The Computer Centre & its activities

History of the Computer Centre

The Computer Centre started with I.B.M. 1620 transferred from Delhi University  during September, 1973 in the Post Graduate Department of Physics. Since it was not meeting the required demand on computations at this University, it was replaced by  IBM 360/44 from Physical Research Laboratory. A new building was constructed by the donation from the Philanthropist late Shri Gordhanbhai Hathibhai Patel.  However, IBM 360/44 did not give satisfactory performance because of the high down time and unavailability of spare parts and unreliable  performance. Also, it was not meeting the increased demand of research work and training.  80386 based Mini Computer supporting 16 Terminals under Unix V.3 and to support Distributed processing, LAN of 24 nodes was installed in January/February, 1988. Meanwhile, many new PC’s, PC/XT’s and PC/AT’s  (around 30 in number) were procured by the Computer Centre.

During the inception of Computer Centre, the Physics Department was authorized to install IBM 1620 and co-ordinate its activities. Dr. A. R. Patel, Professor and Head, Department of Physics was in-charge of Computer Centre. In 1980, a separate Computer Centre was established which was headed by Dr. P. Thrimurthy. Dr. P.V. Patel became the Director of Computer Centre the year 1996. Since 1998  Mrs. Jyoti Tiwari is looking after the Computer Centre with additional charge of  I/C Director.

Up to the year 1997 the main functions of the Computer Centre were :

·        To impart practical training to the students of MCA and DCA

·        To train the internal staff of the University

·        To conduct practical training for refresher courses and Teachers training programme participants.

·        To assist the research students

·        To assist in computerization in different departments, sections, University Library and  University Press

·        To conduct Computer awareness programme for society which included students at all level,

·        Administration -: Payroll, Examination, Accounting, etc.

After 1997, a separate Computer laboratory was established for the students of MCA and DCA in the new building of P.G. Department of  Computer Science.  Now the computer laboratory at the Computer Centre was used  for short term course in Data Entry and training the internal staff of the University. Regular training programmes  were conducted on current trends for the staff of the University. It was used by other departments for imparting training for the participants of various courses.

Infrastructure  and Learning resources

Existing Physical Facilities

Hardware Facilities :

* The configuration of the servers & desktops is shown in Appendix-B.

Other Facilities available :

·         A centralized air conditioning plant of 30 tones is installed at the centre

·         Four   Window Air Conditioners are also installed in  the MIS room

·         Fire extinguishers are also kept at various places to meet unforeseen disaster

Staff at Computer Centre 

Present activities at the Computer Centre

Internet  facility at the University

The UGC sanctioned grant for Internet connectivity in the University through ERNET India. The Computer Centre was assigned the task of giving internet connections to the departments within the University campus and satellite campuses also. There was no connectivity between the satellite campuses (MBA, MCA and Economics Departments) and some of the departments within the campus. The Computer Centre with the help of the Computer Science Departmen  identified the network to be established in the University. A private party was entrusted for fiber optic connectivity between various departments.  The network diagram is shown in Appendix-C.  A VSAT is installed at the Computer Centre through which the University get 512 kbps bandwidt (ERNET).  The University gets     Two mbps bandwidth through leased line (ERNET) and 1 mbps bandwidth is purchased from a local service provider. Hence 3.5 MBPS bandwidth  The connections  are given through a Proxy..   Around 340 connections are given to various Departments. The management and maintenance of  Internet is carried out by the staff of the Computer Centre. The computer Centre staff with their ad-hoc staff manages trouble-shooting of Internet related problems. Apart from this the staff manages to maintain the Computers wherever possible in the entire campus. A bandwidth management software is purchased to monitor the users on the usage of the Internet in the University and for the proper distribution of the bandwidth. 
 

Various training programmes were conducted at the Computer Centre to train the faculty on e-journals accessing under UGC-Infonet programme. The programmes were conducted in collaboration with the  INFLIBNET Centre, Ahmedabad. To apprise the faculty with the concept of E-journals some private parties were also invited for their presentations.

Development of software for Automation of  University Administration

Presently, various activities are automated in the University sections and the departments. But there was a need of an integrated MIS system. Hence a software was needed to cater to the needs of the University Administration. Rates from the private software firms were invited but due to the exorbitant prices, the university decided to develop the software in-house with help of the Computer Centre  and Computer Science Department staff.  The benefits of the system would be:

Faster  and easier access to electronic data, User friendly, sophisticated and efficient user interface, Workflow enabled, multilevel security, a single, central  and linked system  that works for everybody, on-line help and paper-less environment.

This core team prepared a strategy under the guidance of Ms. Jyoti Tiwari, I/c Director of the Computer Centre to proceed for the automation of the University Administration. Computerization of the activities of Account Section, Examination Section, Academic Section and Establishment Section were planned.  A team of fresh MCA students of Sardar Patel University was identified for this project.  The project commenced from July 2003. In the first phase, systems investigation was undertaken which was followed by a feasibility study of the existing system. A project plan was prepared with the approval of the IT Roadmap Team.  The second phase started with Systems Analysis to analyze in detail, the information needs of end users, the organizational environment and the system presently used. A report prepared for each section was approved by the IT Roadmap Team.

The system is developed using three-tier architecture. With the advent of the open source and excessive  price of the branded software, it was decided to develop the system under Linux operating system, application server JBoss, Database server as MySQL. The development technology used is J2EE and the tools used are Dream Weaver MX, ECLIPSE. 

It is envisioned that the UMIS will shape up as a backbone for all the back office operations of the University.

A major portion of the system is already tested and implemented.  The main task that is presently being executed at the Computer Centre is digitizing the student records for the purpose of assigning ID numbers to each of the student of the University.  With this information, the university will be able to supply online information of each student on the internet as well as intranet.

Hardware

The main server is an IBM dual processor with Linux platform located at G H Patel Computer Centre. The clients are installed at different sections viz. Examination, Academic, Accounts, Establishment etc through Fiber Network. The network diagram is shown in the Appendix-D.

Website maintenance

The University is having its own website http://www.spuvvn.edu. It was designed and developed by a private party 9 years ago. Now the Computer Centre is maintaining the site themselves.

NODAL Centre

In the year 2001-2002, the Computer Centre received a grant of Rs. 7.00 lacs (letter no. F.No.4-8/2001(comp.), dated 22 March 2002) for introduction of Computer Applications paper in Statistics, Bio Sciences, Home Science, Psychology and Physics at the P. G. Level. The list of equipment purchased under this grant is shown in the Appendix-E.

A Separate space in the Computer Laboratory is provided for the students who have opted for Computer Applications paper. Regular practical training is imparted to these students.

Services rendered to the University Administration

Establishment Section

            Software developed, maintained and documented in-house for :

·        Recruitment

·        Leave

·        Insurance

·        Payroll, Provident Fund, CTD calculation

·        Income Tax calculation and printing of related forms

·        Service book

·       Automation of Fixation and calculation of arrears

·       Human resource Information

Examination Section

Since last year 2002-2003 the University has started printing of Hall-tickets and mark sheets with photograph of the students.  The aim was to give mark sheets with security features so that duplication of any mark sheets cannot be done. As it was for the first time, the task was outsourced. Meanwhile, the Centre procured the required equipment and printed some mark sheets on trial basis. Seeing the sensitivity of data and expenditure in outsourcing, the university has decided to print the mark sheets in-house from April-2005.

The University believes in clean and transparent examination system.  For this reason, the examination reforms unit of the University has taken several corrective measures:

·        The answer sheets (with sealed examination numbers) of various examinations are assessed centrally.

·        The examiners do not prepare the mark lists. The marks from the answer sheets are directly entered at the Computer Centre.

            Software developed, maintained and documented in-house using for:

·        Pre Examination Work

·        Examination Schedule

·        Appointment of Examiners/Panel

·        Student record preparation

·        Hall Ticket preparation and printing

·        On Examination Work

·        Marks entry

·        Result Processing

·        Preparation of Mark sheets (pre, post printed)

·        Post Examination Work

·        Statistical analysis for decision making

·        Merit List

·        Convocation and provisional degree

Account Section

In the new integrated system the entire Accounting module is developed in-house which is in the testing phase and likely to be implemented by the start of the financial year April 2005. The main modules of the system include:

·        Bill Section

·        Cash Section

·        General Section

Presently, the following activities are taken care by the Computer Centre.

·        Budget Preparation

·        Annual account preparation

·        Establishment schedule preparation

Software developed, maintained and documented in-house for :

·        Examination remuneration processing

·        Cash & Bank book generation, trial balance generation etc.

Academic Section

Software is prepared in-house for:

·        Admission procedure

·        Registration

·        Board of Studies

·        Migration

·        Transfer Certificate

·        Provisional eligibility certificate and Final eligibility certificate

·        Automation of admission procedures in various departments

·        Merit list preparation

·        College record

·        Other reports

Library

·        The Computer laboratory at the Library was established under the assistance of the Computer Centre. Since its inception, the Computer Centre is helping the library in procuring and maintaining the Computers and related items.

·        Initially Data was entered at the Computer Centre and then after training the Library Staff and by deputing one staff member of the Computer Centre the data is now entered at the Library.

·        The University Library has purchased SOUL software for automating the library activities. The Computer Centre staff assists the library professionals by training and trouble shooting the problems related to the software.

·        Data entry of records of students & staff

·        Automation of stock taking procedure

·        Complete Library automation is intended and likely to be computerized in the near future under the supervision of the Computer Centre.

University Press

·        A well-equipped Computer lab is established at the University Press under the assistance of the Computer Centre.

·        Computer Centre Staff plays an important role  during examination time. The examination papers are typed using the Computers. The data entry operators and the  I/C Director, Computer Centre along with other University and Press staff helps in printing the papers. Please note that this activity takes place at the unorthodox time.

Reprographic  Facilities

Copier  machines are provided at the computer centre which cater to the needs of  all the Departments and Sections of the University.

Others

·        B.Ed. Admission

The admission procedure for B.Ed. is centralized. Every year, we receive and average of 10,000 forms. The following activities are associated with this task :

·        Entry of the forms

·        Printing of various checklists.

·        For B.Ed.(English) students an entrance test is conducted. It is the responsibility of the Computer Centre to print the test paper and evaluate. A software is prepared for evaluation.

·        Merit List Preparation

·        The computer centre staff solves minor hardware problems at the computer centre and other departments and administrative sections.

·        Computer Centre staff helps in teaching at MCA, MBA and other courses where Computer courses are taught.

·        Center for DOEACC examination

Training for University Personnel

Nodal Centre for imparting practical to the Home Science, Bio Science, and Psychology

•         Two orientation programmes are conducted in a year, one for teaching staff, and other for Non-teaching staff. Duration is 5 weeks

•         Orientation programmes conducted: 12

(No fees is charged from the participants and the training personnel also work honorary) 

Other training programmes conducted so far :

    A one day seminar cum training programme was conducted in collaboration with INFLIBNET, Ahmedabad for accessing e-resources.

•         UGC Sponsored Programmes

•         Employees of Telecom Department

•         Employees of State Bank Of India

•         Computer awareness programs for villagers and school children

Note: (Above training programmes were conducted in association with the Computer Science Department)

 

Updating of Staff  

     ·         In co-ordination with the Computer Science Department of the University the Computer staff is updated on the latest trends in Information Technology
·         The related staff attends seminars, symposia and training programs at various places.

Linkages with other Departments

Computer Centre helps other departments in

•         Purchase of Computers and related Hardware

•         Establishing networks

•         Trouble shooting hardware and software related problems.

•         Development of Software

•         Preparation of syllabi for computer related courses

•         Teaching  & Training

Computer Centre as a resource centre

The University has the central purchase system for buying computers, peripherals and related items for all Departments and Administrative Sections. Every two months the university floats tenders to the registered parties. The Computer Centre plays an important role in proposing the computers with latest configuration. The technical specifications are verified at the Computer Centre.

The Computer Centre is responsible for providing computer related accessories like cartridges, hard disks, floppy disks, CDs, stationary, etc. The University has provided extra budget to fulfill the needs of the administrative sections.

The Computer Centre has two multimedia projectors. The projector are used for training the staff of the Computer Centre as well as caters to the needs of the various departments during workshops, seminars and other programmes.

Use of Computers in the MIS Room for administrative Purposes:

·        There are around sixteen computers in the MIS Room. These computers are used almost for 6 to 7 hrs during working days. During examination time the staff of the Computer Centre and ad-hoc data entry operators work in shifts and holidays for entering the marks and processing the result.

·        The computers in the MIS room are used for preparing reports that are to be sent to UGC by the University. The role of Computer Centre in preparing such kind of reports is :

-         Compilation of data

-         Preparing graphs

-         Printing of reports 

·        The important reports that were prepared and printed at the computer centre are :

-         IX Plan proposal

-         Proposal for Centre Excellence

-         X Plan Proposal

-         Proposal for Home Science Department

-         Proposal for Social Science Department

-         Proposal for Economics Department

* Please note that university has provided a Color Laser Printer for printing such kind of reports.

·        The computers in computer laboratory are used by the students of Home Science Department, Bio-Science Department and B. Ed college. We have 15 computers in the NODAL Centre. Each batch of 15 students is allotted one and half hours practical time.

·        Internet connections are provided in the computer laboratory as well as the MIS room. Any student and faculty of the University are permitted to use these systems to browse the net.

Progress Report

The Computer Centre of Sardar Patel University is actively engaged in providing solution for IT related problems. Its main role is to help the university in smooth administration. The result processing, paybill, annual report, annual budget, etc. are prepared in the University. The following points highlight the achievements of the Computer Centre in the last five years.

2006-2007

·        Two days workshop for training the administrative staff af affiliated colleges and Post Graduate Departments.

·        Two days seminar for B.Ed. Teachers

·        Training Programme conducted for the Humanities faculty

2005-2006

·        Conducted Four days training programme for B.Ed. Teachers

·        Established  EDUSAT  facilities at the Computer Centre

·        Under the examination reforms, introduced new format of Mark sheets and Hall Tickets

·        Conducted training for internal staff on using e-resources

·        Conducted orientation programme for Humanities faculty

2004-2005

·        Conducted one day seminar on accessing e-resources with INFLIBNET, Ahmedabad.

·        Conducted two Orientation Programmes  for non-teaching staff

·        Implemented new UMIS system

·        Implemented bandwidth monitoring system and mailing facility to the University staff by installing mail server.

2003-2004

·        Started to developed integrated University Management Information System

·        Established Internet Facility and provided connections to all the departments and sections

·        Conducted two Orientation Programmes for Non-Teaching staff

·        Conducted  Two Orientation Programmes for Teaching staff

·        Conducted Training Programme for School Teachers in collaboration with District Education Office, Anand

2002-2003  

·        Apart from the regular MIS activities and consulting services to the University, the computer centre helped the related sections to prepare and print various important reports.

·        Conducted  Two  orientation Programmes for non-teaching staff

·        Conducted  Two  orientation Programmes for teaching staff

·        Established UGC-Infonet facilities at the computer Centre & the University

2002-2001

·        Established NODAL centre

·        Conducted Orientation Programme for non-teaching staff

·        Established Local Area Network in the University Adminstrative building.

2001-2000

·        Conducted Orientation Programme for non-teaching staff

·        Under the examination reform unit of the university, new mark sheet format was designed by the Computer Centre

·        Developed software for the University Administrative sections

Future Plan

•         Expansion of the Computing facilities at the Computer Centre.

The Computer Centre plans to develop additional modules  for the automation  of  the following administrative sections  of the University: Estate section, UGC section,  General Section, T Section, Syndicate Section and Scholarship Section and integrate these with the existing University Management System.  For this purpose the centre would require some High end servers, nodes and peripherals.

The present UMIS is not accessible to the departments, after complete implementation it is planned to provide information to the department.

•         Establishing a full fledged multimedia/e-learning/e-content development centre

With the  commencement of  the EDUSAT programme, a full fledged multimedia/e-learning/e-content development laboratory is planned at the Computer Centre. This laboratory will be useful for delivering the lecture through Edusat, Vyas – Higher Education Channel and development of  e-content.

•         Establishing Campus wide high speed networking back-bone

Networking of Computer Centre with all the sections and departments of the University is already established but at times the network becomes slow and some problems like collision take place. Hence, it is planned to establish a state-of-the-art-network using structured cabling. It is also planned for wireless network wherever appropriate.

•         Backup servers

The integrated University Management information has become operational. The backup is managed locally. It is planned to enhance the backup facilities using Backup servers to store and protect the Data.

•         Software procurement

Presently no resources are available to the Computer Centre for software procurement. The Computer Centre  plans  to purchase software for more advanced applications like  Data Warehousing and  Data Minning.    

·        Enhancing the Internet facility

The newly constructed Bio-Technology Department and Master of Social Welfare Department are still not on the network. In the second phase it is planned to enhance the network up to the mentioned satellite campuses.

·        To provide nodal computing facility to all the students and faculty of the university.

·        To start short term  courses on need basis.

·        To provide on-line facilities like registration, result, etc. to the students on the internet/intranet.

APPENDIX - A

The list of items purchased during May 1996 from the grant of Rs. 23,00,000 received by the UGC :

APPENDIX – B

Server and Desktop Computer Specification

(a)  Servers

      (a1)  HP DL 380 G4

2 U Rack From Factor  - 2 x Intel Dual-Core Xenon Processor 2.8 GHz Inter 7520 server chipset 2 MB Level 2 cache per core 2048MB

(1024 x 2) 2-way interleaved PC2-3200R400 MHz DDR2 with advanced ECC and online spare memory capabilities Integrated RAID

Controller with BBWC 3 x 145GB ULTRA320 10K Hot Plug Universal -- 3 * 73 GB SCSI HDD Redundant Power supply And Redundant

Fan Kit Embedded Dual Port PCI-X 10/100/1000T Gigabit Networking adapter Integrated ATI Range XL Video Controller with 8–MB SDRAM

Video Memory Integrated Lights Out, Standard Management Duplex Back plane DVD-ROM and FDD

     (a2) HP Proliant ML 350 GS

Tower/Rack mode, Intel Xerox Processor 3.0 GHz/ 800-1 MB L2 Cache, Intel E7320 Chipset With 800 MHZ Front Side Bus, 512 MB of PCS 3200 DDR II SDRM (expandable up to 8GB) Single PCI Express Gigabit NIC, Slot based single Channel Ultra320SCSI Adapter,73 GB Ultra 320

10K RPM SCSI drive (expandable up to 3 drives) Six open PCI-X 64-bit/100MHz Expansion slots,2 NON- hot plug, on-redundant system

Fans, 2 usb 2.0 ports, 52x CD-ROM 1.44 MB diskette drive

(b)        Proxy Server : IBM Server X225 (Server with Dual Processor capacity)

           Configuration:

Intel Xeon  2.4  GHz , 533 MHz FSB,  512 KB L2 Cache

1.0 GB 266 MHz DDR RAM (Upgradeable up to 8 GB)

Dual Channel PCI ULT320 SCSI , Raid –1 Capability standard

64 BIT PCI /10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet

70 GB (in 1 or 2 HDD) Ultra320 HDD (10k RPM) (Expandable up to 587.2 GB)

15” color monitor, 48X CDROM IDE, 1.44 MB FDD

Server Guide,  IBM Director

Keyboard, mouse & Power cables, Dual Redundant Power Supply

(c)       Mail Server : IBM Server X225 (Server with Dual Processor capacity)

            Configuration : As in (a)

(d)     University Intranet Server (Two) :  IBM Server X225

          Configuration : As in (a)

(e)      Server (MIS Room): Compaq ML330e with

Configuration

14” mono Monitor, Intel Based Server (MNC)

CPU-PIII 933 MHz; 1 GHz or Higher

RAM-256 MB ECC expendable to 1 GB or more

HDD-20 GB ATA 100 (7200 RPM)

FDD 1.44 MB

CD ROM Drive

PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse

NIC 10/100 Base T Ethernet Server works manager

(f)       Server (NODAL Centre) : IBM Server X Series 232 (dual processor capable)

Configuration

Intel Pentium III 1.26 GHz Processor

256 LQ cache memory 256 MB ECC SD RAM

5 PCI slote ULTRA 160 SCSI Controller

18.2 GB ULTRA 160 SCSI/7 BAGS

Optional Raid support, 10/100 Ethernet card

2 USB/ 2 Serial/ 1 parallel/ keyboard/ Mouse/ VGA

1.44 MB FDD/ 48x CD-Rom Drive

Dual 250 walts redundant power supply

3 cooling fans Predictive failure analysis support

Systems management: Thermal, Voltage, Fan, Memory hard drived

Altering Asset Information PXE, IBM Director

Advanced System Management Processor Optional

(g)      Desktop Computer  : Intel P4

Configuration

106 GHz Processor (Box Pack)

Intel 845 chipset (400 MHz)

128 MB SDRAM (133 MHz – Hyundai)

32 MB AGP Card (SIS)

3.5” , 1.44 MB FDD (Sony)

40 GB Ultra ATA (Segate)

15” Color Monitor (Samsung)

10/100 NIC (Dlink)

TVS Gold keyboard (PS2)

Logitech 3 button mouse

ATX cabinet for P4 (Priya)