Download Network Planning Technical Sub

Campus Network
September 12, 2006
Present: Roy Beard, David Belgarde, Kevin Danielson, Michelle Rakoczy, Bryon Hills, Barry Pederson,
Brandon Thorvilson, John Wold, Brad Miller, Josh Jones, Corey Quirk, Chad Gratton, Jing Wang, Lori
Swinney, and Bonnie Jundt
Absent: Don Larson, Renetta Johnson, Tony Houdek, Doug Osowski, Jay Smith, Carl Warrene, Larry
Fisk, Dale Ricke, Corey Shock, and Harold Bruce
May 9 minutes – approved
Michelle introduced Bryon Hills, the new ODNA system administrator, replacing Adam Ramberg.
Lori Swinney announced that as of July 1st Center of Instructional & Learning Technologies (CILT)
became a new division of ITSS. Lori is the team leader for CILT and reports to Craig Cerkowniak, ITSS
Associate Director of User Support. The new structure is working well for sharing resources.
DNS – Current status – Kevin
ITSS has completed the implementation of DNSOne and it is now in full operation. Some cleanup of
unused domains was done in the process. In coordination with NDUS, the nodak domains hosted at UND
have been moved to be authoritative on DNSOne.
Kevin inquired about an interest in attending a WebEx on Sept. 25th at 9:00 AM on the latest update for
Infoblox DNSOne. He offered to make arrangements. This major upgrade is available, but we’ve been
hesitant to take the step until we have more information. Those using DNSOne expressed an interest in the
improved GUI which was promised in this upgrade.
Josh recently began using DNSOne for entering DHCP addresses for the College of Nursing. He is
entering MAC addresses to assign fixed IP numbers on devices. The School of Business is also using it to
assign fixed addresses. Aerospace uses DNSOne as their primary DNS. Barry is interested in using
DNSOne for entering DNS records for the Medical School while continuing to use their existing DHCP
servers and will contact ITSS to get started.
Network updates
Barry – There is still a shortage of available IP addresses at the Medical School. Setting shorter lease
times has helped to get by, but this needs to be addressed. One part of the solution might be to privately
address the numerous printers.
Josh – Setting up imaging for all computers from the Novell Server was worked on over summer. It
requires that computers keep the same IP number so that’s why we’re assigning each computer an IP
number on the DHCP server.
Josh and Renetta did the IT planning over the last few months for the new Behavioral Research Building
which will be connected the College of Nursing.
Brad – More information can be found on each of the following topics at http://itsecurity.und.edu.
A steering group helped develop a plan for getting started with IT Security Risk Assessments. A web
based software tool was purchased to help with doing surveys of critical systems. A trial of this survey is
in progress for the ImageNow system. An assessment would typically involve security of the application,
server, and physical environment. After this trial the next step is to identify the ten most critical systems on
campus for assessment.
Comments are still welcome on the SMTP Guideline document. The review process ends Sept. 29.
An IT security matrix was developed to provide baseline information of IT security tools used at UND.
A Cyber Security Awareness Day is planned on Oct. 17th from 9am-5pm at the Memorial Union Lecture
Bowl.
The NDSU IT Security Conference is scheduled for Nov. 1-2 in Fargo.
David – The network for NDIVN continues to grow; there are close to 450 supported endpoints. Codian is
being considered for replacing current equipment. Users are demanding more capabilities and more
interoperability and Codian appears to meet these needs.
NDIVN is considering a couple of different types of services. Rather than just scheduling rooms for video
sessions, people may be able to reserve a number of ports and any video system would be capable of
joining, including desktop systems. A meet-me type of service could be offered where the event is
scheduled and individuals from anywhere could dial in to a particular location.
Streaming services were upgraded over summer. There are now two servers that can provide up to 10
ports, capable of recording 10 simultaneous streams. The servers support playback for hundreds of
connections.
On September 26th Video Guidance will bring LifeSize high definition video equipment to UND for
review. David will send an invitation to our Listserv with details.
Corey – The Division of Continuing Education is short of IP addresses. Some numbers have been taken
out of the DHCP pool to get the needed numbers in the past.
Corey will work with Kevin to make a change with the Breeze server over the break between semesters.
A private IP number is needed for placing the student information system in the DMZ when a hardware
upgrade is done.
Michelle – Thirty wireless access points were installed in residence halls this summer. Three more will be
added in residence halls this month and two more in other areas. Students in residence halls continue to
request more wireless coverage, particularly in their rooms.
Installation of digital signage in eleven locations continues to be planned and worked on, with the first
installation planned at the Wellness Center. Security for these monitors is a big concern.
DSL was expanded this summer and put behind the firewall and Clean Access.
Jing – There is a need for additional network outlets in areas where people have been moving around with
the organizational change. Some existing cabling doesn’t meet campus standards. Jing questioned the
possibility of using switches to accommodate some of this need and Bonnie suggested that ITSS should
consider the needs and plan for resolving within accepted standards. CILT will bring the issue to Craig.
John – Wireless was updated again this summer. More access points were added after turning the power
down on the existing ones. Wireless is being used in classrooms now, rather than wired connections,
requiring additional access points. Wireless network security was addressed by turning the signal strength
down to assure that it doesn’t go outside of the building. Existing access points were upgraded to support
802.11g. Some changes were made to wireless at the UND Airport Facilities after some planning with the
GF International Airport due to issues raised by the FAA. Tuning was done with WLSE, the wireless
network management software used at Aerospace.
Kevin – Most of the summer was spent working on network design, load balancing, and securing systems
for ConnectND and UND critical applications and services. Residence hall network projects, Wellness
Center network planning and design, and troubleshooting the School of Engineering video/audio
synchronization issues for recording lectures for distance education used most of the remaining resources.
Discussion continued regarding the potential need to form a group on campus to collaborate on video/audio
recording and streaming applications, such as Breeze, Podcast, Streamwatch, etc. Along with campus
personnel, David agreed that IVN could participate in this group.
Roy – EERC has been working on the plans for their new building. Construction hasn’t begun.
Wireless expansion and management – The Student Technology Fee award to get started with the
implementing some core pieces for wireless networking, along with placing access points in a limited
number of locations, is progressing. Funding of equipment and management software was approved,
however the request for developing an overall plan, was not yet funded. Kevin worked on the design, and
equipment requirements for the core and the order is in progress.
A wireless controller in the core of the network will support the access points, moving the intelligence from
the access point to a centrally managed controller. In this first deployment phase the core switches will be
upgraded to support the wireless controller, Cisco’s Wireless Controller System (WCS) software will be
implemented to perform the similar functions as WLSE does at Aerospace, and about 25 access points will
be installed. Locations for those access points haven’t been determined. The student body will give input
on setting building location priorities.
STAGENet 2006 – Bonnie, Kevin and David
In the STAGEnet 2006 upgrade Dakota Carrier Network (DCN) is providing 4 gigabit links to STAGEnet
for higher education, K12, state government and political sub-divisions. The initial goal was to have the
state network upgraded prior to the beginning of fall semester. There were delays with delivery of
equipment to get the resilient packet ring (RPR) installed in the four network centers for core services.
DCN needs to have this equipment installed and tested prior to turning the network over to Information
Technology Department (ITD), at which point ITD will start moving locations onto the new network.
Because this was not done prior to the beginning of school, ITD’s schedule for cutting locations over to the
new network changed. The current plan is to move political sub-divisions first, state government next, then
K12, and finally higher education. Higher education is tentatively scheduled for late November to early
December; ITD will work with HECN to finalize the times. The network center for STAGEnet in Grand
Forks is located at Merrifield Hall.
A potential change in the network is more distributed bridging for NDIVN, using all four network centers
rather than just Fargo and Bismarck, providing additional load balancing and reliability. There are no
immediate changes planned for video but changes are planned after migration of the new network is
complete. Currently there is a separate virtual video network and the plan is to merge video with all other
traffic. This will be a big change, involving IP address changes in many locations.
Clean Access – Kevin
We continue with putting administrative and academic wireless networks behind a firewall and using Cisco
Clean Access services. The current design is not optimal and will not support significant growth and there
is a risk with no redundancy. A budget request was submitted to use ITSS funding for another CCA server
and a CCA manager. We’d appreciate feedback from this group on the perceived value of CCA to the
campus, as we all share responsibility for protecting critical services and for identifying network users.
Michelle reported that there hasn’t been any network outages related to virus activity since her employment
at UND. Even though there are infected systems brought back to campus after breaks, resolving the issues
identified with Clean Access has been manageable. It has been a lot of work, especially with the addition
of DSL, but we agree with the need for a reliable network. ODNA has chosen to have Clean Access on
wireless networks in administrative areas, such as Dining Services and Auxiliary Services as access points
have been installed. It would be helpful to have a consistent solution throughout campus. It causes
confusion for students to have open access in some areas and different solutions for authenticating or
getting on the network in other areas.
John stated that wireless networking at Aerospace is open to anyone with access to the signal, however it is
tightly controlled with firewalls and access lists. The wireless network is designed for only email and web
access and therefore has little ability to cause problems, similar to guest access provided with Clean Access
in other areas of campus.
Barry indicated that the Medical School would be interested in further discussions about Clean Access if
authentication was not limited to the ITSS supported LDAP. John agreed; this as an issue for Aerospace
also.
UPS maintenance – Bonnie
The current maintenance needs, especially battery replacement, of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) in
communications rooms might benefit from being tracked and maintained from a central location. Bonnie
suggested the possibility of Telecommunications technicians handling battery replacement when needed.
Even though there isn’t an immediate need to make changes, as we move more into convergence of voice
with data and video, it may become more of an issue. Power requirements within communications rooms
need to be evaluated when UPS units are purchased. Power needs change when power-over-ethernet
equipment is installed.
Next meeting – October 10th