Glossary

These terms are used in ARB and across OIT. We don’t mean to generate jargon, but specialized work requires specialized language, so the least we can do is provide a decoder ring.

Term Abbreviation Category Definition

Parts of OIT

Architecture Review Board (ARB)

Hey, that’s us!

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Depending on context, might be the technology or the OIT team that builds AI tools for campus

Chief Information Officer (CIO)

The CIO is the head of OIT.

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

Head of Security

Cloud Services (Cloud)

An operations team focused on cloud hosted services.

Chancellor & Provost IT (CPIT)

Support custom software applications for units under the Chancellor’s and Provost’s Offices.

Database Administration (DBA)

The operations team that deals with database servers and services.

Depending on context, may be an actual database or the server that houses it.

Data Central (DC)

UCI Data Central provides integrated, clean, and timely data for reporting and analysis.

Desktop Support Services (DSS)

An operations team focused on people’s personal devices.

Disaster Recovery (DR)

The team at OIT who takes point to ensure our information systems are resilient to failures and can be recovered quickly and cleanly.

Depending on context, this can also refer to the practice of recovery or preparation for same.

Enterprise Applications (EA)

Builds and maintains stuff for campus administration

Enterprise Applications Systems (EAS)

The part of EA

Enterprise Infrastructure and Operations (EIO)

Among other things, houses all the operations teams.

Enterprise Unix Services (EUS)

An operations team focused on Unix and Linux servers

Enterprise Student Management Systems (ESMS)

The OIT team responsible for tools that focus on student records.

Educational Web Technologies (EWT)

Supports our Campus Learning Management System (LMS) and related services

Human Resources IT (HR IT)

Support campus HR departments

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Builds and supports systems that retain identity and login credentials. Works with other teams to integrate services into UCI’s “Single Sign On” (SSO) service.

Information Security (Security)

Ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of institutional information and IT resources at UC Irvine. See more at the UCI Security site.

Middleware and Application Infrastructure (MAI)

Provides tooling and services to other teams in OIT.

Office of Information Technology (OIT)

The Office of Information Technology is responsible for supporting the IT needs of UC Irvine faculty, students, and staff.

Office of Institutional Research IT (OIR IT)

Supports the Office of Institutional Research

Operations Team

One of the teams within OIT who specialize in keeping computers running: Cloud, DBA, DSS, EUS, WSG

The Office of Research IT (OR IT)

Supports the Office of Research.

OVPTL IT

The IT team that supports the Office of Vice Provost of Teaching & Learning IT.

Project Management Office (PMO)

OIT’s Project Management Office.

Production and Operations Management (POM)

Works with other teams in OIT to support smooth operation of deployed services.

Quality Assurance (QA)

Depending on context, might be the practice of testing software, or the OIT team that offers that service in-house.

Student & Academic Services (SAS)

Builds and maintains stuff for the academics on campus

Security Operations Center (SOC)

Prevents and responds to security incidents

Windows Services Group (WSG)

An operations team focused on Windows servers and services

Parts of UC

University of California (UC)

The University as a whole system, made up of all campuses and locations.

Univeristy of California Office of the President (UCOP)

Central admin of the UC System

Technologies

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

A broad set of tools for building and hosting applications in the cloud. OIT makes wide use of AWS.

Most of AWS follows an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, in which the consumer pays to buy parts, that can be assembled into an end product. Some of those services follow a Platform as a Service (PaaS) model, where hardware is bundled with an application or middleware component to simplify deployment.

You may also see references to one of the consituent services in AWS:

Learning Management System (LMS)

An application that houses teaching materials, quizzes, gradebooks, and more

Shibboleth

UCI’s preferred Single Sign On (SSO) service. An implementation of the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) standard, Shibboleth has solutions for service providers (SPs; think applications and services) as well as identity providers (IdPs; the service that SPs look to to verify identities).

Software as a Service (SaaS)

The business model where one party (the provider) builds, operates, and maintains a software solution to another party (the consumer). SaaS can be wholly internal to UCI (for example, when OIT provides a service to campus), or outside vendors can be the provider for UCI consumers.

Hostnames: Roles

When naming a server, the hostname must include a short role to explain what that box does. Keep them very short, and avoid numbers. Examples:

Roles and Responsibilities

Unit Information Security Leads (UISL)

People with responsibility for tactical implementation of IS-3 and the coordination and oversight of information security activities within a Unit. Find your UISL.

Updates

If this page needs updates, please email the ARB chairs!