Upon returning from vacation, I found that lots happened in the world of IT. here’s what I’m covering in this installment of the IT News & Updates: First, there’s news on Zoom training and replacement of the old Polycom software. Next, is a solution to the international visitor internet connectivity problem. I end this with reminders about our web presence.
Zoom training and replacement of the old Polycom software
On June 25 the video conferencing team held a training session introducing the WSU Zoom Pro meeting software (here’s the link to the recorded session). As of July 9, all meetings and class that previously utilized Polycom will now be conducted via Zoom. If you didn’t sign up for Zoom a few months ago when they first started the switchover, don’t panic. As of next week, everyone will have access to Zoom (as long as you have a WSU NID). All you would need to do to access Zoom is click on a Zoom meeting link (if one was given to you), or go directly to https:/wsu.zoom.us. It will ask you to sign in with your WSU credentials (NID and password). If using our conferencing equipment, you would just enter the Zoom meeting number the same as you did before.
Why is this happening? The underlying Polycom software is out of date and its license expired. To update to Polycom’s newest release would be prohibitively expensive as the licensing would need to cover every unit throughout the WSU system. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the newer software does not support older Polycom units, such as those in our smaller conference rooms. So, all the older units throughout WSU would need to be replaced. Given the state of WSU’s finances, this is not an option. Since the decision was made to switch, the team has been busy preparing things. This has included installing the Zoom Pro Enterprise software and integrating with the WSU authentication system and configuring to support the Outlook plugin (not a small task!) and setting up a new room scheduling interface to handle classes and meetings. If you have questions about the Zoom Project visit: https://its.wsu.edu/zoom-video-conferencing/. I’ll revisit this next week with more information and links.
International Guest WiFi Access
What do you do when you have a busload of Italians (or other international guests) that visit the Center and want internet access? Well, up until now, they were usually out of luck. Our WSU Guest WiFi requires you to enter a mobile number that allows texting so the system can send an access code to enter into their device. The problem is that WSU WiFi was not designed to handle the country code prefixes. It is set for “1” (the US code). (This is system-wide, not just here.) There were only two ways around this. 1) If the person was affiliated with a foreign institution that was setup with the eduroam authentication, they can log directly into the eduroam network via our WSU AP and not need the WSU Guest AP; 2) If the host is willing to have them use their cell number to receive the access code, then they can use the Guest portal. But this isn’t practical when you have more than a single visitor.
Solution I worked with Nick at CAHNRS IT to set up a temporary event WiFi that can be turned on/off whenever we have a large group of international people needing internet access but can’t access either WSU Guest or eduroam. It works similarly to the “Cherry” wireless that we once had in the large conference room. The guest would look for “Event name” as the network portal and get automatic access. The caveat though, is that we would need some warning (at least five working days) so it can be turned on for the duration of the event. Note: Like the WSU Guest connection, they will not be able see/use anything on our WSU network, such as printers, because they are operating outside the network.
Requesting an event AP To get this set up for an event, send a request to cit.support@wsu.edu. In the subject line type “TFREC temporary event WiFi” so they know right off what you want. Then in the email body state what the event is, start and ending date, and a name for the event. Example names: “Italy group”, “Apple tour”, “IFTA tour”, etc. As mentioned above, they need a 5-day lead time to get this set up.
Why not have it turned on all the time? As with any remote network access point, there is a certain amount of risk of malicious tampering even though there is a firewall in place to prevent unauthorized access. Our Guest WiFi utilizes an added level of security by creating an access code on-the-fly and sending to a mobile number via a text. But the Events WiFi allow automatic access to guests. Anyone can utilize that network connection whenever it is live. Although the likelihood of someone using this connection maliciously is small, it is still a risk. So, to limit that possibility, it will only be live when we know we will need it. It can be “turned on” remotely by CAHNRS IT, but they do need to know in advance to ensure that it is on when needed.
What if I only have a single international visitor that needs access? Depending on how long that person will be here, you have a couple of options assuming that they can’t use eduroam. First, if they are only there for the day, as their host you could have them to connect to WSU Guest by allowing them to enter your cell number in to receive the access code. However, if they are going to be there for several days or longer (eg. visiting scientist) we can have their device “whitelisted”. This would involve getting the MAC ID number off their device and giving it to cit.support along with the person’s name and reason for their needing access (a short sentence like, “he’s here to learn X in Dr. Y’s lab”). They will try to get this request set up as quickly as they are able.
Other stuff
TFREC public website Yes, we do have a TFREC website visible to the public. You can find it here: http://tfrec.cahnrs.wsu.edu (there’s a link to it from the Admin site, too). New content is slowly being added. I’d like to add an events calendar and possibly a News blog page of things going on here. But for either of these to happen, I need help from all of you. I would need stuff to post (preferably on a regular basis) to make it useful. I’m also looking for suggestions (and content) to make the site better. I would be awesome if you could add this link to your program websites to help generate traffic. Any links to the old TFREC site will likely redirect to the new one. But having the correct link is always better.
Pesticide hazard/re-entry site With the field season in full swing, I just want to remind people to take the time to check the webpage before heading out to CV or Sunrise (or even wondering around our Center grounds). The page is located here: http://tfrec.cahnrs.wsu.edu/admin/pesticide-application-re-entry/ (also a link on the Admin home page under Quick Links). If you or someone in your program will be applying treatments, it needs to be entered into the database (link for entering application is on the page listed above). If you or your employee has not been added to the database yet, please contact me so I can add the person. They need a WSU NID to be added. Also, if you need to apply a material that is not already in the database (look carefully), please enter both the trade name and the common name (chemical name). Since this is intended as our hazard communication, having the chemical name handy is helpful. Although the programmer did not build the table to show both names, that change is in the works.
Lobby slideshow Jim updated our lobby slideshow (kiosk) prior to the last Deans & Directors meeting. But a lot of content still needs updating. I’m sure there are new activities going on both in the field and in labs that could be added; we could use a group shot of staff (only facilities/farm people are currently up); a new grad student group shot would be nice. Anything else you can think of that could be added or needs replacing, let me know. Since most of you don’t have time to stand in front of the lobby monitor, I have posted a pdf of the slide show here on our Admin site (home page; last link under Quick links) – Thanks Chris Sater for the suggestion!