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December 7 - 13, 2003 |
Major Computer Network Overhaul Underway
The Computer Services Department (CSD) is continuing a major overhaul of the computer network through December 29.
The overhaul, begun in September, is akin to straightening the "S" curve on Lake Shore Drive; it will take many hours to complete, will require much engineering and construction but in the end it will result in less bottlenecks and improved data traffic flow, according to Jim Velco, CSD director.
Shut Down
To complete the overhaul, the CSD staff will be moving all the servers, data lines, Internet connections and battery back up systems from the current server room on the 11th floor to a new 12th floor server room. To make this move and complete the network upgrades, the network will be shut down for four days: December 26, 27, 28 and 29. The JMLS web site will be down for approximately six hours on Dec. 26, but is expected to be operational by the end of the day. E-mail service will be affected and will not be functioning; e-mail may be running by the end of the day on Dec. 28. By Dec. 29, the majority of the school's systems will be operational.
Hardware
The aging data infrastructure that was in place on the network can no longer handle the amount of data traffic currently generated at the law school in a suitable manner, Velco explained. All the data switches in the data cabinets located on many of the floors of the Law School have been upgraded from 3Com Super Stack switches to Cisco 2950 switches. The Cisco switches are superior to the 3Com switches in many ways, the most notable being that the Cisco switches allow for greater manageability.
A total redesign of the network is currently being completed and will allow for more scalability and management of data traffic on the network. In the future, the new network backbone will allow JMLS to use the network for voice and video, as well as data. It will also give CSD better tools to manage virus outbreaks and mitigate the damage caused by the viruses. By replacing two internal routers with a Cisco 4506 backbone switch, data traffic will become more manageable and will traverse the network faster.
Old Style
In addition, when the network was originally built in the early 90's, no one had any idea that network computing would become the de facto standard, Velco said. The original network backbone infrastructure (carrying the data between all the floors to the servers and out to the internet) was designed on an ad-hoc basis. As more PCs on more floors were added, so was the network backbone. As it stands now, it is a messy situation, he added. With these new updates, a new fiber optic backbone has been installed that will allow for greater flexibility and scalability for the future. The new backbone will carry data at speeds up to 1,000 Megabits per second; the current backbone carries data up to 100 Megabits per second.
Finally, the new server room on the 12th floor will accommodate the growing "server farm" for JMLS. The server room will be able to accommodate three times as many servers as we currently have now, Velco noted. The server room also will be cooled independently from the school's air cooling systems and will have dedicated electrical transformers and circuits just for the servers.
For more information, contact the Help Desk at extension 550, or
see the CSD website (www.jmls.edu.intranet) and look for the "Late
Breaking News" section.
December 14 - 20, 2003
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Schedule of Events
December 15
- Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits Exit Interview Luncheon
December 17
- Kratovil Lecture committee Meeting, Room 1202, 2:00 p.m.
December 18
- Civil Rights Act Committee Meeting, Room 1200B, 2:00 p.m.
- ITCC Networking Event, Room 3East, 5:00 p.m.
December 19
- JMLS Employee Holiday Party, 12:00 p.m.
December 20
- ABLE Program, Room 428, 9:00 a.m.
December 24
- Holiday - Building Closed
December 25
- Holiday - Building Closed
December 31
- Holiday - Building Closed
January 1
- Holiday - Building Closed
January 2
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.
January 3
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.
January 4
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.
January 5
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.
January 6
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.
January 7
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.
- Spring 2004 International Student Orientation, Room 1200, 1:30 p.m.
January 8
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.
- LL.M. Orientation, Room 1200, 5:00 p.m.
January 9
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms and Daley Center, 9:00 a.m.
- Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits Open House, Room 1200B, 5:00 p.m.
January 10
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Daley Center, 9:00 a.m.
- Diagnostic Exam, Room 200, 9:00 a.m.
A complete online listing of events scheduled at The John Marshall Law School can be found at the following URL: http://www.jmls.edu/calendar.htm
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Cook County Judge Addresses Criminal Law Issues
The Honorable Paul P. Biebel Jr., presiding judge of the Cook County Criminal Courts, offered students a wide-ranging look into the operations of Cook County's criminal court system, when he visited The John Marshall Law School earlier this month as a guest of the Criminal Law Society.
Cook County is the largest unified court system in the United States. Judges hear more than 40,000 felony cases each year, and the Cook County Sheriff's Office is responsible for an estimated 10,000 prisoners.
Judge Biebel discussed the social, cultural, and economic causes of crime, such as the pervasiveness of drugs and the plight of single mothers. He also outlined the workings of successful prisoner rehabilitation programs, including one that increases the reading level of prison inmates by two years in the span of less than five months.
After his remarks, Judge Biebel fielded questions from students.
The John Marshall Law School Criminal Law Society welcomed Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr., presiding judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County Criminal Division (seated, center) to the law school for a lunch time program on criminal law. Welcoming Biebel to the law school were Criminal Law Society members (seated, left) Todd Scalzo, (seated right) Onyhatte Ternipsede, and (back row, from left) Jennifer Kearney, Charles Billings, Carolyn Kahler, Mandy Meidl and Olivia Hubel.
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Faculty Activity and Publications
Professor Gerald E. Berendt
Publications
He is a contributing editor to the Sixth Edition of Elkouri & Elkouri: How Arbitration Works (BNA 2003), which will be issued in mid-December. The Sixth Edition includes significant changes, including new chapters on public sector issues. Professor Berendt wrote the portions devoted to arbitration in public education. According to Cleveland-Marshall Law School Professor Alan Miles Ruben, editor-in-chief of Sixth Edition, the book is the "premier universally cited work" in the labor arbitration field. The publication, he observed, is cited more by arbitrators than all other works put together, and it is cited by courts as well.
Professor Mark E. Wojcik
Activities
He was recently elected president of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC). A formal installation ceremony for Wojcik and additional officers and new board members will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 4, in room 3-East. The installation will also include an awards ceremony to honor individuals and organizations that have been pioneers in legal struggles for the gay, lesbian, and transgender community. The Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago is a professional membership organization of judges, attorneys, law students, and affiliated law workers. It seeks to provide opportunities for its members and the public to discuss issues of particular concern to lesbian, gay, and transgender persons, to improve access to the legal and judicial system, and to encourage the advancement of lesbians and gay men in the legal profession.