April 2, 2001
VolNet Communication
- Net-events listserv created
In order to better communicate networking and computing systems issues with campus users, a Net-events listserv was created as well as a network & system status web page. Initial campus response to the listserv and its “push” method of communication has been overwhelmingly positive.
Interested users may subscribe to the Net-events listserv via a link on the VolNet website at http://volnet.utk.edu. The network & system status web page can be found at http://dii.utk.edu/netevents/. All items posted to the Net-events listserv are archived on this website.
Core Network & Electronics
- SMC Core buildup
Equipment has been ordered and received for the SMC core buildup with installation slated for completion in mid-April. Building cutovers will then be split between the SMC core and the HSS core.
- VPN
Multiple clients are currently being tested for use with the VPN box. Initial success has been achieved with various people and campuses using Windows clients. Neither Linux nor Mac clients are available, although Cisco is promising a client for both during the second quarter of this year. In addition, the authentication gateway between VPN and the LDAP directory is still being configured.
- Firewalls
At the request of the IRIS team, their firewall will not be in production until after April 10. Testing will be done first on an IRIS test machine before being released for production.
Building Cutovers
· Building cutovers continue
Building cutovers continue to occur as well as modifications to the cutover order. To date there has been 26 buildings cutover to the new gigabit core. Up-to-date cutover schedules can be found posted on the VolNet website.
The following buildings were cutover during January, February, and March:
Jessie Harris Art & Architecture Thorton
Claxton Science & Engineering Humanities
Claxton Addition Estabrook Apt. Residence Halls
South College Hoskins Gibbs Hall
Ayres Law Melrose
Intra-Building Wiring
· Status of buildings being wired
Hodges Library To be finished by the end of May
Physics To be finished by July
Nursing To be finished by July
Student Service Bldg. To be finished in next fiscal year
SMC Wiring is finished, still waiting on fiber between the floors
Vet Med Site survey completed/wiring begins in July
Henson Hall To be started next fiscal year
Communications To be started next fiscal year
South College To be started next fiscal year
Andy Holt Tower To be started next fiscal year
· IRIS Stress Test successful
A network stress test for IRIS was performed in January and the results indicated negligible impact on the network.
IP Issues
- NetId product replaced by ISC
IP address problems experienced during the initial building cutovers forced the replacement of the NetId product with the ISC product. ISC software was loaded as the DNS/DHCP server on January 9 and has been in production since that date.
- ISP services provided to UT Hospital
An agreement has been reached with UT Hospital to provide them with ISP services for 18-24 months, and to loan them use of Class B address space during this period.
Fiber Build-Out
- Single Mode Fiber installation from individual buildings to vault continues
Fiber installation continues to be completed and is approximately one month ahead of building cutovers.
- Special request for fiber runs
At the request of the IRIS team, fiber between SMC and Andy Holt Tower was installed in preparation for a private network for the IRIS servers. Completion of the private network is dependent on the arrival of additional networking equipment.
Internet
- Second DS-3 brought up in January
A second DS-3 from QWEST was installed in January and was dedicated to ResNet. The original Knoxville campus DS-3 dropped to 60% utilization (from 100%) and the ResNet DS-3 utilization is currently averaging 65-70%.
Staffing
- Three open positions filled in Network Services
Three Network System Analysts positions were filled in January.
Wireless Networking
- Phase 1 of wireless plan in progress
The wireless site survey for Phase 1 was completed in February and circuits are currently being installed with an expected completion date in early June. Installation of access points for Phase 1 is slated to begin in May with a projected completion date in early July. Phase 2 of the wireless project will begin in the Fall with a projected completion date of mid-Spring 2002. Please see attached map.
- Wireless hardware selected
The Avaya Access Server 2000 was selected as the initial primary wireless hardware.