Networking in Nacogdoches Stephen F. Austin State University John Garner

Networking in Naconowhere Challenges : Geographically remote location Small staff ( 2, now 4 ) No Budget Rapidly Growing Networking Needs Existing network overloaded, becoming unstable

Opportunities Able to grow and retain quality staff Solid network design to grow from Achieved sustained funding Began campus upgrade in 1997 Incremental, phased upgrade in progress

Then Alantec Powerhubs, FDDI,and 10 mps ethernet at layer 3 for core MMAC hubs for distribution layer Telephone wiring for data ( Cat 3 or less ) IP, IPX, Appletalk, DECnet etc etc etc

How ? ATM or 100 mps ethernet ( 802.3z not yet ) Who ? Cabletron, 3Com, Bay, Fore or Cisco ? Need switched faster than 10 with scalabilty – ATM too $$ and complex looking for gigabit ethernet Need layer 3 on the core

And How Documented existing network Deployed management tools – Intermapper and Spectrum Element Manager Identified network overloads and source of outages ( ZIP storms etc ) Justified need for imperative network upgrade = funding

The Process Designed upgrade plan and path Deployed one Cat 5500 for Layer 3 core at 100 mps May 1998 ( VLANS ! ) Deployed Cat 2900s at distribution layer for 100 mps switched access to high use segments, initially connected MMACs to 2900s, migrated end user connections to switches

The Process … Deployed two more Cat 5500 switches for Layer 3 at 100mps, more 2900’s, removed Powerhubs Secured funding for wiring upgrades to Cat5, standardized wiring and jacks for voice and data Began the ‘Residence Hall’ Project – providing switched 10/100 to each pillow ( ) Scaled internet access from 1 T1 to 2 T1’s Joined Internet 2, began peering at Texas Gigapop January 1999 via SBC DS-3 ( with a lotta help from our friends at UH, Rice, TAMU)

And – Remote Access Upgrades from 2400 baud modems to Shiva Lanrovers ( 48 to 64 to 128 ports ) Then from Lanrovers to AS5300’s Now four 96 port AS5300’s for dialup access from off campus students, faculty and staff Cable modems and DSL at Last ! What Next ?

Continued wiring upgrades moving connections from shared media to switches Build out of Residence Hall network Deployed Gigabit on 5500’s, acquired 6509 Scaling commodity Internet access Number and needs of applications rapidly growing, trying to stay a step ahead

And Now Approximately 10,000 node ethernet. Gigabit backbone, Cat 6509 and 5500 core IP only on the backbone ( almost ;- ) 21 mps commodity internet access ( 150 miles ) b pilot underway ( LEAP ) VOIP pilot underway VPN deployed H.323 Video in production for classes

And Here We Are Residence Hall project 90% complete, segmented from rest of campus How do we provide the access our students would like to have and think they deserve ? How do we provide secure and reliable access for our production needs ? How can we predict and prepare for future needs and applications ?

New Challenges Funding, Acquiring and Managing Internet Bandwidth ( P2P, End to End, etc ) Where is that $10k/ month gigabit access ? Providing secure access Developing partnerships Digital Millennium Copyright Act Integrating and coordination with several initiatives – NETNet, K-20, regional peering

Challenges - Opportunities Staying ahead of our customers Retaining, training and growing quality staff Managing the Enterprise – need good tools Multicast IPv6 QoS Security Where do we go from here (strategery) ?