News and Updates

Winter/Spring 2004-05 Newsletter

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Letter from the Editor

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Chemistry Computer Center's new quarterly newsletter.

In this newsletter, you will find tips from our Network Support Staff for solving computer- or network-related technical difficulties, and important information about new technology and upgrades in the Chemistry Department Network. News about updates to Computer Center hardware, information about available software, and other important notices will also be included.

Chemistry Computer Center Web site Makeover

The Chemistry Computer Center and Chemistry Department Network Web sites have been combined into one new Web site.

The new site, which was launched over winter break, includes many new features including updated information on computer troubleshooting, computational chemistry publications lists, and new photographs.

Thanks go to Emily Wixson, Chemistry Library, for assistance and guidance with the publication lists, Kara Hartmann, technical writer, for the Web site design, and everyone at the Chemistry Computer Center for their support.

Comphelp = Network and Computer Troubleshooting

Assistance with email, computing, networking, or other related technical difficulties can be requested as follows:

SMTP Configuration Changes

Recently, DoIT has changed their outbound SMTP service to require all users to authenticate before sending mail through a server. This change affects all those using wiscmail.wisc.edu as an outgoing SMTP server.

An active Net ID is required to use the DoIT server. More information

Alternatively, the Chemistry Department's SMTP server may be used if your machine is connected to the department network in the chemistry building. To use the department's STMP server, set your mail reader to smtp.chem.wisc.edu. Instructions for making this change.

If you have any questions, please contact comphelp at chem.wisc.edu or call 262-0536.

Keep Your Computer Spyware-Free

Recommended Downloads:

21st Century Network

DoIT is in the midst of working with the schools and colleges to upgrade the campus network. The Ethernet-based 21 st Century Network (XXICN) will help to decrease downtime and will increase reliability and security for the entire campus network.

For the campus-wide project, old cable is being replaced with cable that can run at gigabit speeds, about 1,000 network closets are being upgraded, and redundant features and an estimated 2,200 wireless access points are being added. Most of the 1,700 new switches for the XXICN are being provided through a sizable grant from Cisco Systems, Inc.

Currently, the chemistry department network is a switched 10/100 megabit per second Ethernet network that runs on Category 5e copper cabling. Upgrades to the chemistry network include the installation of new switches.

Each floor of the chemistry building is connected to a fiber optic network running at 1 gigabit per second. This network is also connected to the campus backbone via a 1 gigabit per second fiber optic link.

By the time the campus-wide upgrade is completed, fiber optic cabling will connect more than 180 campus buildings. The campus backbone has already been improved to run at 10 gigabits per second. This 10Gb backbone will allow increased transfer rates of large data files between campus buildings and beyond.

The XXICN will have many new features, such as Quality of Service, which will improve how voice and data files are transferred. Voice-over-IP for Internet telephony and expanded wireless features may be implemented in the future.

Coming Soon…Internet Protocol TV

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) technology delivers digital television and streaming video through a network right to your desktop. Once the 21 st Century Network (XXICN) is in place in a building, IPTV will become available.

The Digital Academic Television Network (DATN) recently replaced the Academic Television Network (ATN). DoIT plans to implement IPTV for all of the channels that appeared on the ATN. Using the free QuickTime-based player, faculty, staff, and students will be able to watch these channels on campus.

The chemistry building may have the XXICN in place by May 2005. The new high-speed network will provide the multicast connectivity and the other necessary capabilities to accommodate the high bandwidth required.

IPTV can be viewed on Windows, Macintosh, or UNIX/Linux platforms

Many of the channels that will be available on campus through DATN have Closed Captioning.

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