Network Services

Network Upgrade

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need the 21st Century Network?

DoIT staff, in cooperation with the schools and colleges, are now installing a new campus network. The benefits of the new network will soon be apparent to everyone:

More Reliable. The network will be more reliable and durable, with self-correcting and redundant features.
More Secure. The software at each router and switch will be maintained to minimize intrusions. VPN (Virtual Private Network) services will allow you to access the campus network as if it were your private department network, even if you are off-campus. This will eliminate the need for departments to run their own cable between physical spaces to ensure a secure department network. Appropriate firewall capability is being considered as part of network implementation, with the goal of determining a firewall strategy during the fall semester.
High Quality. You will be able to stream video, graphics, animation, and music in real time. The network feature known as QoS (Quality of Service) will help to ensure that voice and data files are transferred so they can be received with minimal jitter. This will provide new opportunities to use the network for innovations in teaching and research.
More Information, Faster. The 10-GB network backbone will allow us to move more information at a rate ten times faster than we can now. Large files of research data will move unimpeded from building to building on campus and beyond campus to Internet2.
Ready for Tomorrow. We are planning for expanded wireless capability that will be built over time. This flexibility will enable the network to evolve with our changing and ever-growing needs. The network’s ability to carry voice communications can allow the eventual implementation of a campuswide Voice-over-IP (VoIP) for telephony instead of our current Centrex system.

This project is very expensive. Why are we doing it now?

UW-Madison consistently ranks among the top five universities in the country in terms of money spent on research. UW’s success in attracting grants unquestionably depends on the ability of our campus network to provide the computing sophistication required for large-scale research in the 21st century. An excellent example of this is Condor, where the extraordinary computational cycles required for a single process run on many computers taking advantage of the network. Another potential example is SAN, or storage area networking, which can help administrative computing systems and campus researchers to move large amounts of data rapidly across the network to take advantage of shared mass storage and back-up resources. These services require 21st Century Network capabilities. In addition, ideas continue to emerge for using the network environment to enhance teaching and to implement new ways to teach. These often require a more robust network that can provide levels of service that do not exist in our current network environment. If we do not upgrade our network now, we will not be able to stay at the leading edge of research and teaching.

Why does this network cost so much? I can buy network electronics for a lot less money than you are spending.

One component of the network upgrade is a significant investment in electronics to ensure physical redundancy throughout the network. Also, the network project involves a significant upgrade to the wiring plant on the entire campus. We are adding fiber optic cable to connect many campus buildings and upgrading the cabling infrastructure within buildings. Old cable is being replaced with cable that can move data at gigabit speeds. Network closets — now often shared with janitorial services and used for storage of chemicals and other supplies (one “closet” is even sited in a men’s room) — are being upgraded. The physical plant component of the 21st Century Network will support improved management of the network and improved physical security of the network infrastructure. The network provides a key campus infrastructure capability — a capability that we have all come to depend on for our day-to-day activities of teaching, learning, research, and administration. We need it to be robust and secure.

How are we paying for this network? What will it cost me?

To help develop an appropriate funding model, the University worked with a nationally respected consultant in this area, Western Telecommunications Consultants (WTC). WTC helped determine the current costs of all of UW-Madison’s network and telephony services and helped us restructure our cost model so that only the costs for providing a specific service are included in the charges for that service. WTC also provided information regarding the funding of network environments at peer institutions.

The Information Technology Committee, a shared governance committee, worked with the results of the WTC study and with DoIT to develop the network funding model for UW-Madison. The funding model combines a number of best practices gleaned from peer institutions. Our funding model includes approximately $4 million a year from central campus funding. The balance of the funds needed will be assessed based on the number of faculty and staff (FTEs) in each college and major division. Each college and major division budget will be charged $30 a month for each FTE. Only faculty and staff were counted as FTEs; not teaching assistants, research assistants or student staff. Other categories of personnel who are not consistent users of computing and network capabilities (e.g., janitorial staff, dietary workers and specific other groups) also have been excluded from the count. These exclusions were discussed with Deans and key administrative staff in each college.

As part of the new funding model, phone costs are reduced for all campus units. Previously, phone charges included some funding to support the network. The charges for all components of phone service are being reduced as we work to ensure that the funding of services reflects the costs of services. Therefore, all units on campus that receive bills for phone services should see a reduction in those bills beginning July 1. The anticipated reduction in phone charges for the 2003-2004 fiscal year exceeds $1 million.

An additional offset to the network costs occurs directly at the school and department level. Network electronics (that is, switches and routers) for existing buildings are included in the network budget, and departments will not be responsible for purchasing them. The initial round of electronics for new buildings, however, will come out of the budget for that building.

Who is responsible for this project? We have network folks in our department who have been taking care of our network for years.

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT), under the leadership of Interim Chief Information Officer (CIO) Ken Frazier, is responsible for this network implementation and for the management of the 21st Century Network. Because the network has become a key part of the campus infrastructure and critical to how we do our work of research, teaching and administration, the campus network will be implemented with specific standards and with much more coordinated management than exists today. This is a campus network, and DoIT Network Services staff will implement all of its components. Three different network management options are being made available to the campus community:

Central Management, where DoIT is responsible for network implementation, operation, and problem resolution;
Collaborative Management, where the department’s Authorized Agent and DoIT staff share responsibility for implementation, operation, and problem resolution;
Delegated Management, where the department’s Authorized Agents and DoIT staff share responsibility for implementation, and the Authorized Agent is delegated responsibility for operation and problem resolution for the department network.

More information about these network management options is being prepared for publication on the Web.

Who have you talked to about this on campus? Why haven’t I heard about it before?

Discussions have been ongoing about the 21st Century Network on campus for at least 18 months. Several presentations were given at Deans Council. Presentations and discussions were held with the technical staff on campus through an informal organization known as Tech Partners. Senior technical staff gave presentations and held discussions through another informal organization, the Campus Technical Issues Group (CTIG). The Information Technology Committee formed a subcommittee of key researchers on campus, the Network Task Force (NTF), to provide advice on standards and policies. The Network Services Department in DoIT also formed a small group of campus technical staff, the Network Technical Task Force, to provide advice as early decisions were being made. DoIT leaders have attended many meetings of different campus units to discuss the 21st Century Network project. DoIT hosted a network review where alternative network engineering proposals were reviewed by a panel of experts, including a Madison faculty member, a CIO with exceptional network experience from another UW campus, and network leaders from other major institutions around the country. Campus staff were invited to participate in that day-long review. Computing@Madison, a monthly insert in Wisconsin Week, provided many updates on the 21st Century Network over the past year. Information about the network project is also published on the Web. See www.doit.wisc.edu for more information.

When can we expect to see our building network upgraded as part of this project?

Initial plans are to upgrade the core network components on campus — those that feed all of the campus buildings. Specific building upgrades will follow. In some instances, upgrades to the core components and campus buildings will be concurrent. For more information about the 21st Century Network project, including the tentative implementation schedule, see the DoIT Web site at www.doit.wisc.edu and follow the links to the plan. Many events can cause the schedule to change. While not fixed in stone, this schedule provides the best current planning for implementation.

No one has talked to our organization. Who should we get in touch with?

If your unit would like a presentation about the network project, please contact any of the following DoIT staff. They will coordinate a presentation or discussion with your organization or with you.

Al Krug 2-9502
Rick Keir 2-9463
Jim Hilby 2-8481
Perry Brunelli 5-9543