| Network/Server Monitoring
The University's network is very big, with
thousands of computers attached to it and thousands of staff and students
using these computers. With such a large number of devices, it is inevitable
that a small number will develop a fault each occasionally. People whose
computers are connected to a faulty device may find that the network
responds slowly or not at all or services provided by that device are
hindered. To minimize the occurrence of this, the MSIS Networking
Group utilize special programs to monitor network devices for failure in the
SoM environment. These programs constantly monitor the devices in the
network.
When a possible fault is detected, messages
are sent to the screens of the MSIS Network administrators. If the situation
persists, a message is sent to the pager/mobile phone of the MSIS Network
administrators. "Out of hours" faults are dealt with by the on-call Network
administrator, who will return to the School of Medicine if there is a
serious problem which cannot be fixed remotely and is serious enough that it
cannot wait for normal operating hours.
There is a constant effort to update and
improve these monitoring programs. They become increasingly important as the
School of Medicine network grows, and as the School of Medicine becomes more
dependent on the network as a means of communication.
In addition to monitoring for devices for
failures, the MSIS Networking group has joined with
C&IT's Information Security
Department in watching for attacks caused by or against systems in
School of Medicine environment. Such information is used to further
make adjustments to the Firewalls and/or Routers to block the attacking
hosts. If the attacking hosts are SoM, then attempts are made to contact the
owner of the computer to have it fixed or reloaded before allowing it to
have access to the network again.
Monitors:
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