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The Directory Services Project

CITES > Project Status > Directory Services

CITES is in the midst of a multiphase process to redesign a central electronic directory registry and associated directory services that will better meet the current and future needs of the campus.

Current Status of the Project

June 2007: The IBM Tivoli Directory Integrator software was purchased in January 2006. Software development is complete, and testing is in progress.

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Why Are Directory Services Being Redesigned?

CITES currently operates a number of electronic directories that serve different purposes. Some of these directories are operated for exclusive use by CITES, such as the authentication of CITES Express Email users. Other services, such as PH and LDAP, are directory and white-page services operated for general campus use.

The current system of directories is built around a central registry stored in qi, which is the database accessed via PH. This system has many shortcomings: It can create situations in which inaccurate or outdated data is introduced, requires substantial staff resources to both maintain and extract account provisioning data, and generally inhibits the deployment of CITES (as well as departmentally run) services. We are unable to offer many requested account provisioning and identity management services because of the technical limitations of PH.

When Will the New Directory Service Be Available?

The new CITES directory service is scheduled to be available in the fall of of 2007.

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The Process

 

Preparation Phases

The directory services project preparation process consisted of two phases.

Pre-project Phase I – Inventory of Current Uses

CITES directory maintainers and service managers took an inventory of the data and current uses of the CITES directory services.

This phase was completed in April 2003.

Pre-project Phase II – Functional Requirements List

CITES analysts met with representatives of campus units to document what the UIUC campus needs from a directory service. CITES analysts then studied the needs of campus units to create a list of functional requirements. The CITES directory service project team uses the functional requirements as the basis for developing the new CITES directory service.

This phase was completed in September 2004.

Milestones

1st Milestone:
Directory service identity management product selection

When: IBM Tivoli Directory Integrator software was purchased in January 2006.

2nd Milestone:
Directory Service development completion

When: March 2007.

3rd Milestone:
Directory service testing completion

When: In progress - started March 2007.

4th Milestone:
Directory service deployment completion

When: September 2007.

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Contacts

CITES Directory Services Manager: Keith Wessel
CITES Directory Services Executive Sponsors: Randy Cetin and Rich Williams
CITES Directory Services Project Manager: Karen Athy-Penrose