A maintenance agreement with IBM will require the company to prevent any equipment malfunctions in the university server and service occurring problems to ensure a reliable, updated electronic system.

The agreement, which is Eastern’s largest contact with a hardware or electronic vendor, requires IBM to do any preventive maintenance to the company’s equipment on campus, most of which is more than two years old. Filters or parts that need to be replaced on a regular basis will be covered by the agreement and the company will also monitor their equipment for potential malfunctions, Bill Witsman associate vice president for Information Technology Services, said Thursday.

Campus network equipment in residential, academic and administration buildings, including the server and six new routers, will also be covered by the maintenance agreement.

“Equipment like this is not perfect and this is a normal and standard process,” Witsman said.

During this fiscal year, the university spent just over $280,000 in maintenance, but Witsman said that during the five-year span covered by the contract, costs may vary depending on the amount of maintenance needed. However, costs can never exceed $400,000, according to the contract.

Witsman also said maintenance costs may go down if the university decides to replace the 6-year-old enterprise server.

The enterprise server is the mainframe computer that holds most of Eastern’s information, including students’ grades, payroll, and registration information. Plans to purchase a new one are only in the beginning stages, but Witsman said newer machines often mean fewer breakdowns or replacements.

“Additional costs are often attached to very old machines,” Witsman said.

The agreement also acts as a kind of insurance policy for IBM equipment. If anything breaks down, Witsman said, the company can be notified to send parts or bring someone on site immediately for no extra cost.

“If something breaks, they will come out here and fix it,” he said. “It’s a very complex process and it takes the support of a company.”

The agreement with IBM was expected to be finalized during the last fiscal year in July, but it was delayed because of changes in the company’s management and the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. IBM was set behind schedule when they tried to replace computers and other equipment damaged in the attacks.