DSC reaches out to workers--remotely."Reach out and touch someone," a popular advertising jingle of the not-too-distant past, could soon be the new Deployment Support Command Information Management mantra mantra (măn`trə, mŭn–), in Hinduism and Buddhism, mystic words used in ritual and meditation. A mantra is believed to be the sound form of reality, having the power to bring into being the reality it represents. . The days of the computer specialist visiting DSC (1) (Digital Signal Controller) A microcontroller and DSP combined on the same chip. It adds the interrupt-driven capabilities normally associated with a microcontroller to a DSP, which typically functions as a continuous process. See microcontroller and DSP. workstations are numbered. Soon, the IM team will be able to remotely install, delete To remove an item of data from a file or to remove a file from the disk. See file wipe, trash and undelete. 1. (operating system) delete - (Or "erase") To make a file inaccessible. , or update software; fix computer glitches; and inventory desktop systems without ever entering users' offices. DSC is on the cutting edge of a U.S. Army initiative that uses the Unicenter program from Computer Associates International, Inc. This program oversees operations by remotely monitoring and maintaining information technology management processes, resources, and events, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Dennis Van Langen, DSC's Deputy Chief of Staff for Information Management. Working with the Army's Unicenter TNG TNG Training TNG The Next Generation TNG Tongue TNG The Newspaper Guild (Union) TNG Transitional National Government TNG Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (national facility of the Italian astronomical community) (The Next Generation) User's Group, DSC IM is leveraging state-of-the-art enterprise management technology to augment aug·ment v. aug·ment·ed, aug·ment·ing, aug·ments v.tr. 1. To make (something already developed or well under way) greater, as in size, extent, or quantity: DSC's technical capabilities, while reducing the costs of systems administration. "Enterprise management of technology resources has a big role to play in DSC's future," said Van Langen. "IM is very excited about the possibilities--we're looking at improved desktop support, cost savings from better configuration management, and faster response times on our servers. "On a daily basis, our users will see a new 'Advanced Help Desk' that is more responsive to their support requirements," Van Langen stated. "Additionally, we're looking forward to command-wide improvements in our communications and planning abilities. "All in all, this year is looking pretty exciting for the IM aspects of DSC," added Van Langen. Unicenter will first access and maintain workstations within DSC headquarters, and soon afterwards af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. afterwards or afterward Adverb later [Old English æfterweard] Adv. 1. branch out to cover those same functions commandwide. The program will allow central management the ability to pinpoint problems even before users are affected. According to Ernest Lawhorn, a DSC computer specialist and point man for the project here, the initial program installation was completed in July. "All that remains to be done is the installation of options like software delivery and asset management," Lawhorn explained. The software delivery option enables IM to remotely install or update new programs on the desktop systems throughout the building. Gone will be the days of a technician visiting each workstation to manually insert a CDROM See CD-ROM. or floppy disc (spelling) floppy disc - It's "floppy disk", not like "compact disc". to install a program. Soon that same, time-consuming, work-interrupting task will be done remotely, after hours Adv. 1. after hours - not during regular hours; "he often worked after hours" , on all the computers--simultaneously. "Asset management not only inventories our systems, but it also provides an opportunity for us to take action before potential problems affect the system," said Lawhorn. "Because of these various system tip-offs, users should experience far fewer problems." "Up to now, this program has alerted us to imminent situations that could result in a crash of the installation's network long before the post itself even knew about them," Lawhorn added. "We've been able to call them and deflect de·flect intr. & tr.v. de·flect·ed, de·flect·ing, de·flects To turn aside or cause to turn aside; bend or deviate. [Latin d possible system outages." Unicenter installation has been completed, and is currently being customized to reflect the architecture of the entire command, according to Lawhorn. DSC subordinate units and ports should be up and running early this year. "We will be able to remotely install programs and proactively detect and correct problems at Sunny Point, N.C., for example, as easily as we can right in this building," said Lawhorn. "Many might remember the problem we experienced about seven months ago, when one of our hard drives went down and a lot of people lost files and other vital information," Lawhorn said. "Had Unicenter been operational at that time, it would have alerted us in time to fix the problem. "In fact, the system is sophisticated enough to alert us via our two-way pagers, allowing us to send a coded signal back to trigger the machine to reset itself." Lawhorn and Van Langen are also highly respected charter members of the U.S. Army Unicenter TNG User's Group. Because of their wide-ranging experience, they have provided extensive assistance to the group, and to users Army-wide who are now beginning the implementation process. |
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