Innovative Infrastructure Design at Olin College

2. “IF I COULD START FROM SCRATCH” A Case Study of Infrastructure Design at Olin College Joanne Kossuth, Director Information Technology

3. Mission Impossible???? • Start Date? • October 1999 • End Date? • ASAP • Task • Design a network infrastructure for Phase I buildings and outside plant, anticipating future phases • Rationale: “It will be Different”

4. The Beginning

5. Location, Location

6. The Model

7. Design Goals • An infrastructure with a minimum expected lifespan of 25 years • A technology experience consistent with the expectations for the “Engineering College of the 21st Century” • An infrastructure capable of : • supporting faculty research requirements such as the Sloan Center for Online Education (www.scole.org) • supporting collaborative endeavors that cut across educational, corporate, and international boundaries • supporting student expectations and requirements for academic, community, and social activities

8. Possible Services • Network based file sharing, storage, printing, and backup • UNIX, LINUX, and NT operating systems support • Desktop applications and support such as MS Office, CAD • Disaster Recovery of laptops, desktops, servers, etc. • A pyramid of web pages from faculty to student home pages • Wireless connectivity to work anywhere with anyone • High speed access to the Internet • Constant e-mail access • The ability to download or send applicable information from home computers to work computers to cell phones or other personal digitalassistants

9. Possible Services, Cont. • Course materials available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for anytime, anywhere learning • Access to help (student, faculty, on-line, e-mail) whenever needed • A variety of multi media materials (music, artwork, movie clips, television clips, sound bites, PowerPoint presentations, talking heads, chat rooms, discussion boards) used in content to keep the interest of the student • Online self assessment, instant feedback • The ability to personalize the educational experience down to coordinating and editing materials to study in the manner that works best for the student

10. Possible Services, Cont. • The ability to produce the aforementioned multimedia materials through taping, digitizing, editing and online collaboration • The ability to stream and broadcast selected audio and visual materials throughout the campus or the world • Teleconferencing • Voice over ip (utilizing network equipment as opposed to a traditional PBX which would cost between $1 and $1.3 million dollars) to make and receive telephone calls • The ability to access all student services online, anytime, from anywhere and to have the services provide knowledgeable support during the process • Things we cannot even imagine ……..

11. Our First Educated Guesses at Required Resources • Fiber connectivity to the world • Fiber connectivity between buildings • Fiber connectivity between floors • Category 6 copper cable for up to 1GB throughput to the desktop • Fiber to the desktop for advanced multi media applications such as CAD • Satellite Dishes • Partnerships with a select 8-10 technology companies • An ongoing commitment to upgrading and replacing technology on an annual basis • Staffing

12. Staffing? • Currently, IT Director, Associate Director for Networking and Technical Services, Associate Director for Application Development, Technical Services Assistant, Network Admin and Technician openings • Supporting approximately 50 users, 16 servers, Great Plain Avenue campus • IT includes voip, A/V, electronic security • Designing and overseeing IT work on the main campus • Designing and overseeing IT work on the Modular Academic Center and Residence Hall (temporary 9/01-2/02) • Estimated final staff count of 20-25 +/-

13. Design Factors • Design Factors • The design is based on the following factors: • The impact of the technology currently in place, and the impact of the technology planned in the following environments: • High Schools • Comparable Colleges • Corporations • Emerging technologies and challenges, the rate of change, and customer relationship management

14. Design Factors, Cont. • The exceptional level of students being recruited by Olin College • The increasing expectations of the student community, in general Students are already used to: • 24x7 access to course materials on the web • ATM machines • Home banking • E-commerce (groceries to cool techie toys) • Using the Internet voice over ip to make “free” telephone calls • Using cell phones to download material from the web to stay constantly in-touch

15. Design Factors, Cont. • Napster and MP3s (“making their own music in their own portable format) • Sending postcards via e-mail • Receiving photos from a CD, not negatives • Using a digital camera and skipping the photo development process entirely • Watching TV or videos over the Internet • Collaborating in “group” games such as SimCity and Doom • The role of emerging network technologies • The formation of “high-tech” communities I.e. the Nortel community in California • The rapid rate of technological innovation and change • Focus on customer relationships over a lifetime

16. High School Examples • North Carolina School of Science and Math • Maine School of Science and Math • Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science • Rockport Maine High School

17. Today’s High Schools • North Carolina School of Science and Math • www.ncssm.edu/IT/computing_resources • T1 Internet access • 10 servers • 300 workstations • Student Learning Lab containing 21 PCs with video capture cards and conferencing cameras, reserved by on-line reservation • E-lab containing 20 PCs and 15 development machines with video editing, desktop publishing, electronic music, and high-end graphics

18. NCSCM • North Carolina School of Science and Math (cont.) • HP Unix/Linux lab containing sever and workstations • Distance Learning Department with non-linear video editing, server, and high end workstations • Networked HP color and black and white printers • Terminal server clients in dormitory common rooms • Student run web server • Student organization web sites • Upgrading to all 100mbs (megabits per second) connections

19. Today’s College Technology • Harvey Mudd • Rose Hulman • Florida Tech • MIT • Wake Forest University • Northwestern University • University of Massachusetts, Amherst • WPI

20. WPI • www.wpi.edu • Dual campus backbone, OC-48 ATM/10GB Ethernet • All multimedia/video runs on the ATM network • Use Siecor fiber • All data runs on the 10GB Ethernet • One ATM 3/12 to each building with a 2 GB Ethernet uplink to the data chassis • All ports being upgraded to switched 10/100 Ethernet

21. Today’s Corporations • Biogen (Medical technology) • Household Finance (Financial/Insurance) • Crossroads (Internet) • UPS (Transportation Service)

22. Crossroads • Crossroads, Austin Texas • Supplier of data storage solutions • Full FTTD (Fiber to the desktop) solution using MTRJ connectors • 3 pairs of fiber to each desk, copper for the telephone connection • 4000 desktop connections

23. Emerging Technology Considerations • Internet 2 applications require end-to-end connectivity • In an environment where voice, video, and data are converging into a common digital infrastructure how do we connect wired and wireless networking in a seamless manner? • What quality of service is required? • How can bandwidth be dynamically allocated to insure that certain network traffic goes through regardless of any other application (prioritization)?

24. Emerging Technology Considerations, Cont. • Should we segregate academic/administrative from residential networks to apply different quality of service algorithms? • Do researchers with external support receive priority network services? • Should research indirect cost formulas be altered to include quality of service costs? • Should quality of service be fee-based? • Can we plan the current and future replacement for network hardware?

25. Market Considerations • According to Cabling Business Magazine, new construction projects are installing single mode and multimode fiber at the backbone and riser level • Approximately 40% of the new construction projects are installing fiber to the desktop e.g. George Washington University, Umass Amherst • In general, new installs of copper for data purposes are Cat6 with the exception of strictly voice applications • There is a world wide shortage of fiber and the raw materials that make fiber

26. Market Considerations, Cont. • Vendors are currently producing 10GB backbone throughput on fiber • New technologies such as wave division multiplexing (WDM) and dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) are being utilized in the carrier market • Predications call for LANs to be 10GB by 2003-2005 at the time when MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks) are 30GB and WANs (wide area networks) are 100GB

27. Technological Change • LOS ALAMITOS, CA September 26, 2000: Creating the best possible digital learning environment is critical to sustaining California’s technology miracle. With $32 million in State funding, the Digital California Project: K-12 Statewide Network is underway to create a digital infrastructure to help prepare the next generation with the skills to excel in the network-driven economy. The Digital California Project, or DCP, provides the framework for a cohesive and seamless statewide advanced service network that reaches into each of the State’s 58 counties. Once the network has been implemented, K-12 schools, districts and county offices of education will be able to connect their networks to the DCP and gain access to rich content resources for teaching and learning, to prepare students with the basic knowledge and specific skills to inspire them to enter and be successful in higher education and in the 21st century workforce.

28. Customer Relationship Management, Students • Services received from web-based companies lead students, faculty, and staff to increasingly expect real-time personalized services available around the clock • Students will expect to receive choices in registration based on past preferences, meeting time, learning style, academic area, prerequisites, co-requisites, impact on degree completion, previous student ratings, cost of textbooks and materials, etc.

29. CRM, Researchers • Researchers will expect to have only those grant opportunities applicable to their areas of interest flagged for them. • They will also expect to be contacted only by those individuals interested in working with them on specific projects. • They will expect to collaborate in virtual time and space. • Many grant proposals such as NSF can only be submitted on line e.g. www.bu.edu/osp/nsf.html

30. Lifetime CRM • Alumni will expect to retain access to College resources as they pursue their careers. • They will also want to utilize electronic resources to maintain personal relationships with faculty, staff, and students. • The College will need to maintain “in-touch” with alumni and know their preferences for college events, outside events, sports, books, etc. in order to better develop donor prospects.

31. CRM and Convergence • As the world of electronics, information technology, telecommunications, and e-business converges, the boundaries of the current market will be blurred as web-based expectations become the norm. • Colleges will be competing with other web presences such as entertainment providers, publisher, software vendors, training providers, etc.

32. The Customer Influence • Olin College is not using a print application • The on-line application went live on Friday, September 15, 2000 at 11:21am • The response from students was immediate • In the first hour, 11 accounts were created • By the end of the first day 114 accounts were created and students were entering data until midnight • By the end of the second day 64 additional accounts were created • By the end of the third day 56 additional accounts were created • A total of 1857 accounts were created, 664 applications fully submitted, and 126 candidates invited

33. The Planning Categories • Cabling and Connectivity • Network Hardware • Servers and Labs • Audio/ Visual • Security • Relationship with Babson

34. Cabling and Connectivity, Cont. • Extensive research on performance of end-to-end solutions and/or alternatives • The Cabling Tour (Manufacturers and Contractors) • Reference site visits • Corporate Headquarter visits • Plant visits • Business Plans and Financial Statements • In-house testing of Olin specified solutions

35. Cabling and Connectivity, Cont. • Specified four possible solutions in the RFP, down to part number listings • Contractors had to submit responses for 2 solutions • The finalists were AMP NetConnect, NORDX/CDT IBDN, Panduit/Belden, Avaya (formerly Lucent)2081 • The majority of the bid responses were returned with NORDX/CDT and Panduit/Belden • The College selected MTS of Bedford, NH as the cabling contractor and NORDX/CDT IBDN (Cat6) solution and Fiber Express solution

36. Cabling and Connectivity Decisions • Utilizing 50 micron fiber as opposed to 62.5 micron fiber will allow for a fiber solution that costs approximately 5% less than the 62.5 micron fiber yet provides greater bandwidth potential for use with WDM and DWDM, allows greater distances over MM fiber • TIA( Telecommunications Industry Alliance)/EIA (Electronics Industry Alliance) standards formulas for 40-50% spare capacity planning • 6/6 (single/multimode) for fire/building control • 12/12 (single/multimode) for security • 24/24 (single/multimode) for A/V • 144 hybrid (65% single/35% multimode) for voice/data

37. Cabling and Connectivity Decisions, Cont. • Maintenance of performance: • Specifying indoor/outdoor loose tube fiber with dry blocking tape so that cable can be run outdoors and to 1st floor Telecommunications Room without having to perform any cutting and splicing since every splice/connection results in some degree of performance degradation. • Leaving loops of fiber long enough to reach the Phase II Buildings and run up the proposed risers in order to maintain the same degree of performance.

38. Cabling and Connectivity Decisions, Cont. • Main Telecommunications Room on the first level of each building in a fairly centralized location, secondary Telecommunications Rooms on each of the other 3 floors (stacked with the Main Telecommunications Room), fiber risers are fed in conduit (included in GC specification) to each telecommunications room. • Within each telecommunications room, the switching equipment will be connected to each other and to the network via fiber with extra fiber pairs run as backup/fail over/redundancy.

39. Cabling and Connectivity Decisions, Cont. • From the telecommunications room, fiber and Cat6 copper will be fed to the individual port locations using doublewide snake tray. Double wide “snake tray” was specified in the GC scope of work allowing for services to be kept separate as they are delivered to the various room locations and cables will be bundled (wrapped) to T-off down the applicable corridors.

40. Cabling and Connectivity Decisions, Cont. • From 6 inches off the cable tray, the cable will be run in conduit to the applicable back box. Each standard back box (specified in the GC scope) will contain either 4 Cat6 copper connections or a CATV connector. • Each standard 2-gang spacer will contain 2 strands of single mode fiber (two strands= one port due to transmit/receive) and 2 strands of multi mode fiber, fiber terminations will be MTRJ.

41. Alias Prince Spaghetti Factory

42. Campus Backbone Requirements • The campus backbone will originally consist of switched 100 Mbps to each device and 1GB of available bandwidth on the backbone with the expectation that by the end of the 2002 year (at the latest) there will be a requirement to move to multi-trunked Gigabit Ethernet in order to provide a campus backbone of 2GB or better. The estimate is that the campus backbone will need to support 10GB Ethernet by the end of 2004 (at the latest).

43. Major Manholes

44. Network Hardware Requirements • The selected network hardware vendor will be required to provide a switch platform that is redundant (backplane, power supplies, fans, fail over), reliable, and expandable. The vendor will also be required to provide a voice over ip solution. Due to the high volume of services expected to be run over the network, the selected network vendor will need to provide the ability to set network policies and quality of service parameters to insure the priority of certain services such as voice.

45. Network Hardware Requirements, Cont. • Additional network needs will be firewall software and appliances as well as equipment necessary to deploy virtual private networks (VPNs) or secure connections to resources on the Olin network from off-campus. • Olin is in the market for an end-to-end solution which will include the ability to handle voice over ip, ip-based audio visual systems, ip-TV, and provide a web-based, real time switched network management system

46. Network Hardware Selection • IT is in the process of working with the four major enterprise networking companies to specify network hardware for the above referenced cabling infrastructure • The four major vendors are: Cisco, Nortel, Enterasys (formerly Cabletron), and HP. • Meetings have been held and preliminary network hardware designs detailed by each of the vendors • Each of the vendors created a simulated lab on their site with the equipment Olin will be using (including management tools) and IT committed time to working in the lab and testing scenarios.

47. Network Hardware Selection, Cont. • The second round of preliminary network hardware designs detailed by each of the vendors is in progress. • Corporate visits are completed with the exception of Cisco and HP, both of which are scheduled for April. • The RFP is expected to be sent out in the August/September time frame depending upon construction progress.

48. Lab Decisions • 24 hour card access lab in the Administrative Building (by the ITCenter); • 2 (approximately 25-30 computers) tiered computer labs in the ClassroomBuilding; • a third computer lab/collaborative learning area in the Classroom C (outfitted this with a ceiling mounted light bar in case we need tobe able to turn the room into a studio type layout as well as a raisedfloor to meet networking and other lab needs);

49. Lab Decisions, Cont. • A number of public stand-up and sit-down stations in the library area; • Working with the faculty to provide the appropriate software and hardware resources to support the curriculum. • This is applicable to the computer lab areas as well as to the engineering lab areas which will use technology in conjunction with instrumentation, etc. •  Wireless as a complementary technology to “wired”

50. Current Server Decisions • Standardized on Compaq servers, NT and 2000 • Rack-mounted servers, shared UPS backup • Redundant fans, power supplies, RAID 5, hot swappable disk drives • Minimize services per servers thus increasing performance and monitoring capabilities