University Times

As the University replaces its old, "thin-wire" computer ports with new ones that will deliver billion bit-capacity service to every campus building, Pitt personnel will no longer be permitted to connect more than one computer to a port.

At Senate Council on April 14, Provost James Maher cited two reasons for the University's new, one-computer-per-port policy:

* Network security. If Pitt allowed multiple connections to a single port, the University could not ensure network security at a level that would allow the UPMC Health System to comply with new federal regulations on patient-confidentiality, and yet remain connected to Pitt researchers in a way that would allow those researchers to do their work. "Daisy-chaining computers to a single port represents a serious challenge to the security integrity of the network," the provost said.

* Network speed. In addition to replacing thin-wire ports, the point of the upgrade is to create a truly high-speed network, Maher said. "We're delivering gigabit service to every building, and the functioning of a high-speed network is seriously compromised by units that have multiple connections to single ports."

Each of those reasons would be sufficient for insisting on dedicated ports for each computer, said Maher.

Port charges may be coming down, he added. Computing Services and Systems Development is considering "a significant reduction in the cost of a port, and they intend to make it retroactive to Jan. 1, when the port charges came on," the provost said.

Cost reductions would result from installing uniform ports and charging a single price per port — which can only be done if each port will be handling a single computer, Maher said.

"The cost is a challenge," he allowed, "and we have been working with the responsibility units to try to find ways to get some reasonable schedule for the switchover and yet not break anybody's budget."

Maher urged faculty to consider whether all of their computers really need to be connected to Pitt's network. Of the 20 computers in his own lab, he said, only two are on the network.

In other Senate Council business, Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and six other administrative members of Council abstained from an otherwise unanimous (19-0) vote approving a resolution on indemnification of Pitt employees in research misconduct cases.

The resolution recommended increasing from $15,000 to $30,000 the maximum amount that Pitt will reimburse employees for legal fees incurred in successfully defending themselves, during in-house proceedings, against research misconduct charges.

Nordenberg said he would discuss the proposal with attorneys in Pitt's General Counsel's office. "I'm not opposed to [the resolution]," the chancellor said, prior to the vote. "But having just seen it, I don't know if the numbers make sense or not."

— Bruce Steele