and encryption using the World Wide Web. MIT Information Systems is working with them to broker the right partnerships within the World Wide Web development community to enable the Press to expand their business safely. This will also allow us to learn how to deliver security services on the World Wide Web in a manner that scales Institute-wide and conforms to Internet standards.
Over the next twelve months, MIT's Campus-Wide Information System will continue to grow with the World Wide Web as its key technology. Some of the CWIS initiatives that we are planning include:
Suzana Lisanti has the position of CWIS Facilitator in MIT's Information Systems. She promotes the evolution of MIT's Campus-Wide Information System, working closely with information provider, technology, and consumer communities. Previously, she worked as an independent consultant providing technology-related training programs and technical writing support at Harvard and MIT. She has both an MLS and an MIS degree.
Copyright Peter Roden and Suzana Lisanti, 1994
Peter Roden (roden@mit.edu) / Suzana Lisanti (lisanti@mit.edu) / September 15, 1994