Squirrels and backhoes are just a few of the things that can cause havoc for the university’s core fiber network. Over the past year, the network has fallen victim to squirrels chewing through fiber cables and construction backhoes inadvertently digging in the wrong place. Both could have caused network outages for U-M, but because of the redundant design… Read More »
U-M’s network Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) now protects the recently launched MSetup wireless network from malicious internet traffic.
MSetup enables the campus community to connect many more wireless devices to the U-M network than ever before—including smart speakers, wearables, game consoles, and more.
Members of the ITS CITP (Cloud Infrastructure Transformation Program) technical team, working with the ITS Hostmaster, have created a Domain Name Service (DNS) authoritative server in Amazon Web Services (AWS) to increase resiliency. There are two types of DNS servers: resolvers and authoritative. Computers send DNS questions (queries) to a DNS resolver. The resolver then finds the right… Read More »
Michigan basketball players, athletics staff, and Wolverine fans are benefiting from improved Verizon cellular service at Crisler Center this season. ITS partnered with Verizon, Facilities & Operations, and Athletics to install a Distributed Antenna System in Crisler Center that went live just before the first game. Antennas throughout the arena, concourse, and player development facilities will enhance overall… Read More »
The ITS Network team has successfully delivered a new ITS network in the North Campus Data Center (NCDC). Because the network was brand new, the teams explored some exciting network advancements as part of the project, including: adopting more modern networking practices, and including a network architecture that leverages EVPN-VXLAN in lieu of less-stable, legacy protocols. In addition… Read More »
In February, ITS Infrastructure made a change to MWireless in ITS buildings to reduce network congestion and provide a more reliable wireless experience by switching to 5GHz exclusively. Later in April, the same change was made at Michigan Ross with success. Starting October 15, 2018, the change will be in effect campus-wide. The decision was made by the… Read More »
Kudos to the ITS UMnet team and our Michigan IT partners across the Ann Arbor campus for an effort that will result in a more secure and reliable UMnet enterprise network. In August, 2016, ITS Network Engineering audited the UMnet enterprise network and identified 300 instances where VLANs (virtual local area network) had been spanned across two or… Read More »
The institutionally owned devices we use to do our work are kept secure by connecting regularly to the internal U-M network. Connecting ensures that our devices receive the patches and anti-virus protection that are typically installed automatically and daily whenever we are logged in. Effective August 16, 2018, Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) will implement a policy… Read More »
A team from Dearborn’s Information Technology Services were among more than 75 staff members honored with Chancellor’s Staff Recognition Awards. Rex Chang, Chundao Che, Emily Hamilton, Sherie Modelski, and Jerry Van Couwenberghe from the Facilities ELB Hub won the exceptional team award. The award recognized their work with the Engineering Lab Building construction and renovation. The team led the effort… Read More »
It wasn’t an earthquake, but it sure shook things up. The start of a building renovation for the Engineering Lab Building (ELB) required moving the network connection for the Dearborn campus. A collaborative team built of Dearborn ITS, Merit, and Ann Arbor ITS Infrastructure created new network paths that not only added redundancy and stability, but they did… Read More »
Michigan Medicine recently achieved a significant goal of ensuring that 100 percent of all devices connecting to its internal network by wire are accounted for, categorized by device type, and secured with the necessary protocols required to protect two-way communication from cyberattacks. A program to enhance network security and identify all electronic equipment connecting to Michigan Medicine internal resources… Read More »
ITS is testing a change to “MWireless”—most devices stay connected using the mainstream 5GHz frequency, but older devices that only support 2.4GHz WiFi must connect to “eduroam”
If you use a wireless internet connection at home, secure your network so that only those you allow can access it. There are two basic steps to securing your home wireless connections: Update all your Internet-enabled devices with the latest operating systems, web browsers, and security software. This includes any mobile devices that access your wireless network, such as… Read More »
This past year, UM-Flint ITS began a push to overhaul and upgrade the wireless network on the Flint campus. The wireless infrastructure upgrade entered phase one as the equipment purchased in 2010 has finally reached the end of life and end of support stage. Phase one of the project included all university-owned buildings south of the Flint River,… Read More »
In an effort to further secure and reduce the complexity of U-M networks, ITS Infrastructure has worked for the past year with unit IT representatives to change the IP addresses of U-M’s domain name system (DNS) resolver servers from public to private. The goals of the project were to: Improve security by reducing internet threats that exploit DNS resolvers.… Read More »
The first thing you notice when entering West Ann Arbor-Parkland Plaza health center might be the welcome desk, floor-to-ceiling windows, or charming artwork. It probably isn’t the WiFi access points, label printers, or network cables. Randy Smith, a network architect with Health Information Technology & Services (HITS), knows how integral that technology is to the health center’s day-to-day… Read More »
What if circumventing internet censorship didn’t rely on some app or service provider that could eventually get blocked, but was instead built into the very core of the internet itself? After six years in development, three research groups including the University of Michigan have joined forces to conduct real-world tests of an experimental new technique called “refraction networking.” They… Read More »
The MiWorkspace team at Information and Technology Services (ITS) worked with Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) to configure MiWorkspace computers to connect to the Michigan Medicine wired network. Michigan Medicine is increasing security for their wired networks by requiring trusted university devices contain a specific security protocol. MiWorkspace computers in the following units are now configured to… Read More »
Starting this past semester and leading into spring, Flint ITS has begun a major upgrade to the campus WiFi network. This upgrade will provide the highest standards of wireless network performance and security, as well as providing service to a greater number of wireless devices. At this time, ITS has performed upgrades or installed network in the first… Read More »