MERC

March 30, 2007, Institutional Representatives Meeting Notes

Tan-Tar-A, Room 62, Osage Beach, Mo., 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.

Welcome – Dr. Russell Helm, CIO, University of Central Missouri and Chair, MERC Board of Directors

Dr. Helm welcomed everyone to the meeting and then asked that attendees stand up and introduce themselves around the room.

• Robert Athearn,  East Central College
• Alan Barnett,  North Central Missouri College
• George Beshears,  Truman State University
• Gerard Bohlmann,  Concordia Seminary
• Todd   Bossaller,  Missouri Valley College
• Teresa  Fort,  Lincoln University
• Russell Helm,  University of Central Missouri
• Craig   Klimczak,  St Louis Community College
• Martin Knorr,  Harris-Stowe State University
• Joel LaReau,  Ozarks Technical Community College
• Mark Mabe,  Missouri Western State University
• Bob McGlasson,  Southwest Baptist University
• Bob  Paulson,  State Fair Community College
• Jon Rickman,  Northwest Missouri State University
• Manjuel Robinson,  Fujitsu Network Communications
• Chad Shepherd,  St Louis College of Pharmacy
• David Stock,  Westminster
• Wade Thurmon,  Sanford-Brown College
• Dan Uterecht,  University of Missouri - Rolla
• Natasha Angell, MOREnet
• Megan Barney, MOREnet
• Bill Mitchell, MOREnet
• Nancy Piringer, MOREnet
• Debbie Rodman, MOREnet

MERC Financial Report, FY08 Budget Preview – Debbie Rodman, Interim Director of Fiscal and Contractual Services, MOREnet

Rodman began with the summary of the FY07 budget year-to-date actuals as of 2/28/07. She indicated that the second column on the sheet was the mid-year reprojected budget. She added that the mid-year reprojection shows the MERC fund balance increased by about $17,000.

Rodman moved on to the preliminary FY08 budget. The preliminary budget was reviewed by the MERC Board of Directors in February and has been preliminarily approved by the MOREnet Council. Rodman pointed out that under revenues the member fees had been broken into two distinct groups: the base membership fee and the network connectivity fee. Under the new fee structure base the membership fee revenue has decreased slightly while the network connectivity fee has increased slightly. For the preliminary budget a price of $600 per Mb rate has been assumed, compared to $562 for FY07. The connection-related fees are assumed to be the same for the FY08 budget as compared to FY07, as is the maximum revenue transfer of $20,000 for the HELIX conference. Rodman then moved on to address expenses, and indicated that salaries and benefits assumed a 5% overall increase. Training expenses will increase slightly in FY08 due to the replacement of a training lab, this will be a one time increase.

Craig Klimczak moved to preliminarily approve the FY08 MERC Budget pending final approval by the MOREnet Council. The motion was seconded by Martin Knorr. Helm asked all in favor to indicate so by raising hands, all were in favor and there were no objections.

Next Generation Network Update – Bill Mitchell, Executive Director, MOREnet

Mitchell reported that the replacement of the 65Mb backbone with 1G was completed in January. An upgrade to 2.5G along the I-70 corridor will be completed over the summer. Mitchell reported that an RFP is on the street to acquire a 20-year IRU for dark fiber, it has a response date of June 1, 2007. The current schedule outlines deployment of dark fiber around October of 2008. The acquisition of dark fiber will allow MOREnet access to carrier hotels and will help to flatten operating costs. The goal is to light up two 10G waves right away, which will be a substantial increase. The fiber acquisition is in partnership with the University of Missouri. The University of Missouri will acquire the fiber lease and pay the cost of lease. MOREnet will then pay for the optical equipment necessary to light up, utilize and maintain the fiber network. Mitchell reported that it will be a good financial partnership with the University of Missouri. MOREnet has begun the process of looking at the optical equipment which will bought and installed in the hubs. A third party vendor will install the required equipment, however MOREnet will own, operate, and maintain it. The fiber will be leased for a twenty year period, and the cost of the lease will paid up front, however the lease can be cancelled at any time. An additional annual maintenance fee will also be paid.

MOREnet Services Update – Natasha Angell, Member Services Director, MOREnet

Angell began by informing the attendees that the new MOREnet KnowledgeBase, powered by RightAnswers is now available to all MOREnet members, there is no additional charge for the service and is included with the cost of membership. The KnowledgeBase is available to all faculty, staff, and students of members and  is authenticated by MOREnet IP address ranges. There are over 125,000 articles available supporting over 200 applications. MOREnet is also uploading content to the KnowledgeBase on a weekly basis.

Angell also announced that MOREnet has partnered with Ruckus and placed cache servers on the core network. Ruckus is a free service to MERC members. MERC members will work directly with Ruckus to begin service. Ruckus is a service that offers free and legal music downloads and is authenticated through the students e-mail address, so access to Ruckus is possible when a student is off campus.

Angell informed the attendees that MOREnet is in the process of scheduling four regional member meetings towards the end of April. The locations will include St. Louis, Independence, Poplar Bluff, and Kirksville. Additional information is available on the MOREnet website.

Angell also reminded the attendees that two SANS Security classes will be offered for a fee this summer. During the month of June “SANS 504: Hacker Techniques, Exploits and Incident Handling” will be offered at Stoney Creek Inn in Columbia. During July “SANS 505: Securing Windows” will be offered at the Isle of Capri Events Center in Booneville. Each class is $1,350 per individual.

A discussion regarding the Ruckus service broke out amongst the attendees when it was asked how many were considering utilizing the service. About nine people indicated their interest. Mitchell added that currently Ruckus provides over 200,000 songs that are available for download. He went on to say that Ruckus states the service does not add traffic to the network, but instead moves it from other sources. Mitchell added that an option exists within the agreement to allow a cache server to be placed at an institutions site, thereby reducing traffic. This is done on an as needed basis and institutions would need to work with Ruckus in order to get a cache server in place. Mitchell also informed those attending that while Ruckus is a free service to students there is a charge for faculty and staff. Ruckus does not support the IPOD but does support MPS formats. Mitchell mentioned that because Ruckus does sell advertising on their site and because some institutions block advertising, that may be an issue representatives would want to raise with Ruckus when discussing the service. This led to a discussion regarding the current MOREnet AUP. Mitchell mentioned that it was under review. It was agreed that a task force would be formed with Mark Mabe as the chair, to provide feedback to MOREnet on the next version of the AUP.

Proposed MERC Governance Procedures Amendment Discussion

Helm informed the attendees that a proposed amendment to the MERC Governance Procedures is being considered. The MOREnet Council has two representatives appointed by the Missouri Department of Higher Education. Traditionally one of those representatives is a member of the MERC Board of Directors. Unfortunately those terms do not run concurrently and it is being proposed that  a change to the MERC Governance Procedures would allow any MERC Board member appointed to the MOREnet Council to remain on the Board even though their term may expire. The proposal is currently being drafted and it is expected that it will be brought formally to the 2007  fall IR meeting.

MERC Nominations for FY08 MERC Board of Directors Slate

Piringer reported that nominations are needed to fill positions on the MERC Board for Chair-Elect, Director-at-Large (two year term )in the two year public sector, and Director-at-Large (two year term) in the four year public sector. Piringer asked that the group divide themselves into three groups according to segment in order to nominate individuals to the Board.

After meeting within the respective sectors the following were nominated as candidates:

Independent Sector:
Chair-Elect: Chad Shepherd, St. Louis College of Pharmacy

Public 4-year:
Chair-Elect:
Director-at-Large: Teresa Fort, Lincoln University

Public 2-year:
Chair-Elect:
Director-at-Large: Robert Athearn, East Central College

The 2-year and 4-year segments supported the independent sector’s nomination of Chad Shepherd for Chair-Elect. Kevin Palmer from Columbia College will serve out Chad’s term if elected.