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Outsourcing ResNet at Ithaca College

ResNet. Ithaca College. RESIDENCE HALL COMPUTER NETWORK. Outsourcing ResNet at Ithaca College. Ithaca College. Located in upstate New York Founded in 1892 Private, coed, residential college Offering undergraduate and graduate programs in 5 schools & an interdisciplinary division.

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Outsourcing ResNet at Ithaca College

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  1. ResNet Ithaca College RESIDENCE HALL COMPUTER NETWORK Outsourcing ResNetat Ithaca College

  2. Ithaca College • Located in upstate New York • Founded in 1892 • Private, coed, residential college • Offering undergraduate and graduate programs in 5 schools & aninterdisciplinary division. • Over 100 degree programs

  3. Director of ITS Information Systems and Services Network and Communication Services Technology and Instructional Support Services Web, Systems & Departmental Services • ERP, Ops • 19 people • Networks • Phones • 9 people • Field Service • User Support • Academic • 14 people • Web Dev. • Sys Admin • ITS Business • 18 people Information Technology Services

  4. Residence Hall Network • Phased in over 3 years in early to mid 90’s • “One port per pillow” • Today - 53 residential halls with 4,400 ports

  5. ITS provided ResNet • Flat network, 10/100 Mbps to the desktop • “Free” – no additional charge for the students • Shared main college Internet connection • ResNet bandwidth was allocated as a percentage of our main connection • Eventually allocated bandwidth by time of day (shifted more bandwidth to ResNet at night, less during day) • Shaped Internet traffic (allocated very little bandwidth to identified P2P traffic)

  6. ResNet Pressures Build & Change

  7. 38 Mb 3 Mb Bandwidth Allocated to ResNet

  8. Fall 2003 Approaches • Viruses, Worms, and other self-propagating nasties • And their significant impact on network performance • RIAA, MPAA, ESA… • Insatiable Bandwidth Desires • P2P “whack-a-mole” • Internal debate regarding the purpose of ResNet and use of our resources, and what is appropriate use of ResNet (games, P2P, etc) • Staff needed for other projects

  9. Fall 2003 – It boils over • August 2003 Blaster and Nachi strike and ResNet could not handle the traffic from infected machines • On the Friday before opening weekend we turned off the entire ResNet to prevent further infections • It ended up being off for 7 days while we developed procedures to deal with the situation and worked with students to get their machines protected and cleaned

  10. Why was it so bad? • Flat network • The entire ResNet was one subnet, no way to contain an infected machine • Full 10/100Mbps Ethernet speeds • Allowed viruses and worms to spread like wildfire • An unprotected machine would be infected within 30 seconds of connecting to ResNet • No firewall protection for ResNet machines • Individuals were not used to having to worry about computer security or patching

  11. And once past opening weekend… • We continued to take incremental steps to address many of the performance, support and network architecture issues • Had to remain vigilant and constantly turn off ports of infected machines • One or two infected machines would have significant impact on network performance • Saw a significant increase in P2P usage • RIAA, MPAA complaints increased significantly • Continued to experience a huge drain on support, network and other ITS staff – many projects were put on hold • Bottom-line: throughout Fall 2003 ResNet performance was sporadic and ITS staff stretched thin

  12. Students (and Parents) React • Student created “ResNet Sucks” Website with on-line petition and call-to-action • Editorials and letters in student newspaper • Students deliver a petition to ITS with 1,175 signatures demanding a better ResNet • And of course, angry emails and phone calls to the helpdesk, ITS management, and the college administration

  13. www.evanm.com/resnet/indexold.htm

  14. www.ithaca.edu/ithacan/articles/0311/06/news/LSresnet_revol.htmwww.ithaca.edu/ithacan/articles/0311/06/news/LSresnet_revol.htm

  15. Something had to change • If we were to continue to support ResNet ourselves, we would need to: • Significantly change and upgrade the network • Install better traffic monitoring and compliance systems • Provide additional network and support staff • Find additional space for student computer repairs • However, we were concerned about the ability to find funding and staff resources to support this for the long term

  16. Thoughts turned to outsourcing • Initial requirements: • Tiered service plan including a base no-cost option for the students • On-site support • Increased bandwidth • Robust network architecture that could better withstand viruses, Trojans and worms • A true partner interested in a collaborative relationship and who understands higher education

  17. We solicited proposals • A major nation-wide telecom • The local cable-TV / broadband franchise • A small company specializing in supporting residence hall networks

  18. The nation-wide telecom • Limited experience with this type of network and service • Limited experience with the academic environment

  19. Local cable-TV / broadband provider • Would provide a significant discount for their broadband service • Based upon a guarantee # of subscribers from us • The college would need to make one payment to them, and have students pay the college for the service • Would not provide tiered or free service options • No direct on-site support

  20. Local cable-TV / broadband provider • Would need to build an entirely new network infrastructure in the residence halls • Current cable-TV infrastructure could not support broadband service • College would be unable to support this cable-TV based network should the partnership end

  21. Small Residence Hall Provider • Agreed to meet all of our requirements • Tiered service options (including “free” option) • On-site support • Increased bandwidth / network redesign • Understood residence hall networks and the academic culture • CEO very effective at talking with the students about their concerns and issues • Interested in a partnership-type of relationship

  22. Small Residence Hall Provider • Concerns: • Located in Austin Texas with only two current customers • We would be their largest deployment (and farthest away) • Small company, operating “lean”

  23. Selected Apogee Telecom • We felt that these concerns were manageable • Selected the small residence hall provider, Apogee Telecom • Felt they were the best overall fit for us

  24. What we outsourced… • Redesign of the Residence Hall network • Network monitoring, troubleshooting, repair and replacement • Custom service levels and prices that met our particular needs and budgets • Management of the account sign up process • Student billing • Marketing and PR

  25. What we outsourced… • An on-site technician for troubleshooting student network issues • A call center open 7 days-a-week • The ISP of record for DMCA and other complaints • Work collaboratively with the college for responding to DMCA complaints • College gets copies of all notices and still may impose judicial sanctions

  26. Apogee Telecom – The Network • Redesigned our residence hall network and “over built it” • Provided 3.5 times the bandwidth (OC-3, 155 Mbps total) • Used our switches, but replaced most other components • Installed two Allot Communications NetEnforcers to control network traffic and bandwidth allocation • Significantly limited the number of computers on any one subnet • Students allocated bandwidth based upon their service level • Could use that bandwidth for whatever they wanted (any “legal use”)

  27. Fall 04 Apogee Service Plans Internet Access *High Speed = 10/100 Mbps to all ithaca.edu resources

  28. Apogee Service Costs • The College pays Apogee a base fee per month to cover: • 25 Mbps administrative internet service • “Free” 64 Kbps basic-level Internet service for all students • High-speed access to on-campus resources for all students • Apogee help desk support for ResNet students • This base fee is roughly equal to the amount we used to pay to our old campus network provider for the T3 service • so in the end, there was no increase in costs to the college

  29. The Implementation March – August 2004

  30. Timeline Contract signed Communicated plans to campus Technical site visits and design work Cable trenching Implementation sub-teams created Support procedures created Student antivirus strategy determined Network design finalized Onsite support staff interviewed and hired Legal / policy issues agreed upon Site coordinator starts Network infrastructure upgraded ResNet by Apogee Live March April May June July August

  31. Campus Communication • Apogee CEO came to campus and met with administrators, student government, and conducted an open town hall meeting • Announcement letters sent to students and parents detailing changes • Ads placed in the student paper • On-going dialogs with student leaders and parents to respond to concerns…

  32. www.evanm.com/resnet/index2.htm

  33. A petition to ITS with 1,175 signatures responding to a February 26, 2004 student newspaper article. They request that we work with a vendor such as Apogee to fix ResNet and not impose any additional fees for what they consider a basic and necessary service.

  34. Account Sign-ups • No matter what service level, people need to sign up for an Apogee ResNet account • Advance sign-up mailings sent over the summer to all students living in residence halls • Freshman sign-ups at orientation (June/July) • Could sign up via Web, phone or paper form • 2,892 people signed up in advance (67%)

  35. Fall 04 Apogee Subscriptions As of December 28, 2004

  36. Activation Process • A student plugs their computer into a ResNet port • Automatically directed to Apogee login page • Includes a link to the account sign-up page if needed • Student activates computer using Apogee supplied username and password • Only need to do this once per semester

  37. Cutover and Move In – Here’s Murphy • Last of the new equipment cutovers occurred shortly before opening weekend • Major fiber-cut 60 miles away took down service the week before opening weekend • A few days before opening weekend a network problem developed where students were not getting their subscribed-to level of service • Would result in a MAJOR PR problem if it didn’t work! • Apogee was able to put a workaround in place late at night on the Friday of opening weekend

  38. Opening Weekend • Our helpdesk and offices were quiet (it was strange!) • Apogee’s call center was busy, on-site staff were very busy and some students had to wait a few days for on-site help • Overall things went smoothly • Few if any complaints ever came to us regarding problems • ITS staff were unsettled by not having the ability to directly monitor ResNet performance or call volume to the Apogee support center

  39. Early Fall • A few scattered equipment problems • One particular residence hall experienced a few interruptions due to someone repeatedly plugging an improperly configured wireless router into the network • Overall, things went well

  40. Other (minor) issues that came up along the way… • Different expectations for who would be on-site during opening weekend • ITS staff and management had some trouble “letting go”….

  41. How’s it working? • ITS has had time to focus on other things • “This has been my most productive fall in a very long time” • Students seem to like the service • Apogee conducted a customer survey in late fall. Out of 4,193 survey’s sent out, received 1,067 responses (25.4%)

  42. “Connection is stable and reliable” Total responses: 1,067

  43. “I am satisfied with the speed I signed up for” Total responses: 1,067

  44. “The Apogee call-center support staff was knowledgeable in troubleshooting my issue” Total responses: 425

  45. And even our friend Evan, seems to like the service….

  46. Where do we go from here….

  47. Spring 2005 • Continuation “as-is” • Continue to optimize network settings and support procedures

  48. Future • Upgrade a few more network components • Look to add possible other services in the future: • Provide subscription-based TV-like services over the network • Wireless in residence halls • Better automatic virus and patching updating and quarantine services • Revisit price-points

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