VCU Technology Services

University Computer Center

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VCUCC Services:

    Network Operations Center

VCUCC's Operations ConsoleThe VCU Computer Center is staffed 24 hours/day 365 days a year with a professional staff who have responsibility for the management for all production operations. The Network Operations Center monitors system/network status, and computer center environmental conditions. The staff also offers VPN and off hours Help Desk support.

The Network Operations Center staff also interfaces with technical staff from various groups who require someone at the Computer Center to interact directly with their equipment.

If you are interested in establishing custom operating procedures for your equipment located at the Computer Center, please contact John Gayle, NOC Manager at 804-827-1074.

    Server Hosting

inside one of VCUCC's racks

Many individuals and departments have their own servers, and often the servers are on a desk or in a closet. Unfortunately, this means the servers don't have good physical security, temperature controls, and secure power. VCUCC can help. In its 900 E. Main St location, VCUCC has a state of the art computer room with keycard access, raised flooring, racks for mounting equipment, high-capacity air conditioning, and power provided by a battery backed-up building uninterruptable power supply. When a customer requests server space at the VCU Computer Center Pocahontas primary site first consideration will be to place the server in a suitable Virtual Machine environment. If the application is deemed to not be appropriate for a Virtual Machine environment the application will then be considered for deployment on a physical server. These decisions are made on a case by case basis with emphasis being placed on utilizing one of the Virtual Machine environments in order to conserve overall data center resources. Individuals and departments can move their servers to VCUCC and take advantage of the superior facilities. Please see http://www.ts.vcu.edu/kb/1361.html for more information.

 

    Server Administration

To keep servers working and secure, maintenance is required. However, this requires time and knowledge about operating systems, networking, and applications. VCUCC has a team of experts who can provide administration and management of your servers, relieving you of the burden and high expense of a dedicated person for these tasks. VCUCC will consult with you and work out an agreement to manage as much or as little as you need.

    Database Administration

To keep databases running safe, effective, and efficient, a knowledgeable Database Administrator is essential. The VCU Computer Center (VCUCC) has a team of experts who can provide database administration for your Oracle, SQL Server, and mySQL databases.

Database services that we offer include installation of database software and patches, backup and recovery, security, and performance tuning.  VCUCC will consult with you and work out an agreement to manage as much or as little as you need. 

Contact the VCUCC DBA staff for more detail or if you have questions about the database services provide by the VCUCC.

    Oracle

Oracle Services:  VCUCC provides Oracle DBA support to Technology Services and other Administrative units with Oracle database servers, which include Linux and Windows operating systems. These services include: Oracle instance (database server software) and database installation; backup and recovery; performance tuning and monitoring; bulk data transfer to a test or development instance; and, advice on file system size and layout for Oracle database data files. VCUCC staff have experience with Oracle’s RMAN and can offer TSM/TDP options to tape or backup to local disk file systems.

Site License:  VCU has a University site license for Oracle database software. Oracle database and client software is available for download.  A free OTN (Oracle Technology Network) account is required. Oracle’s MetaLink is the source for Oracle database patches; detailed technical documents; and where SRs (Service Requests) can be opened.  A separate account is necessary for MetaLink. The VCUCC Lead DBA is the MetaLink administrator for VCU.  Requests for MetaLink accounts must be approved via email by the MetaLink administrator. MetaLink access will be considered on a case by case basis. In most cases, a patch can be provided to the requestor by VCUCC DBA staff without the requestor having to request a MetaLink account.

Contact the VCUCC DBA staff for more detail or if you have questions about the Oracle database services provide by the VCUCC.

    mySQL

MySQL Database Services: VCU Computing Center (VCUCC) has servers dedicated to general purpose departmental MySQL databases as well as REDCap applications.

VCUCC has two MySQL servers: one for sensitive data and one for "normal" non-sensitive data.  This database resource is for departmental use only with either type of data.  Current resources have limited the VCUCC responsibility to software installation and maintenance, backup and recovery, database creation, and MySQL account creation. Application support is not available.  Access to the server is limited to on-campus or through VPN.

Contact the VCUCC DBA Staff for more details or if you have questions about the MySQL database services.

VCU’s MySQL Frequently Asked Questions:

  • How can I get a MySQL database?
    • Go to the VCU Online Support at http://supportcenter.vcu.edu to create a Remedy ticket requesting a MySQL database
    • Enter your VCU eID and password, the choose the Remedy Requester under the Quick Links on the left of the page
    • Then choose the Create Request.
    • Next to the “I need Assistance From/With” text box, click on the box to display a list of choices. Choose Database.
    • Continue to fill out the form and submit upon completion.
    • You will be contacted if there are any questions or when the database has been created and is available for use.
  • How do I get a MySQL account?
    • When you request a MySQL database, an administrative MySQL ID (the database owner) will be created. It is up to that administrator to identify any other necessary MySQL accounts for the VCUCC staff to create.
    • These accounts are limited to use on campus or through VPN.
  • What kind of support does VCU Computing Center provide?
    • The VCUCC is responsible for installation and maintenance of the MySQL server and database.
    • Database creation, MySQL account creation, backups and recovery.
    • No application support is available at this time.
    • Pointers to documentation and how-to's will be maintained.
  • Are there any MySQL database management tools available?
    The following is a partial list of GUI tools:

Useful websites for MySQL:

    SQL Server

SQL Server Services:  The VCU Computer Center (VCUCC) provides SQL Server DBA support to Technology Services and other Administrative units within the University. We currently maintain five SQL Servers for shared use:

Services include backup and recovery, performance tuning and monitoring and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) creation and maintenance. We currently back-up all SQL Server databases using IBM's Tivoli Data Protection (TDP) utility and backup tapes are taken off-site nightly. Transaction log back-ups are arranged on a case by case basis depending on the needs of the customer and the application. We also have experience setting-up and maintaining replication between multiple SQL Servers as well as database mirroring to a hot standby server in Harris Hall. In addition, the production instances are configured as clusters for high availability.

How can I get a SQL Server database?

  • Go to the VCU Online Support at http://supportcenter.vcu.edu to create a Remedy ticket requesting a SQL Server database.
  • Enter your VCU eID and password, the choose the Remedy Requester under the Quick Links on the left of the page.
  • Then choose the Create Request.
  • Next to the “I need Assistance From/With” text box, click the box to display a list of choices. Choose Database.
  • Continue to fill-out the form and submit upon completion.
  • You will be contacted if there are any questions or when the database has been created and is available for use.

If you need the SQL Server Management Studio, please download SQL Server Express and install the client tools.

Contact the VCUCC DBA staff for more detail or if you have questions about the SQL Server database services provide by the VCUCC.

    Managed Service Provisioning

Need a place to share files or host an application? VCUCC can simplfy the whole process for you. Through consultation with a VCUCC expert, we can determine your requirements, and purchase and manage a server for you. You don't have to guess about what you need or worry about setup and maintenance anymore.


    Disaster Recovery

Most services provided by servers at the University are essential for operations, and some are critical and should never suffer an unplanned outage. However, there is always the threat of loss of power for extended periods, network connections going down, or physical events like fire. VCUCC has a satellite hot-site facility that can help plan for these circumstances. With the same positive attributes as the VCUCC computer room, this facility can provide a place for hosting redundant servers and storage so mission-critical systems can continue to function. Talk with VCUCC about your needs for disaster planning and this hot-site could be part of the solution.


    Storage Area Networking

Some of VCUCC's SAN disk units

Do you have large or evolving storage needs? VCUCC has implemented a storage area network (SAN) that could help meet these needs. Based on Fibre Channel SAN technology from leading vendors, VCUCC's SAN currently hosts terabytes of storage capacity with room to grow for the future. By using an allocation of storage from this SAN, disk volumes can be expanded on the fly when increased capacity is needed. SAN RAID technology can provide mirroring and striping to improve your application's disk performance and data security. Contact VCUCC today to learn more about how SAN technology can meet your needs.

 

 

 

 

    Backup Solutions

inside VCUCC's tape library system

The VCUCC has implemented Tivoli Storage Manager Software to provide advanced backup capabilities to clients for backup of disk and database storage. Backups are made to a high capacity Automatic Tape Library (ATL) which the university uses to provide backup and recovery services to a variety of users. The library has over 5 petabytes of capacity and with SAN connectivity, VCUCC's backup system can meet most needs for backup and archiving data. Charges for backup services are based on the cost of Tivoli licensing and the cost of storage media. The charges are designed to recoup costs to the data center.

Details for Archive Services pricing are available upon request.

Click here to view the UCC Schedule of Fees.

Click here to view the Tivoli Storage Manager retention standard.

Contact VCUCC for more information about how we can help you can meet your backup requirements.

    System Monitoring and Availability

VCUCC's Big Brother website provides system information around the clock


The VCUCC NOC staff monitors the server environment 24 X 7 through the use of the Hobbit monitoring system. Hobbit allows the staff to provide real-time information about individual system up time and status. Alerts can be configured to provide e-mail and pager notification of various system issues, so you will always know the status of your system. Most servers at VCUCC are monitored through Hobbit. Monitoring can be tailored to match your requirements.

Contact VCUCC to learn more about Hobbit monitoring and how it can put you in control of your servers.

You can view the public Hobbit server here: http://orwell.cns.vcu.edu/