The Information Technology Infrastructure provide the core computing infrastructure for Appalachian State University. This group designs, installs and supports foundational computing components such as computer and storage networks, data centers, servers and storage.
The primary goal of this group is to provide robust, reliable and secure computing infrastructure and services for faculty, staff, students and visitors.
Contact
David Earp
Director of IT Infrastructure and Systems
earpda@appstate.edu
828-262-6595
Departments
Network Infrastructures and Communications Systems (NICS)
NICS designs, implements and maintains an enterprise network infrastructure for the delivery of mission-critical services to Appalachian State University. NICS provides a secure, stable end-to-end computing experience for all network-enabled devices on campus.
The academic network provides learning, teaching and research opportunities for students and faculty at Appalachian State University. The administrative network functions as the core for business continuity and is a necessary component of nearly every business continuity plan across campus. NICS is responsible for the management of the switches, routers, wireless access points and security components necessary to provide connectivity, as well as stewardship of all network bandwidth. NICS also manages the Campus Residence Hall Student Network (ResNET) in both wired and wireless platforms.
Our WiFi canopy extends coverage to 100% of Appalachian's academic and residential buildings. This service provides both an encrypted transport platform for faculty, staff, and students with university credentials, as well as, an open platform for guests of the university.
NICS is responsible for the design, implementation and maintenance of the campus VoIP (Voice over IP) phone system, which is deployed campus-wide. NICS does everything from configuring phones to keeping our system up-to-date with accurate information for phone numbers, buildings and users.
In addition to designing and implementing the enterprise network, NICS provides end-user support and diagnostics to campus. NICS often serves as a secondary tier of support to the help desk and support center for end-user questions and hard-to-solve problems. It is a necessary part of our mission to provide friendly, prompt and thorough support to the users of our infrastructure.
Manager: Laramie Combs
Shared Resources
The Shared Resources group oversees the campus data centers, enterprise storage systems, data recovery solutions and the virtualization platforms for campus. Shared Resources is charged with developing and managing computing resources and infrastructure that provide services to a combined constituency base of Information Technology professionals, as well as, functional users, faculty and students.
Shared Resources provides consulting services to our constituents in the areas of virtualized servers and desktop services, enterprise storage, backup and recovery services. In addition, Shared Resources provides overall management for campus data centers.
Manager: Choya Durham
Physical Infrastructure
Our Physical Infrastructure group is responsible for the installation, maintenance and repair of numerous low‐voltage systems across campus. Physical Infrastructure's core ITS functions are composed of supporting the fiber backbone network connecting each university facility and the installation and support of structured cabling networks within each facility.
This group is also responsible for maintaining all conventional analog voice/fax lines throughout campus. In addition to networking, Physical Infrastructure is responsible for the installation and support of fire alarm systems, emergency call stations, duress systems and academic building cameras.
Manager: Mark McLean