University data center

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As University Computer Center (URZ), the data center is a university or technical college in Germany called. It provides services in the field of electronic communication and information processing for all university members.

The names of the data centers are inconsistent. The most common are still the traditional names that contain the term data center (RZ), such as university, college or regional data center (e.g. LRZ ). Examples of newer names are center for information processing (see University of Münster ) or computing and communication center. By combining with the tasks of a media center or library, z. B. Centers for information and media technology or communication and information centers (e.g. kiz ) emerged.

history

The mainframe era

Computer developments began at some universities in the 1950s. From the mid-1950s onwards, industrially manufactured computers - later referred to as mainframes - were used and used by users for all kinds of electronic data processing ( EDP ). These computers did not yet have an operating system, had to be programmed by the users in assembly language and even operated by them. The first operating systems introduced batch processing at the end of the 1950s ; Programs and data had to be made available on punched tape or punched cards, and the computers were operated by operators. Users still had to come to the data center to work with the computer; their programming was made easier by using higher-level programming languages ​​such as Fortran or ALGOL .

The advancing development of the operating systems in the 1960s brought multi-user operation and dialog operation in addition to batch operation. The use of terminals in the faculties / departments enabled the user to access the computer at least from close to their own workstation. Data stations also made it possible to enter programs and output results remotely. Program libraries and ready-to- use application software , for example for word processing and statistics, became available. However, the use of computers only slowly spread from the technical and scientific subject areas to other subject areas, until the end of the 1970s the number of users - lecturers, students and university employees - reached the order of 1,000.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) recognized the importance of computing systems early on and initially promoted computer developments. In 1951 she founded the Commission for Computing Systems (KfR), which provided technical advice and assessment when selecting computers. Since 1979 the KfR has been preparing recommendations for equipping universities with IT capacity for the next five years, including recommendations for the tasks of the computer centers. Such recommendations are still in place today under the new name of the Commission.

The first computers were fully funded by the DFG and made available to universities on loan. A special case was the federal government's regional program, under which, from the late 1960s, mainframes were 85% from the federal government and only 15% from the respective state; associated with this was at the same time a promotion of the German computer industry. From the 1970s onwards, the procurement of computers as large devices became the rule within the framework of the University Building Promotion Act ( HBFG ), under which the federal and state governments each took on half of the financing. Mainframe leasing was rare at universities.

In the beginning it was often institutes of mathematics or physics in which the computers were installed; they initially allowed scientists from other institutes to use it, but they could not do so on a permanent basis. In 1962, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs ( KMK ) decided on “Principles for the establishment and operation of university computer centers”. The computer center was thus defined as a “central facility” across the country, independent of faculties, similar to the university library ; At the same time, the tasks of the data center were defined. From the 1970s, the data centers are in all state universities present and in Land legislation was anchored while nowadays i. A. subject to university autonomy.

Right from the start, the tasks of the data center included training users: programming courses, an introduction to operating systems, as well as workshops and courses on the most important application systems.

In the working group of heads of scientific data centers ( ALWR ), a nationwide cooperation had taken place from 1972. And because universities are a state issue, appropriate working groups have been set up at the state level. In addition, since the first days of the mainframe computer there were user groups that enabled the exchange of experiences with colleagues from other data centers, especially from business, industry and authorities. These diverse contacts should prove to be extremely beneficial for the development of a nationwide scientific network including international connections.

The spread of computers and networks

In the 1970s, the first minicomputers were procured outside of the data centers, they competed with the mainframes but were sometimes connected to them for data exchange. From the 1980s onwards, the development was stormy: PCs replaced the "stupid" terminals with which programs and data could only be input or output in text form; Terminal emulations made it possible. Then there was the file transfer between PC and mainframe. However, the breakthrough came only with PCs with graphic capabilities as well as application software that was becoming ever more extensive and with which many former mainframe applications could now be carried out with the PC. The users became independent, they had their own computers and learned that maintaining them cost not only money but also labor. In addition, a non-networked PC seemed quite lonely after one had already become familiar with communication services such as e-mail or file transfer in the mainframe environment . This created the need for a university-wide data network.

More and more minicomputers were added to mainframes, and both types were eventually replaced by servers ; At the same time, there was the transition from the many manufacturer-specific operating systems to Unix , later Linux . Workstations temporarily played a role in workstation computers before PCs finally caught on almost everywhere. The client-server model became common practice . In order to supply the decentralized areas, i. H. of the faculties / departments, several workstation computers could be procured by combining them as large devices within the framework of the HBFG (see above), the DFG provided appropriate regulations: so-called CIP pools for teaching could be procured from 1984, WAP clusters for scientists from 1990.

The establishment of the university networks led the data centers to completely new territory at the beginning of the 1980s: As part of construction work (again in accordance with HBFG), cabling (e.g. coaxial cables or twisted pair cables for Ethernet ) had to be installed inside buildings and between the buildings Establish connections (generally fiber optic cables ), gradually according to needs and finally across the entire university. In the case of the network components (e.g. switches and routers ), which form the technical basis for setting up local networks ( LANs ) and connecting them (via the backbone ) to a complete computer network, several generation changes have already become necessary in order to meet the constantly increasing requirements To meet transmission capacity. And because there were no Internet service providers as yet, the establishment of a nationwide computer network required an initiative of one's own: The computer centers worked in the Association for the Promotion of a German Research Network (DFN-Verein), founded in 1984 ; After an excursion into the OSI world with federal funding, the first version of the science network went into operation in 1990 , which also supported the Internet protocols. This enabled the university networks to be integrated into the Internet and the coveted communication with US science networks.

At the end of the 1980s, the DFG recommended extensive decentralization of IT supply. The applications you submitted for assessment for the procurement of networked workstation computers had to provide their own server even if an existing one could have been used via the network. Faculties and departments did not follow these recommendations in order not to jeopardize their applications and the funds required for them. Although this promoted the necessary IT expansion on the one hand, it also led to increased personnel expenditure in the faculties and departments, which was justified and approved in the DFG recommendations with an additional professional qualification of those involved. This development was later halted because isolated IT supply solutions are often a hindrance; For some years now, it has only been possible to obtain them under certain conditions.

As a result of this change in tasks, the computer centers have developed into “Centers for Communication and Information Processing”, a designation that was reflected in the name of ZKI in 1993, the successor organization to the ALWR . The number of servers in a data center is now in the order of 100, that of the decentralized computers on the university network in the order of a few 10,000. As a result, the number of users has grown to some 10,000.

organization

The URZ is a central, i. H. Faculty or interdisciplinary institution of the university. As a rule, it reports directly to the university management, i. H. the rector or president who, for his advice and support, i. A. Establishes a CIO or a governing body with a CIO function. On behalf of the university management, this CIO makes the fundamental decisions for user-friendly and economical IT operations and is responsible for the entire information management at the university. For the coordination of the services of the URZ with the needs and use of information technology (IT) in the faculties / departments there are i. A. an IT commission.

Usually a scientist or a university professor is appointed as the full-time head of the URZ. Scientists, engineers, technicians, programmers and student assistants in departments or work groups - such as B. Communication systems / computer networks, server systems as well as applications and service - active; The type and designation of these subdivisions are inconsistent.

tasks

The central (i.e. in the URZ) and decentralized (outside of the URZ) tasks are performed cooperatively by the URZ and those responsible for the faculties / departments (as well as other organizational units). The main tasks of the URZ include:

  • Planning, expansion, operation and support of the university network (local landline and radio networks, backbone or core network, DFN / Internet connection, ...)
  • If necessary, operation and support of the telephone system (voice-data integration, ...)
  • Planning, procurement, operation, support and continuous replacement of IT systems (workstation computers for students and scientists, decentralized and central servers, peripheral devices, ...)
  • possibly operation and support of audio-visual technology
  • Selection, procurement, use and maintenance of software (operating systems, user software, ...)
  • User administration
  • Provision of network-based services (e-mail, web, e-learning, ...)
  • High performance computing
  • Data storage and data backup (file server, backup, archiving, ...)
  • IT security and protection against attacks

The other tasks of the URZ include the cooperation with other data centers, the ongoing procurement of information about the latest IT developments, the support of the university management, the IT commission and the CIO. The URZ is involved in working groups of scientific data centers in its own federal state, within the framework of the ZKI (Centers for Communication and Information Processing in Teaching and Research), DFN (Association for the Promotion of a German Research Network ) and DINI (German Initiative for Network Information ).

The URZ creates and distributes instructions and documentation on services and resources, it advises users, offers training and courses as well as software training, occasionally imparts media skills and trains apprentices in IT professions. It provides consumables through bulk purchase and passes them on to members of the university at low cost.

Applied research

Although the data centers are primarily responsible for providing services, some of them carry out applied research in information technology (IT). This makes sense, because there is a lot of knowledge of IT problems due to day-to-day operations, so that employees have knowledge of necessary developments. The resources necessary for further development are tapped with the university's own funds as well as the DFG, the DFN-Verein, the BMBF or the EU, but also together with companies. Research benefits universities and outsiders; At the same time, it motivates the employees involved because they can develop new things.

Current developments

Library, media center (if available), administration and computer center work together more and more, because services are required that are necessary for successful research and teaching in overlapping areas of information, communication and media. In small universities, the library and data center were even merged, while larger universities found more appropriate forms of joint effort.

Numerous current developments have been taken up by the data centers in recent years, of which only a few are to be mentioned here:

  • Identity management : User administrations that have not yet been linked to one another are merged with identity management, including associated contact information, roles and (access) rights. This gives users automatic access to all systems to which they are entitled, without further applications or administrative processes. As part of the introduction of identity management, complex measures have to be implemented and a. Clarify privacy issues.
  • Web portals , single sign-on , search engines and process-oriented processing: As an integration platform, web portals offer heterogeneous content, applications and services under a uniform surface and increase work efficiency. With the single sign-on, different applications can be started without having to log in again. The trend is moving away from the individual application and towards a chain of processing steps in a processing process; this saves human intervention and enables an automatic data flow from application to application. Comprehensive research options using powerful search engines improve quick and more accurate access to web data.
  • Content management systems : In order for a university's website to be uniform and easy to use, the necessary information - where it arises - must be able to be entered directly and automatically by as many responsible persons as possible. Content management systems help with this.
  • Simulations and Virtual Reality : Simulations have always been carried out on computers. At some universities these are supported by three-dimensional representations of the results in the form of virtual reality.
  • D-Grid : With Grid, you can provide cross-university access to resources such as B. computers, memories, applications and data and thus opens up an almost infinite amount of computing and storage capacity.
  • Public relations : Mission statements describe what the URZ is as the basis for a corporate identity, what it wants to achieve, what it does, how it works and where its particular strengths lie. Service catalogs provide information on the reliability of the services using the IT Infrastructure Library ( ITIL ). Surveys and evaluations are intended to assess the services and satisfaction of the users, and the public is informed in annual reports and press releases.

Web links

References and comments

  1. There are around 85 university data centers with more than 30 different names.
  2. DERA at the TH Darmstadt, D-Series in Dresden and PERM at the TU Munich; G1 at the MPI for Physics Göttingen should also be mentioned .
  3. z. B. Zuse Z22 and IBM 650
  4. Requirement for investment funds for the procurement of data processing systems for the universities of the Federal Republic of Germany in the years 1980 to 1984 (PDF; 1.8 MB) DFG, Recommendation of the Commission for Computer Systems, Bonn / Bad Godesberg, May 1979.
  5. a b Information processing at universities - organization, services and systems (PDF; 436 kB) DFG, Recommendations of the Commission for IT Infrastructure for 2011–2015, Bonn 2010.
  6. P. Grosse, W. Held, J. Radloff, G. Tomaselli: History of the cooperation between the computer centers in research and teaching. PIK Volume 33, 2010, Issue 1.
  7. z. B. CUG, en: DECUS , ECUDU, SAVE, en: SHARE (computing) and STARG
  8. ^ On the equipment of universities in the Federal Republic of Germany with data processing capacity for the years 1988 to 1991 . (PDF; 931 kB) DFG, Commission for Computing Systems, Bonn, January 1988.
  9. s. further cooperation under ALWR .