A Web-Based Application for Software Information, Distribution, and License Control 

Joanne Agostinelli, Mary Glynn, Jolee West

* see the end-user interface at http://software.wesleyan.edu

INTRODUCTION

Wesleyan University, like most institutions, is licensed to use a wide range of commercial software, ranging from site licenses for standard multi-purpose software (e.g., our Microsoft campus license) to single licenses for discipline-specific software. 

As computing began to take a central place in teaching and research on our campus, we found it increasingly difficult to manage media, license information, and communications about our acquisitions. 

Providing easy access to licensing information would enable users to be more self-sufficient, provide speedier response time, prevent unnecessary purchase of duplicate software, and free up support staff for more critical activities. Also, a parallel scheme for distribution was needed to streamline support.

In sum, we needed a way to provide:

 


EVOLUTION OF THE SOFTWARE DATABASE
~ Two Years Ago ~ 
Software Chaos 

  • No central distribution point

  • No control of original media

  • No central license control

  • No easy way for users to perform do-it-yourself installations & upgrades

 
~ Phase I ~
Initial Effort to Centralize

  • All software-related data centralized in FileMaker Pro Database:

    • Licensing info

    • Point of contact

    • Installed locations (labs, etc)

    • Network location of installers

  • Web user interface (FileMaker Pro)

  • Data Input via FileMaker Client

  • Installers available on Web server and Novell file server

 
~ Phase II ~
Enterprise Solution (Current Version)

  • Database refined and converted to Oracle 

  • Extraneous fields eliminated

  • Definitions of data items clarified

  • New tables added 

  • Vendor information

  • Software/versions used in standard campus images

  • Redesigned Web Interface for end-users (Oracle Application Server)

  • Users see only software appropriate to their role (student, faculty, staff)

  • Browse functions by category, platform, freeware

  • Download from both Novell and Web from within the application

  • New Web Interface for data input/update/browse (Oracle Application Server)

  • Replaced old FileMaker front end 

 
~ Phase III ~
Enhancements

  • Integrated list of technicians who can be called for additional 
    training/assistance with specific software applications

  • Listings of discipline-specific software by relevant academic department

 

 

 




FIRST EFFORTS

We first tackled this problem two years ago and put together an application to address these needs, consisting of a FileMaker Pro database and some end-user Web pages. It was an important start, but FileMaker proved to be a cumbersome platform to maintain and did not have all of the features and capabilities we needed. We also needed to re-think the presentation of this data in terms of the various categories of users who would access it and their unique needs.
We created a project team which included IT staff members in the following areas: Academic Computing, User Services, Programming, and Computer Imaging & Public Computer Support. Our goal was to completely redesign the system using our best development tools and the experiences we have gained from our campus-wide Web-centric approach to application development. We needed an application which would provide the following:

NEW DESIGN

The final design includes an Oracle database, Web front-ends for both end-user access and database update and a Software Server as a repository and download site for all software. As our enterprise-wide database solution, Oracle is supported 24x7. By using this as our development platform, we also ensure future compatibility with other databases on campus.

MAINTAINING KEY PLAYER COMMITMENT

A critical aspect of the project was to get key players (i.e., software purchasers) to commit to the maintenance of information housed in this system--even a brilliantly devised application will fail unless the data are maintained with complete accuracy. For this reason, it is important to have an easy-to-use update mechanism and good reporting capabilities. The prior FileMaker Pro based system, dependent on a proprietary client for updates and certain restricted-access lookups (e.g., serial numbers, server notes), was a major impediment to maintenance and regular use of the data by support personnel.


As currently designed, a software record only appears in the public listing as long as it is associated with a particular computer image (Wesleyan uses Norton's Ghost application for software distribution in our public facilities and for initial configuration of new faculty and staff desktop systems). Images are maintained for public computing lab Macs or PCs, our mobile computing facilities, faculty and staff desktops, and specialized settings. This image-based rule acts as a check that all parties involved are maintaining their records appropriately.

 
The staff member responsible for maintaining the computer images will not install the software to the requested image until the purchaser has updated the database. Furthermore, this rule allows us to maintain records on restricted software and maintenance utilities which are available to support personnel but should not be accessible to the general population. Other software which are available for faculty/staff or student use (but not universally installed), are added to a "virtual" image, called "Specialty Software not in labs." Thus, information about such packages is made available to the general community.