Effective Monday, 12 August 1996, authenticated dial-in modem *terminal*
access to *VT-compatible* Miami University Network (MUnet) host systems
(MiaVX1, MiamiLINK, etc.) will be made available on 529-5777.
 
What It Is
 
Please note this is text-based *terminal* access similar to that currently
offered on 529-4999 and 529-2161.  This new service on 529-5777 differs
only in that it requires user authentication at the time of connection
to the network.  Authentication to individual hosts is still required,
although one goal for computing at Miami is eventual development of a
"single login, single password" environment.
 
Authenticated text-based terminal access will initially only be available
for *VT-compatible* hosts via 529-5777.  VT-compatible hosts at Miami
include MiaVX1 (the Digital OpenVMS cluster in Oxford) and MiamiLINK
(the Miami University Libraries' Information Network, including
Sherlock, OhioLINK, WorldCat, etc.).  3270-compatible systems such as
MiamiU (the IBM VM/CMS system) and MUAdm (the IBM MVS system) will *not*
be available through this authenticated dial-in modem access until our
vendor resolves 3270 compatibility issues in the product.
 
How It Works
 
Callers to 529-5777 will be prompted for a login userid and password.
Authentication for this service is being provided through the same
mechanism used for graphical access to MUnet via the Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP):  all Miami University students, faculty and staff are
being assigned UniqueID accounts through Novell Directory Services (NDS),
which controls access to Novell servers across the University and serves
as the authentication database for PPP and terminal access to MUnet hosts
and resources.
 
The UniqueID is an up-to-eight-character userid that consists of up to
six characters of the individual's last name, followed by a first (and
optionally middle) initial.  The new default password for UniqueID accounts
consists of the individual's two-digit birth month (mm), two-digit birth
date (dd), and the last four digits of their Miami University ID number
(a/k/a Social Security Number) (xxxx), or mmddxxxx.  As an example, a Miami
student, faculty or staff member named Jan Q Public born April 1st and the
Miami ID number 123-45-6789 would have the UniqueID PublicJQ and the
password 04016789.
 
The process of automating creation of NDS login userids and passwords is
nearly complete.  However, if your attempt to make a terminal connection
to MUnet by dialing into 529-5777 fails, please use the existing
unauthenticated terminal access via 529-4999 and 529-2161 instead until
your NDS userid and password become available.
 
Unauthenticated terminal dial-in modem access to MUnet will continue to be
available on 529-4999 and 529-2161 for an unspecified period of time, but
certain MUnet-accessible services (including certain MiamiLINK services,
such as OhioLINK access) that require authentication will no longer be
available from 529-4999 and 529-2161 when the 1996-97 academic year begins
in late August.
 
Why It Is
 
The improved security made possible through such user authentication
helps ensure the integrity of the University's computing environment in
general and Miami's compliance with data and software licensing and other
contractual agreements (which restrict access to current Miami students,
faculty and staff) in particular.
 
--
 
          Miami University
 
          John B Harlan
          Campus Wide Information Systems (CWIS) Coordinator
 
          Miami Computing & Information Services (MCIS) Client Services
          137 Hoyt Hall
          Oxford, Ohio 45056-1618
          (513) 529-5330 voice  (513) 529-5058 fax
          [log in to unmask]
          http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~harlanjb/