PUKO, Rostislav, PETRENKO, Yury, SATIKOV, Igor, SATIKOV, Maxim & PETRENKO, Andre
220027, F.Scorina av., 65, Byelorussian State Polytechnics Academy, Republic of Belarus, ypetrenko@bspa.unibel.by
Abstract: in the process of developing university communication and information systems, realized today as Intranets, one must take care to design an Intranet that meets the special requirements of educational institutions. New approaches must be taken to traditional computing, communications, and information archiving and retrieval tasks. Like an Internet, which solves telecommunication problems and provides effective search tools around the world, Intranet implements similar technologies on the scale of single organization, tailored to the needs of that organization. Any institution of higher education holds an enormous amount of information. Some part of it is confidential and is accessed only with appropriate authorization security, while other information needs to be distributed as fast as possible to everyone. The majority of the information is somewhere inbetween. It consists of internal documents that are neither strictly confidential, nor entirely public. An Intranet's networking and technical implementation must provide fast and reliable means of exchanging this data subject to the appropriate restrictions.
The paper addresses the following requirements: availability of data on every workplace, acceptable response time, standard representation of outgoing information, overcoming territorial barriers (using the Internet to connect different domains of the Intranet), scaling and services flexibility (possibility of continuous development and expansion of the Intranet).
We discuss the alternatives of distributed or centralized (hierarchical) networking models. In the first case, each workgroup publishes information on its own Intranet server. This model gives workgroups a great deal of local control, but must include administrative and search systems that are common to the entire Intranet. In the latter case, several powerful servers are used, which are centrally administrated and maintained. This scheme simplifies administration, increases reliability and allows greater control of structural unification. We evaluate the tradeoffs between these two approaches and suggest compromises that realize acceptable levels of both local control and centralized server efficiency.
Keywords: university, Intranet, network, workgroup, server
Conception of Intranet illustrates the new approach to the old tasks. Intranet technology, much like the Internet, which is solving telecommunication tasks and provides an effective information searching capabilities around the world, is solving the same problems within one organization or corporation.
Despite the fact that Intranet is only one part of many different informational technologies, many organizations rely on Intranet as a tool that can significantly improve performance and fulfill informational needs of their employees.
Modern University Level School (ULS) consists of many departments, branches, sectors and offices, all of them taking some parts in the collective work and exchanging information in progress. To put it in another words, it is an enormous amount of internal information. Some part of this information is strictly confidential, some part need to be delivered to the end user as fast as possible. But most of the information is usual office documents – not confidential, but not public either.
Intranet network is capable of fast information delivery, supporting of internal communications and providing access to the various databases, such as department databases, faculties databases, central database, etc. The main problem is that this information is stored in variety of formats – it can be powerful databases, running on servers, and it can be collections of spreadsheet documents, which are stored on the local PCs. Also it can be stored in different text formats (different forms, different text editors, etc.). Intranet network structure and protocols chosen must provide unified data exchange capabilities in the open technology environment.
We can define Intranet as corporate-level toolkit for information exchange based on such standard Internet technologies as e-mail, HTTP, TCP/IP, etc. In the broader sense term ‘Intranet’ can be used for describing the networks, which uses e-mail or client-server database for data exchange. Let’s define the requirements for the Intranet network:
When building an Intranet network we need to utilize all existing works and technologies. There are several key things, which we must think about. One of them is the choice between distributed or centralized network models. In the case of distributed system we have the following:
Each workgroup (faculty, department, sector or laboratory) is publishing their information on their own servers, making it accessible for others (at least in read-only mode). This network structure must have one centralized search engine, which have access to all Intranet servers. Administrating tasks have to be done separately on each of the servers. For this type of network Microsoft Internet Information Server can be used, which is included in the standard Windows NT package. Also there are several third-party solutions, which can be used on less powerful PCs working under Windows 9x/NT.
In the case of centralized network model one or several powerful servers are used, and all of them are administrated and maintained from one point. This model simplifies administrating and managing tasks, improves reliability and gives the possibility to maintain unified data structure. Small group of administrators and developers sets up and maintain servers, and information for the different parts of the site is provided by the workgroups.
There are also many mixed variants of Intranet models, which could utilize parts from both distributed and centralized models.
Common practice is to draw the line between small (office) and big (corporate) Intranet networks. Small office networks are used primarily for providing access from several user PC’s to one local server. There are plenty of freeware and shareware servers, which can be used for this purpose. This software is available for the most of hardware platforms and network operating systems, e.g. Windows NT/9x, MacOS and different brands of Unix. Intranets are capable of running on relatively slow networks, such as Arcnet and AppleTalk, but Ethernet or Token Ring networks are preferable.
In the case of Belorussian State Polytechnic Academy (BSPA), which has many buildings, corporate Intranet model was chosen. Network is based on the fiber optics as you can see on Fig. 1.
Network is connected to the Internet via Unibel, which is WAN of Ministry of Education of Belarus. Despite the great financial difficulties, it was decided to implement all different Internet/Intranet in one system. One dedicated Web-server is used, which also has the functionality to work as e-mail server. Proper LAN functioning is maintained by Central Communication Station (CCS), as shown on Fig. 2. This station also hosted the following:
During determination of necessary software the following operational systems and applied software were analyzed: Novell Netware, Linux, MS Windows NT.
Windows NT is selected as a base as having the developed graphic interface and easiest in assimilation by the users. By selection availability of appropriate applied software also was taken into account.
The information processing in a network (grid) Intranet bases on methods and means of office automation:
The informational - software of automation in a network Intranet can be subdivided on the following categories:
The authors want to pay attention to the following from known means.
Package Microsoft Office for Windows 95 is characterized by a unified set of applications for automation of activity and is possible in two versions. Microsoft Office Standard has Microsoft Excel for creation of spreadsheets, word processor Microsoft Word, system of preparation of presentations Microsoft Power Point and scheduler Microsoft Schedule. Plus to those Microsoft Office Professional has Microsoft Access, also. The user receives access to mail station Microsoft Exchange for exchange by faxes and electron letters.
The system Lotus Notes represents a platform of a type " the client - server " (Fig. 3), employee for development and accommodation of the applications of a class GroupWare based on e-mail. It allows the users to receive, to watch, jointly to use and to create the documentary information (text, image, video and sound), received from various sources, such as applied and operating systems, scanners or fax - vehicle.
The system Lotus Notes granites the users network access through any graphic user's interface used by them, (Windows, Mac, OS/2, Unix).
Lotus Notes provides:
The working user Workspace of a system Lotus Notes is based on the graphic user interface and actuates six fixed screen windows, in which the isotypes of bases of the documents are placed.
Base of the documents Notes is means of storage of the documents, with the help of which the users can call to watch, to store and to transform the information. The complex documents form and are renovated with the help of forms Notes Forms and built-in editor.
Our organization now is only at the first stage of development of electron document circulation within the limits of a network Intranet and though there are first reassuring outcomes of activity of a system Lotus Notes, still early to speak about completion of this activity.
The large value for our organization has use of capabilities Internet - technologies immediately in educational process. Especially is acute per the last years the shortage of the manuals and textbooks is felt. Here just system Lotus Notes also exhibits itself, on the basis of which the development of electron textbooks, directories, allowances on fulfillment of laboratory activities etc. is conducted
The network Intranet makes accessible development of one faculty (laboratory) for other users. Especially is remarkable that the students participate in this activity with large enthusiasm, from what the double advantage is received: training to information technologies and subject of knowledge.
The authors would like to express their appreciation the Local Area Network Department members of Faculty of Information Technologies and Robotics of Byelorussian State Polytechnics Academy.
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