CCSV strives to make technological advances in compliance with industry standards to establish innovative and reliable services to the campus computer network and telecommunication systems.
Jump to: Recently Completed Projects
Current Projects
Network Refresh Project
This winter and spring, Computing and Communications Services (CCSV) will be performing major upgrades to the campus network infrastructure. This work is being done as part of the Common Network Initiative (CNI) program of the CSU Office of the Chancellor and is expected to last through July 2023. This project will encompass migrating to new equipment as well as upgrading to the latest wireless standards and speeds. For more information on this project as it develops, visit our Network Refresh Project page.
Campus Phone System Upgrade
The Campus phone system, the Avaya Private Branch Exchange (PBX), will have its first major upgrade since its installation in 2005! This upgrade will bring current-generation voice service to campus, along with unified communication options, and a more seamless approach to phone service, regardless of location. You can find out more about this upgrade on CCSV's Phone System Upgrade page.Use of Azure for Virtual Labs
As COVID-19 made clear the need for virtualized environments and distance learning, it was clear that some classroom environments, such as labs, would be more difficult to translate into a digital environment. CCSV is working with campus colleges and departments to virtualize lab learning environments by supporting their transition to Azure Cloud Services. This will allow students to access a virtual lab anywhere that they can connect to the internet.
Migration of Servers and Services to Azure Cloud Services (ACS or Azure)
CSU, Chico has begun to migrate, or move, its backups, along with certain servers and services to the cloud through Azure. Migration to Azure allows for availability of services from anywhere, has a lower cost to maintain than on-site physical hardware or backups, and is valuable for business continuity.
Completed Projects
Bell Memorial Union (BMU) Infrastructure Upgrades
The BMU will receive new infrastructure to support several new wireless access points, and cameras for campus safety.
New Science Building (Siskiyou II)
Siskiyou Hall began demolition in spring of 2018 to make way for for a new science building, to house state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, and research centers, in addition to support space and offices for our science departments. To find out more about the New Science Building, including a construction timeline, please visit Facilities Management & Services' New Science Building page.
Next Generation VPN Service
The campus VPN solution, Pulse Secure, reached its end of life in early 2020. After careful consideration of the needs of campus users onsite and offsite, Network Operations made the decision to proceed with GlobalProtect VPN Client to meet campus needs. GlobalProtect was launched in March 2020 for all campus users.
Housing Wireless Access Point Refresh
To ensure that our dorm-housed students could study and communicate more effectively over wireless, 325 wireless access points throughout the dorms were replaced in 2019. These replacements represent a major upgrade to wifi quality and bandwidth, from wireless standard 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) to wireless standard 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6). This allowed wireless access points to communicate with more devices, more efficiently than ever, giving a huge boost to wireless coverage and reliability in the dorms.
Arts & Humanities Building
For the new Arts & Humanities building (ARTS), completed in 2016, Computing & Communications Services provided specifications and design review, inspection during construction, and coordination for its smart classroom technologies. Additionally, CCSV aided in coordination infrastructure, cabling and electronics efforts. You can read more about the ARTS building and its in Chico State Today's 2016 article.
Butte Enterprise Data Center Upgrades
The Butte Hall Enterprise Data Center was originally constructed for mainframes when the building was built in 1969. This project enabled some energy savings through more effective and efficient cooling. This project accomplished installation of cold aisle containment boxes to manage airflow more efficiently, variable speed motors that use less energy, and new high airflow tiles to aid in cooling the data center.
Farm Aerial Fiber
Currently, the University Farm is connected via a wireless mesh solutions. To improve reliability CCSV and the College of Agriculture approved plans to upgrade connectivity. Fiber optic cabling will be hung on current utility poles to several buildings and designated areas.
O'Connell Infrastructure Upgrade
This project replaced all cabling in O'Connell Center (OCNL) to meet the campus standard, enabling modern network capability and speed.