ITAC Teleconference - August 11, 2006 -- 11:00 am -- 1:00 pm ET

Below is the "connect" information for the ITAC teleconference/WebEx session. Please forward it to anyone else who should be invited to participate in the meeting:

WebEx Connect Information:

Per your request, the following conference has been confirmed. I have also reserved the Office of Water Quality conference room 5A-334 for Friday, August 11, 2006 at 9:00 - 2:00 p.m. If you wish to change your meeting time or day, please let me know in advance.

Conference: ITAC
Software Application: WebEx
Host: Kym Burns - 703-648-5609
Date: Friday, August 11, 2006
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Eastern
Dial In Number: 1-888-790-8923
Conference Code/Passcode: 57627#
OWI Coordinator: Dottie Harris - 703-648-5257
Conference Room: 5A-334

ITAC membership email abbreviation:   GS-W ITAC

Attendees:

The following members attended today's cyber conference call:

Agenda and Discussion Notes:

1. Lotus Server Consolidation (invited guest Patty Damon)
   
   Descripton:
   • The USGS Lotus Notes team will be consolidating their email servers from 26 to 8.
   • Most of these servers are located in WRD sites.
   • The current infrastructure was purchased in 1999.
   • This upgrade will reduce patch vulnerability and speed up performance.
   • This will be a seamless transition to most users.
   • They will be base lining prior to upgrades so that traffic and usage can be measured
   • Three major concerns are LAN (Security), ESN (Geonet 3), and Resistance.
   • The Lotus team was looking for support from ITAC and it was expressed that ITAC is on board with the upcoming purchases and changes.

   Terri will ask Patty to give a update to ITAC at the next face to face in October. She will check Patty’s availability for Wednesday morning.

2. FL Face to Face meeting (invited guests Gail Kalen and Edgard Hernandez)
   
   • FL is integrated Science Center
   • In the process of merging NWIS databases
   • Local communication –
     • Science Center Director (Associate Director) will present
     • SA point of view – ½ hour to and hour presentation
     • Science Center presentation – ½ day – highlight good examples of IT/Field Equipment/Real Time Data/Unique approaches to how you do work.
     • Science Center Director sits in Orlando (new to the position) – not necessary – but should be invited
     • Dave Brown is also the Data Chief for all of FL
     • Researchers have unique projects – 1 st day Science presentations
     • Give the majority of the first day for presentations
     • They can provide the projects to ITAC and we can choose
     • Meeting in the large conference room
     • If there is no coffee on site ITAC members will chip in if provided or buy before we get there.
     • Snack Machines/Soda Machines are on site
     • Tour of the site (not a part of the official meeting)
     • Hours start at 8AM on Tuesday Morning and go through 10am on Thursday.
     • Tuesday – working with the site
     • Wednesday – working with Stephen King/Paul Exter, and any other invited guests
     • Thursday – wrap up
     • * Gail and Edgar will come up with a proposal
     • We will go over proposal on the September 8 th conference call and fine tune on the Oct call
     • Kym will email Gail and Edgar with details
       
     • Topics
       • Science Center Director (Acting Associate Director – Dave Brown) gives overview
       • Town Hall Meeting – Everyone is invited – Questions welcomed
       • Provide feedback on Questions
     • Guests
3. Instant Messaging - ESN to block IM at Internet gateways
   

   Enterprise Services Network

   From Paul Exter - “My question to ITAC: If the USGS was forced to reduce our IM users to only internal traffic, does ITAC see this as a major distribution to the day to day work of WRD? I can use your feedback in building our case to DOI, when that time comes. The use of vpn then IM would be possible. Additionally, by next week, we will likely stand up a team to produce a plan of how the USGS can implement this policy and what we would need to document our legitimate uses of IM (waiver process). We will need representation from each discipline on this, so ITAC maybe the best source for this representation. You know I like to battle, but I do not see us winning this battle for all USGS users to be able to use IM to the internet.”

   We will not know how many people use it with outside sources unless we go out and ask via a data call.

   If the ban is put on you will still be able to use Sametime (only) via VPN, not

   **What’s the business case of external use of this and what are the exception rules.
   
   Scott will draft up a data call and ITAC members will send out to their cost centers – in a sentence or two do they have a business case to use external IM – Deadline for responses from field: August 23 rd, 2006. Responses due to Scott by August 25, 2006. Then Scott will compile and give to Paul before August 28, 2006.
   
   Terri will ask Paul if the office of Communications has weighed in on this response
   
4. Howard's templates - question is how are we planning to communicate the availability of these templates to the WSCs?
   

   The templates are pretty much done. They are currently working on the supporting documentation. They are working on the documentation to ensure it is robust enough for someone with not a lot of web experience to understand.

   The templates are easy to get out (who have a well populated web staff)

   If there was something to send out for comment/feedback

   Critical to get input from Science Center’s.

   How do these web templates differ from the General templates?

   This would be the Water look and feel. Most like to be able to go from State to State and everything is in the same spot. (Show how one State looks like another)
   
   Chris will provide to Katherine next week a short description in email form of what it is what it looks like, positive attributes, and example of easy changes, including examples (Show how one State looks like another). She will send to the lead Director in each region and ask for comments/buy in, and explain that this is a high level template, still room for their own input.

5. Action Items

   Updates will be posted on the ITAC website
   
6. Next Call – September 8, 2006

   Oct Call – October ?

   Face to Face – October 24 – 26, 2006

   Wednesday October 25 th for Patty to update for EMS.

Action Items:

Aug2006.cc.1: Terri will ask Patty to give a update to ITAC at the next face to face in October. She will check Patty’s availability for Wednesday morning.

• 9/8/06 update – Patty and Daphne will call in. Terri would like to get a time on Wednesday in the AM (8-9am). Patty inquired on how much detail and does ITAC want another update to the consolidation. The presentation with everything would be about an hour.

Aug2006.cc.2: Scott will draft up a data call and ITAC members will send out to their cost centers – in a sentence or two do they have a business case to use external IM – Deadline for responses from field: August 23 rd, 2006. Responses due to Scott by August 25, 2006. Then Scott will compile and give to Paul before August 28, 2006.

• COMPLETED

Aug2006.cc.3: Chris will provide to Katherine next week a short description in email form of what it is what it looks like, positive attributes, and example of easy changes, including examples (Show how one State looks like another). She will send to the lead Director in each region and ask for comments/buy in, and explain that this is a high level template, still room for their own input.

• 9/8/06 – We have drafts completed.