Appendix I - Current Technical Infrastructure

Appendix I - Current Technical Infrastructure

The State of Connecticut, Department of Information Technology, initiated a new process for Enterprise-Wide Technical Architecture (EWTA) planning in 2000. EWTA is based on an analysis of environmental trends, statewide business drivers and information requirements. This creates a business context for reaffirming existing standards, specifying new standards, assessing best practices, and establishing a list of strategic IT products for the State.

The EWTA has two primary architectural components; Conceptual Architecture Principles and Domain Architecture Documents.
The Conceptual Architecture Principles represent the core business and technical principles on which all the technical domain architectures are based. These principles must be incorporated into information technology planning and solution design activities by the agencies and their IT contractors.
 
The Domain Technical Architectures define the design principles, technical standards, product standards, and implementation guidelines that will be utilized by the agencies, DOIT personnel, vendors and consultants implementing State systems.

The EWTA architecture documents and links to the State's IT policies can be found on the DOIT Internet Web Site at www.DOIT.state.ct.us/policy/policy.htm (Draft versions of Domain Architecture Documents define the Domain Technical Architectures which include associated Conceptual Architecture Principles).

The State of Connecticut desires that vendors propose the optimal hardware and software configurations for the ERP. Vendor proposals should also reflect the State of Connecticut EWTA strategic direction.

Existing Applications - Description and Technical Profiles

The following pages contain descriptive narratives on the major applications that are targeted for replacement by the new integrated software suite. Within these narratives are also technical overviews of those applications.

This material is designed to provide the Vendor with a brief overview of the current applications and their environments.

The descriptive narratives and technical profiles are provided for the following applications:

Automated Personnel System (APS)

Platform: OS/390

Database: DB2

Operational Date: 1993

The Automated Personnel System (APS) records and reports all personnel/position actions processed by state agencies. In addition, APS processes Worker's Compensation claims, maintains information for the state's exam process, transmits funding information to the OPM's ABS system, and transmits employee name and address changes to the State Employees Retirement System. APS runs mass pay changes and provides the State Payroll System and Time and Attendance system with regular updates of mass changes. The Automated Personnel System was developed in house using the Telon code generator and is the state's primary personnel system. APS has 1,550 user Ids registered for access to various system components and supports approximately 127 agencies. Data is also received via batch from a few of the agencies as well as from the Office of the State Comptroller, the Retirement Division, Alexsis, (the state's managed care administrator for Worker's Compensation), and ConnectiComp (the state's managed care provider).

There are six subsystems that make up APS.

 

State Agency Appropriations Accounting System (BOSS SAAAS)

Platform: VAX Open VMS

Database: RMS - Record Management System

Operational Date: 1979

The BOSS State Agency Appropriations Accounting System (SAAAS) is an on-line data entry and retrieval system which is used as a complement and extension of the Office of the State Comptroller's Accounting System. It enables agencies to account for funds and record revenues, expenditures, encumbrances, appropriations and allotments. SAAAS also provides agency management with information for the projection, planning, and demonstration of compliance with their budget. Account status and balances are available to customers immediately through on-line inquiry and reporting capabilities. SAAAS interfaces with many systems including several of the core financial and administrative systems, OSC's Central Accounting System, the State Payroll System, the Office of the Treasurer's Receipts and Disbursements System and OPM's Automated Budget System. SAAAS is a custom-developed system written in VAX BASIC.

Time and Attendance System (BOSS TAS)

Platform: VAX Open VMS

Database: RMS - Record Management System

Operational Date: 1983

The BOSS Time and Attendance System (TAS) provides state agencies with a tool for recording and reporting attendance and leave information for over 30,000 state employees through the entry of bi-weekly employee time sheet data. TAS calculates and sends earnings data to the Office of the State Comptroller's State Payroll System. The employee attendance information maintained by TAS consists of vacation time, sick time, personal leave time, overtime, worker's compensation time, compensatory time, holidays, and unpaid leave time. The system maintains balances on employee available leave time and length of service (longevity). TAS is a custom-developed system written in VAX BASIC.

 

Central Accounting System (CAS)

Platform: Unisys 2200

Database: DMS-1100

Operational Date: 1986

The Central Accounting System (CAS) is the central repository for all accounting information for the state. CAS maintains the official records of the State of Connecticut. CAS is a fully integrated Governmental Ledger Financial System that includes the following major functions:

CAS also provides for paperless processing of certain expenditure documents as well as approximately 40 electronic interfaces with other state and outside agency systems. CAS is a custom-developed system written in COBOL-74.

State Payroll System (SPS)

Platform: OS/390

Database: VSAM

Operational Date: 1987

The State Payroll System (SPS) is utilized to process payroll for all state employees. This payroll system is a customized version of the GEAC HR:E Series software written in IBM COBOL. The system pays approximately 65,000 state employees. It receives information via on-line screens, Remote Job Entry (RJE) input from nine state agencies, and various vendors. The on-line portion of the system has approximately 500 users and is available to all state agencies. The system also collects information to satisfy other state and federal reporting requirements.

State Website Accessibility

The State of Connecticut has adopted the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). It is anticipated that recent federal legislation included in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/508home.htm) will also apply to state government web sites by January 2002. Vendors submitting proposals with Internet access should refer to the State of Connecticut web site ( www.state.ct.us/cmac/policies/shpp.htm ) for accessibility requirements. It is desirable that vendor proposals comply with web site accessibility guidelines defined by the W3C.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Sec. 1-211 (Formerly Sec 1-19a)

Connecticut statues (Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Sec. 1-211 (Formerly Sec 1-19a)) define the requirement that computer systems being acquired by the State of Connecticut have the ability to provide nonexempt data to any person making a request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Vendor proposals should include a description of how the proposed solution accommodates compliance with FOIA.

DATA NETWORK, INFRASTRUCTURE AND FUTURE TECHNICAL DIRECTION

State of Connecticut Technology Infrastructure

The State of Connecticut's Enterprise Data Network is supported by the Department of Information Technology (DoIT). DOIT provides a central computing utility and statewide data network services to over seventy-six (76) state agencies. DOIT operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week throughout the year. The core of DoIT's infrastructure resides at two locations: 340 Capitol Avenue Hartford and 101 East River Drive in East Hartford. DoIT also supports branches and connections that span the length and width of Connecticut. Users and clients are interspersed throughout the state with some concentrations based on an individual agencies "home base" (e.g. Department of Education based in Hartford and the University of Connecticut based in Storrs. For a graphical depiction of the types of connections currently supported by DoIT see the attached network diagram.

The state provides telecommunication services through various networks. These networks provide agencies with dedicated and switched services in support of centralized and distributed data processing applications resident in mainframe, mini-computer, local area network (LAN), and personal computer environments.

The main node (340 Capitol Ave) is a processing hub to which agencies connect. The primary transport technologies in use are ATM and Frame Relay (T1, DS3, CO, 64K, and OC3 lines). Most agencies have T1 access, although some 56K dial-in access does exist (in the process of being phased out). Certain proprietary protocols including DEC, IBM, and Unisys are supported for access to legacy systems using these protocols.

 

Data Networking

The State of Connecticut Enterprise Data Network is the integrated vehicle for carrying all forms of State business traffic, including formal applications (both mainframe and client/server); shared file space on Unix, NetWare or NT servers; and the web-based State Intranet. Data protocols are TCP/IP, IPX, Vines IP, SNA and AppleTalk. The State utilizes Tellabs CrossNet 440's, Codex 6250's and Telco System D4 channels banks to consolidate low speed legacy data circuits. The State encapsulation legacy traffic (SNA) within TCP/IP. The IPX, Vines IP, SNA and AppleTalk protocols are expected to be phased out as the State migrates to an IP infrastructure. The State TCP/IP, class B, address space falls within NIC-registered address blocks.

During 2001, DOIT will consolidate the TCP/IP infrastructure, and continue to evolve the ATM and Frame Relay backbone that interconnects the routers. Beyond 2001, we expect to introduce Optical Metropolitan Area Networks utilizing gigabit ethernet for network convergence of voice video and data. The specifics of that environment are not yet clear.

 

Local Access Architecture

Local access services provide the physical media for delivery of data communication services between the carrier's point of presence (POP) location and the customer premise demarcation point.

The expansion of telecommuter program requires analog business telephone, ISDN-BRI, cable modems and or DSL access facilities. The trend is to increase 56K or 64K branch office access to fractional T1 or DSL service.

 

Remote Access Architecture

The State of Connecticut provides dial-up access to its main data network to employees and business partners for the purpose of accessing State computing resources and data. Users include full- and part-time telecommuters, State consultants at customer sites, occasional home PC users, and field service personnel. The State's most prominent usage for this type of service is e-mail, Intranet, and Internet access. The State standard user client is a Windows 95/98/NT/2000 workstation running Dial-Up Networking.

There are approximately 1,000 dial-up users accessing the State network using Virtual Private network (VPN) or SNET's Remote Network Access Services (RNAS).

The State owns and operates the current remote access equipment, and maintains the authentication and authorization databases. The State is currently using Nortel Extranet 4000 switch for encryption and Security Dynamics key for authentication. The RNAS system utilizes an NT RADIUS server to perform authentication and logging functions. The IPX and IP protocols are supported, with State owned InterNIC registered IP addresses provided by static pools assigned to each access server. In the instances involving third parties, these IP addresses provide the basis for resource access authorization. The State intends to phase out the IPX traffic over the next year. The remote access servers are presently configured for analog modems up to 56Kbps.

This architecture scales well, provides predictable performance, and has expanded constantly since its introduction in early 1999. For the future, the State is interested in technologies such as a carrier provided Virtual Private Network, or tunneling technologies through the global Internet using local ISP access.

 

Internet Access

Internet access is currently provisioned through one DS3 circuit and Cisco router which are being leased from the present Internet Service Provider (ISP).

DOIT provides a central computing utility and statewide data network services to over seventy-six (76) state agencies. DOIT operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week throughout the year from its location at 340 Capitol Avenue, Hartford. A wide range of networking services are provided to its customers; including support for an extensive IBM SNA network, DEC DECnet network, and a router internetwork. DOIT is currently developing and enhancing an additional user service for its customers; access to the Internet and resources for an agency to establish World Wide Web (WWW) presence.

 

Current Customer Base & Intranet Environment

DoIT has been developing a State Intranet which currently has over sixty thousand (60,000) IP connected clients residing in many different State government units. Currently DoIT provides e-mail and Internet access to over seventeen thousand (17,000) clients while acting as an Internet Service Provider's dedicated T-1 gateway service. As part of its Internet offering, DOIT supports a WWW (http://www.state.ct.us ) service for use by State government agencies and municipalities that is accessible by the general public

 

Scalability

DoIT anticipates continual growth in the number of user accounts and multi-media transmission. To ensure scalability, the State is exploring the following options, additional DS3 facilities, OC3 or OC12 arrangements, utilizing BGB, diverse routing, multiple POPs, multiple Internet NAPs, and bandwidth arrangements with its Internet network access provider.

 

Private Line

The State will continue to support its legacy data circuits. These data circuits consist of point-to-point and multi-point, analog and digital technology.

Currently, the State supports these technologies with channelized and non-channelized T-1 multiplexors. These multiplexors support DS0's, subrate functionality with programmable speeds from 9.6 to 512k.

The majority of these circuits traverse an SNET T-1 and fiber optic backbone, known as Statenet. The Statenet cloud contains SNET owned D-4 channel banks and multiplexors located in many SNET central offices.

 

Future Architecture

The State views Optical DWDM Network as the emerging technology of choice for the next generation of wide area, high speed (e.g., 2.5 to 10Gbps, T1 to OC12+) networks including convergence of data, voice, and video services.

The State views xDSL as the emerging technology, for the next generation of remote access network services. The xDSL Services includes ADSL, HDSL, SDSL, etc.

The State is in the processing of reviewing vendor input for RFP #990-A-24-7015, a telecommunication procurement RFP that will considerably alter the states network overview. To view the RFP on-line please see http://www.doit.state.ct.us/Purchase/RFP's/RFP990-A-24-7015/rfp.htm .

 

Department of Information Technology Wide Area Network Supported Technology

doit wide area network supported technology

Department of Information Technology's Generalized Inter/Intra Network

Doit Internet environment

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