Introduction
IT Services provides web, application, data, and server hosting including data integration services for commercial, open-source, and in-house developed solutions for the Miami University community.
Capabilities
- Manage Applications
- Manage Databases
- Manage Data Integration
- Manage Servers
- Manage Data Center
- Host Web Site
- Manage Web Alias
- Provide Web Services
- Store Data
- Manage Virtual Machines
- Manage Cloud Vendor Implementations and Relationships
Features
- Colocation (CoLo) Infrastructure
- CoLo Infrastructure provides space, power, cooling, and physical security for the server, storage, and networking equipment
- Example: If a department has their own server and only wants it hosted in the IT Services Data Center, the department provides application and server support
- Software as a Service (SaaS) Premise
- SaaS Premise is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is hosted in the IT Services Data Center. SaaS Premise is sometimes referred to as "on-demand software". A SaaS Premise application is typically accessed by a web browser
- IT Services can assist with single sign on, security, and data integration of SaaS Premise implementations
- Example: Multiple instances of the application RT (Request Tracker) are hosted by IT Services for multiple university divisions
- Software as a Service (SaaS)-Broker/Remote
- SaaS Broker/Remote is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is hosted by a vendor outside Miami University. SaaS-Broker/Remote is often initiated by divisions/departments outside of IT Services. A SaaS Broker/Remote application is typically accessed by a web browser
- IT Services can assist with single sign on, security, and data integration of SaaS Broker/Remote implementations
- Vendor management of SaaS Broker/Remote implementations is the responsibility of the initiating division/department
- Examples: University business areas implementing or moving their applications (ie Gmail, Buy Way, Team Dynamix) to be hosted by cloud vendors (ie Amazon Web Services-AWS and Microsoft Azure)
- Platform as a Service (PasS)-Premise
- PaaS-Premise provides a platform allowing customers to manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the IT infrastructure. IT Services provides the networks, servers, storage, operating systems, integration, and database to host applications inside the Miami University Firewall
- Examples
- Banner (resides within the Oracle database infrastructure)
- Micros (resides within the SQL Server database infrastructure)
- Web hosting (Miami University websites)
- PHP applications
- Community web servers
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- IaaS provides virtualized computing resources such as hardware, software, servers, network, and storage
- Examples:
- VMWare
- VLAN
- Data Center Services
- Library Applications
Benefits
- Departments relieved of server and application hosting/maintenance capability
- Up-to-date software versions
- Ensures security patches are in place
- Experienced professionals managing the data center facility
- Applications are hosted in a secure data center
- Data backup performed based upon terms of agreement
- A predictable and operational expenditure model
- Additional capacity can be brought on quickly, cheaply, and only as needed
- An ecosystem of partners in the same facility
- Disaster recovery plan
- Power backup
- IT Services’ staff coordinate with customer and vendor to arrange appropriate maintenance windows
- Hosting includes server space for development, testing and production environments
- Database design consulting is available for customized solutions. This can help in producing improved designs and application performance, while simplifying future maintenance and enhancements
Cost
Charges will depend on deployment options and infrastructure, costs developed through use of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Additional Resources
Miami-affiliated organization web sites, University departmental web sites and personal web sites can be hosted. IT Services strongly recommends that all University web pages be hosted on secure web servers. If you have a web site hosted by IT Services (i.e., your URL starts with "www.units.miamioh.edu", "www.orgs.miamioh.edu", "www.users.miamioh.edu"), you have access to a number of scripts/tools that can be incorporated into your web pages.
Special accommodations can be made, with approval by IT Services and University Communications, for non-Miami domain URLs. Faculty and staff should check with their departmental technology support staff for your department’s web page publishing practices.