This article discusses the history and context of Get Connected, describes the impact the project has had on student connectivity and computer security at IU, and discusses the support model and engine, which IU has licensed for use at Louisiana State University. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of Get Connected has been the avoidance of massive disruption resulting from security attacks (such as worms, viruses, and rootkits) on the Windows platform in recent years. Following implementation of the Get Connected project, the data suggest that efficiency of IU's ResNet services has improved, support costs have been contained, and student satisfaction with ResNet services has dramatically increased. Indiana University's (IU's) home-grown solution, Get Connected, offers unlimited flexibility and at least a degree of stability over the three-to-four-year life span of each version of the Windows operating system.
Approaches to network access policy and control, quarantine, and mitigation vary greatly across institutions of higher education, ranging from no network policy and no access control to a variety of both home-grown and commercial solutions. In a nationwide 2005 ResNet survey conducted by the ResNet Applied Research Group and published by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR), IT security "including spyware, adware, and viruses" was reported as the biggest challenge facing ResNet professionals. Many ResNet professionals concur that the task of connecting more than 13,000 computers to the network seems especially daunting in an environment where one compromised machine can cripple an entire network, as happened with the Blaster computer worm in 2003.
Indiana University Information Technology Services (UITS) is charged with ensuring these connections within a reasonable amount of time and without compromising network security.
At the beginning of an academic year, thousands of students move into campus housing on Indiana University's Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses within a three-day period, and more than 96 percent arrive with at least one personal computer (and possibly also a PDA, cell phone, and gaming system), and most expect to connect to the campus network within a few hours, if not minutes, of arrival.
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