University of Illinois System

Infrastructure and Tools

Core Infrastructure is used to run and manage the University’s information assets. These include but are not limited to: operating systems, database management systems, message brokers, version control software, application servers, and monitoring infrastructure. AITS supports these infrastructure components for the University and they are used internally within AITS. Tools help AITS and AITS clients build or extend existing functionality. Services such as OpenEAI, SharePoint, LDI, and Drupal fall into this category. The following is a partial list of infrastructure and tools:

System Name Description
Actional Actional is an operational tool that provides environment visibility of communication between integrated applications and resources within our environment. The information provided by the tool allows support staff to isolate communication problems within a complex environment.
AITS Proxy Web Service AITS Proxy Web Service provides a SOAP interface to applications to issue point-to-point messages to the EAI messaging enterprise. This service provides another access method for departments and 3rd party vended applications to use when utilizing services and functions provided by the EAI messaging environment.
AJAX AJAX is shorthand for asynchronous JavaScript and XML. It is a group of interrelated web development techniques used to create interactive web applications or rich Internet applications. With Ajax, web applications can retrieve data from the server asynchronously in the background without interfering with the display and behavior of the existing page. This is a tool that AITS staff uses to provide solutions to their clients.
Apache Web server software used for managing HTTP requests for applications and systems developed and supported by AITS.
Appscan AppScan is a web application vulnerability detector.
Appworx Appworx is an enterprise batch scheduling product used to control and execute batch processes and jobs for the Banner and other enterprise batch applications.
Batch or Shell Scripts Batch files or shell scripts are useful for running a sequence of executables automatically and are often used by system administrators to automate tedious processes. AITS staff uses batch scripts to process feeder files and other recurring data imports, exports, transformations, and processing.
BEA Admin This application allows a user to monitor the status of the BannerEventApplication. Users can check the status of sync message production and resubmit messages.
BOMGAR BOMGAR is an application that allows secure remote support, enabling support staff to gain remote desktop control of any system and troubleshoot it.
Business Objects Business Objects is a business intelligence suite that provides reporting and query capabilities with enterprise data. It is used to build enterprise reports and interface files on a scheduled basis as well as ad-hoc.
Change Control Change Control is an AITS developed java web application that tracks requests for changes to University systems and services. Any upgrade, newly developed application, table, database, system, or network change should be submitted through the Change Control application. The Change Control application routes the proposed change to the appropriate approvers.
Citrix Citrix is an access system that allows users to execute enterprise applications without having them installed directly on their desktops. Citrix provide a platform for execution of the applications as remote users view and operate the application remotely.
CVS (Concurrent Versions System) Concurrent Versions System (CVS) is a version control system used to manage, access, and track changes to documents including source a, configuration and properties files, as well as general documents.
Database Password Repository The Database Password Repository houses application IDs and credentials in a central location. It is used by the applications during execution time to retrieve database connection information.
Decision Support Oracle Streams Using Oracle Streams technology, data is replicated from the Banner production database directly to the DS staging database to eliminate expensive Extract processing on certain tables.
Dell Hardware This is the hardware used primarily for Linux and Windows servers.
Domain Name System Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical naming system used to locate computers, services, and resources operating on the Internet. Network resources are identified by numeric IP addresses, but these IP addresses are difficult for network users to remember. The DNS database contains records that map user-friendly alphanumeric names for network resources to the IP address used by those resources for communication. In this way, DNS acts as a mnemonic device, making network resources easier to remember for network users. AITS maintains a DNS environment that allows us to register information for workstations and servers.
Dreamweaver Adobe Dreamweaver (formerly Macromedia Dreamweaver) is a web development application originally created by Macromedia, and is now developed by Adobe Systems, which acquired Macromedia in 2005. AITS staff is familiar with Dreamweaver and occasionally uses Dreamweaver to aid in the development of web sites and front ends.
Drupal Drupal is an open source web content management system. (CMS). It is currently used for the ITPC, HRFE, and UTMT web sites.
EAS (Enterprise Authorization System) Enterprise Authentication System is used for identifying, authorizing and maintaining access to various systems for University NetIDs.
EJB Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) is a managed, server-side component architecture for modular construction of enterprise applications. The EJB specification intends to provide a standard way to implement the back-end 'business' a typically found in enterprise applications (as opposed to 'front-end' user-interface a). AITS uses EJB in their web development.
Embarcadero DS Auditor (formerly Ambeo) Embarcadero DSAuditor, a leading database auditing solution, helps to identify performance issues, secure critical data, and ensure data privacy by monitoring all database access and activity.
EMC Storage Area Network A storage area network (SAN) is an architecture to attach remote computer storage devices (such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes) to servers in such a way that the devices appear as locally attached to the operating system.
ERWin Data Modeling tool used by AITS and Decision Support to model database objects.
Google Search Appliance The Google Search Appliance is a rack-mounted device providing document indexing functionality, that can be integrated into an intranet, document management system or web site using a Google search-like interface for end-user retrieval.
I2S (Institutional Identity Service) I2S is a solution for keeping the enterprise and other interested systems and applications in sync with changes to Institutional Identity. This solution improves the integrity of the data for identities as well as exposes these institutional identity changes via messaging thus reducing the manual efforts currently in place.
IBM Lotus Notes Domino Lotus Notes Domino is business collaboration software that allows for users to build, retrieve and submit documents. This software is used for document generation for Capital Programs software systems.
Informatica Informatica is a transformation tool used to extract ad transform data between two sources- typically databases. It is used for various interfaces and population of data warehouse information from the ERP system.
JavaScript JavaScript is a scripting language used to enable programmatic access to objects within other applications. It is primarily used in the form of client-side JavaScript for the development of dynamic websites. JavaScript is a dialect of the ECMAScript standard and is characterized as a dynamic, weakly typed, prototype-based language with first-class functions. JavaScript was influenced by many languages and was designed to look like Java, but to be easier for non-programmers to work with.
LDI (Luminis Data Interchange) An integration suite provided by Ellucian which utilizes messaging frameworks to communicate purchasing information between Banner and external services.
Linux Operating System Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source a can be used, freely modified, and redistributed by anyone under the terms of the GNU GP and other free licenses. Linux is predominantly known for its use in servers, although it is installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from embedded devices and mobile phones to supercomputers. AITS uses Linux on a variety of servers.
LoadRunner LoadRunner is scripting software used for execution of automated test scripts. It is primarily used for performance testing.
Messaging Gateways Messaging Gateways are applications used to retrieve and send data through the enterprise messaging infrastructure. These applications consist of gateways and utilities which transform data either from messages and update target applications or talk to source applications to format and produce messages.
Microsoft .Net Framework The Microsoft .NET Framework is a software framework that can be installed on computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. It includes a large library of ad solutions to prevent common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. The .NET Framework is a key Microsoft offering and is intended to be used by most new applications created for the Windows platform.
Microsoft Active Directory Active Directory is a technology created by Microsoft that provides a variety of network services, including: 1) LDAP-like directory services 2) Kerberos-based authentication 3) DNS-based naming and other network information. Using the same database, for use primarily in Windows environments, Active Directory also allows administrators to assign policies, deploy software, and apply critical updates to an organization. Active Directory stores information and settings in a central database. Active Directory networks can vary from a small installation with a few computers, users and printers to tens of thousands of users, many different domains and large server farms spanning many geographical locations.
Microsoft Exchange Enterprise system from Microsoft for applications such as email, calendaring and security.
Microsoft Project Microsoft Project (or MSP) is a project management software program developed and sold by Microsoft which is designed to assist project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing workloads
Microsoft SQL Server Relational database management system used primarily for Global Campus applications.
MySQL MySQL is an open source database application.
OpenEAI OpenEAI defines a straightforward messaging protocol and message format in XML for both request/reply and publish/subscribe messaging models for any enterprise message object. The message protocol is based on principles inherent to EAI and is not tied to any specific technology used to implement integrations.
Oracle Application Server The Oracle Application Server 10g (the "g" stands for grid), consists of an integrated, standards-based software platform. It forms part of Oracle Corporation's Fusion Middleware technology stack. The heart of Oracle Application Server consists of Oracle HTTP Server (based on Apache HTTP Server) and OC4J (OracleAS Containers for J2EE) which deploys J2EE-based applications.
Oracle Client Client that provides access to an Oracle database.
Oracle Database Suite of enterprise products used by AITS for developing and supporting enterprise applications. These products include Oracle DBMS, Forms, Application Servers and utilities.
Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems. This tool, in concert with other Adobe tools such as InDesign and Illustrator, is used by AITS staff.
PMUTracker The Patch-Mod-Upgrade Tracker is a tool designed to track and report local and vendor delivered application patches, modifications, and upgrades. Tracking this type of data is critical for detecting and preventing the failure of production applications due to the installation of a newly delivered products that may not have the functionality of existing production applications. The Patch-Mod-Upgrade Tracker is written with Oracle Forms and Reports Developer Tool Kit.
Proof Point The Proofpoint Spam Detection™ module provides the industry's most powerful approach for detecting and eliminating spam. Proofpoint combines the most effective, traditional anti-spam methods with breakthrough Proofpoint MLX™ machine learning technology to deliver 99.8% or higher effectiveness with the lowest rate of false positives.
Quick Test Pro Quick test Pro is scripting software used for execution of automated test scripts. It is primarily used for performance testing.
Rational Robot Rational Robot is a general purpose test automation tool for QA teams who want to perform functional testing of client/server applications.
SAS Institute Statistical reporting software used to analyze data and perform calculations and merging of data to determine results. Used for certain reporting circumstances which require large amounts of data manipulation.
SharePoint Designer SharePoint Designer is primarily used for the development of SharePoint sites. It is used to help automate business processes, build efficient applications on top of the Microsoft SharePoint platform, and customize a SharePoint site. SharePoint Designer is one of the tools AITS uses to develop SharePoint sites.
SiteMinder SiteMinder is a Web Access Management system used by the University of Illinois System.
SitePublish (WCMS)  The SitePublish (WCMS) provides the service capability to manage the System Office web presence. The SitePublish application is from Intrafinity. 
SiteScope SiteScope is a monitoring tool that provides real time monitoring, reporting, and alerting for systems through simple server requests and connections.
Solaris Operating System Solaris is a UNIX-based operating system introduced by Sun Microsystems in 1992 as the successor to SunOS. Solaris is known for its scalability, especially on SPARC systems, and for originating many innovative features such as DTrace and ZFS.[1][2] Solaris supports SPARC-based and x86-based workstations and servers from Sun and other vendors, with efforts underway to port to additional platforms. The majority of AITS servers run Solaris OS.
Solaris is certified against the Single Unix Specification. Although it was historically developed as proprietary software, it is supported on systems manufactured by all major server vendors, and the majority of its abase is now open source software via the OpenSolaris project.
SonicMQ SonicMQ is a standards based enterprise messaging system that provides the messaging service infrastructure and system management capabilities for enterprise deployments. The messaging gateways, OpenEAI, and applications are implemented on top of SonicMQ as the message delivery service.
Subversion Subversion (SVN) is a version control system initiated in 2000 by CollabNet Inc. It is used to maintain current and historical versions of files such as source a, web pages, and documentation. Its goal is to be a mostly-compatible successor to the widely used Concurrent Versions System (CVS).
Sun Hardware This is the hardware for Sun Solaris servers.
Sun Java System Directory Server This Directory Server is a scalable LDAP data store for identity information.
Tipping Point Tipping Point is an IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) which inspects network packets and rejects or flags traffic which is deemed to be malicious. A database of malicious traffic “signatures” is kept current by automatic updates from the vendor. These signatures are used to determine whether traffic is deemed malicious, and the IPS engine is fully customizable to select the “filters” which are to be used, and the action to take (prevent, log, notify, etc).
Tomcat Apache Tomcat is the servlet container that is used in the official reference implementation for the java servlet and java server pages technologies. This application server is used to provide run time environments for AITS web java applications.
Transact SQL Apache Tomcat is the servlet container that is used in the official reference implementation for the java servlet and java server pages technologies. This application server is used to provide run time environments for AITS web java applications.
Unimon In-house developed monitoring tool which provides system level reporting and alerting of server capacity. Items such as disk spaces, cpu, memory, etc. are monitored via Unimon.
Urchin Urchin is a high-performance web analytics system that features easy installation and configuration, highly accurate traffic analysis, and 100% browser-based administration and reporting. AITS uses Urchin to analyze and report on Banner Self Service logs that come over nightly from the Oracle Application Servers.
WhatsUp Gold System monitoring software which provides scripting, reporting, and alerting capabilities for checking service availability of hardware components such as servers, routers, printers, etc.
WinCVS Client WinCVS is a GUI client for the CVS version control system. The GUI which lets a user keep track of the version history of a project.
Windows Operating System Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. AITS uses this Operating System to run .NET applications and other Microsoft compatible software.
XML XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a general-purpose specification for creating custom markup languages. It is classified as an extensible language, because it allows the user to define the mark-up elements. XML's purpose is to aid information systems in sharing structured data, especially via the Internet. AITS uses XML for many of its data exchanges.