Our CalREN2 connection is now running at OC12 (622 Mbps), up from OC3 (155Mbps) as of our last report. The interoperability problem previously encountered has been resolved. The campus continues to exchange multicast traffic through CalREN2 and facilitate Ken Lindahl's multicast development efforts. Intercampus videoconferencing and some legacy applications are in the process of being transferred from expensive inter-LATA T1 connections to the more cost-effective CalREN2 infrastructure.
We conducted an exercise in April to test the campus Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and the Standard Emergency Management System (SEMS) as adopted by UC Davis. The scenario simulated an explosion and subsequent fire in a major power station and involved the establishment of an Emergency Operations Center (EOC). We are in the process of developing a risk assessment and disaster prevention and recovery plan for all voice and data communications services.
Since January we have completed communications construction work in Robbins Annex and in one off-campus facility at Da Vinci Court. With the addition of 14 new project plans, we now have 61 active constructions or renovation projects, including: the Unitrans Expansion, Chilled Water Expansion (Phase IV), Western Ag Center, Athletic Recreation Center, Mail Division Expansion, Swine Relocation, Jackson Lab Mouse Facility, Tupper Hall, Mrak Hall Alterations (Phase II), a new administration building, Foundation Plant Material Enlargement, and the Primate Center. Additionally, the following large-scale moves have recently been made: IT-Information Resources to the Pacific Standard Life Building and the Data Center from Hutchison Hall to Academic Surge.
UC Davis has approved funding for a number of projects from the one-time allocation of $1.5 million dollars in Instructional Technology Funds (ITF). These funds are to be used to implement and/or improve the reliability, security, and accessibility of the technology that serves the instructional mission of the campus. The 1998-99 ITF Program will include the following communications projects:
Classroom Wireless LAN - This project will establish a classroom with wireless network capability along with fifteen wireless client stations to test the effectiveness of wireless networking in an instructional setting. This project intends to use only products that conform to 802.11 wireless networking standards.
Production Deployment of Dynamic Host Configuration Protocols (DHCP) - We established DHCP on campus last year as a pilot program. This pilot is very popular and currently has more than 4000 users. However, much of DHCP network administration in the pilot program is manual and time consuming, and the pilot DHCP servers need greater fault tolerance (for point failures in the DHCP database or at network attachment points). This project is intended to provide scalable and resilient service that integrates and automates DHCP and its interaction with Dynamic Name Servers (DNS) and to make the DHCP service offering ubiquitous.
Network Ports in General Access Facilities - This project will install and activate approximately 500 network ports in public and general access areas such as the library, classroom-building study rooms, and the Memorial Union lobby area. It is hoped that this will alleviate pressure on the campus computing labs and provide students with an alternative to going home between classes to work on their computer.
Wireless Modem Connections - This project is intended to explore the value of wireless network connectivity to the campus community. This project will provide 100 faculty members with a PCMCIA wireless modem card for their laptop or personal computer and one year of ISP service through ATT.
As part of the Instructional Technology Fund projects, the UC Davis 14.4K legacy modem pool is slated for replacement. Currently, the campus operates nearly 1000 modems, offering free dial-in access for faculty, staff, and students. About 465 of these dial-in ports are aging 14.4 Kbps modems. This project will replace these modems with state-of-the-art communications servers supporting 56 Kbps dial-in and possibly Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines. An increase in the total number of ports is likely as well.
In February, a 20-minute (per connection) time limit was implemented on our 14.4K legacy modem pool. This service is being billed as an "Express Modem Service" and is targeted at users who primarily need to check email. Also at the end of April, the legacy modem pool will no longer be freely available to all callers. To login, users will need a modem pool permit associated with their UC Davis computer account and a Kerberos password. If they do not have both of these, their login attempt will be rejected. Over the past few months, legacy modem pool users that fail to meet the new requirements have been apprised of this change through automatically-generated emails whenever they dial-in. Faculty are receiving messages that direct them to the UC Davis faculty-only modem pool.
We issued a Request for Quotation, soliciting consulting services in strategic business planning and financial analysis. The intent is to arrive at a suite of options that identify the most promising opportunities for generating new revenues, developing new markets, reducing costs and effecting operational improvements. We are currently reviewing proposals.
We completed a parallel run of the AXIS facilities module against our old Accucable system. Training and parallel runs will continue through May to eliminate discrepancies between systems. We are continuing work on developing the campus interfaces for bill production and the enhanced 911 reporting.
We completed a six-month internal audit of all our carrier charges, line by line, which resulted in some billing consolidation, corrections of records and recurring charges, and overall cost savings. To further reduce our carrier costs we completed a plan to convert to Primary Rate Interface (PRI) trunking, with implementation over the next four months. An advantage of the conversion for our campus users will be the availability of the Caller ID feature, with blocking or unblocking at their option.
The introduction of off-campus Caller ID capabilities is particularly notable because of the privacy issues raised by allowing the recipient to see the origin of an incoming call. When Caller ID is added to a telephone system, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that customers have the opportunity to block Caller ID from their outgoing calls. This is done by either blocking Caller ID on all outgoing calls or blocking on a per-call basis. (If a customer chooses to block Caller ID for their phone number, they can "unblock" on a per-call basis.) Our immediate need in implementing the PRI is to make our campus aware of this issue so that campus telephone customers can choose to have their outgoing calls blocked if they wish.
Finalization of the scope of UCDNet2 is anticipated by the end of May, pending input from Deans and Vice Chancellors on the acceptance of alternative technologies (wireless and DLS) in distant, low network-traffic demand areas. The preparation of construction documents will commence in June or July.
Equipment is on order for a LAN-based Voice Over IP pilot. A voice-traffic study needs to be performed to identify appropriate CalREN2 members with whom to coordinate the pilot. This project is separate from the one being provided through CENIC.
Negotiations continue between UC Davis and AT&T Wireless Office Services (WOS) on the adoption of the service. Upgrades and expansions to the system remain an item of contention. AT&T appears unwilling to commit to funding the necessary capacity enhancements and UC Davis believes that system growth falls within the purview of the service provider. Unless this issue can be resolved, negotiations may have to be abandoned. All other issues regarding the agreement appear to be settled to the satisfaction of both parties.
Work continues on the Year 2000 implementation tasks, with gradual replacement of fully depreciated equipment and software identified as non-compliant during our inventory. Additionally, we are currently making an effort to obtain formal certification of compliance from our major carriers and service providers. We've received "statements of compliance" from all our carriers except MCI. This month our staff will observe a simulation of Nortel's test of Y2K compliance on an (isolated) telephone switch in Dallas. This is exercise designed to raise our level of confidence on vendor support for Y2K issues.
We delivered a spreadsheet of the Y2K status of our telecommunications software and equipment to our campus liaison, Kent Kuo, for inclusion in reports to UCOP, the UC Regents, and the legislature.
The 800 MHz Trunked Radio Policy Committee charter has been approved and is now in effect. The committee's charge includes determining system funding and support, resource allocation, expansions, improvements, service options, and policies and procedures governing the operation and maintenance of the system.
A recent evaluation indicates that the system is handling traffic with system-busy signals at an acceptable level. However, system usage is increasing and beginning to tax the engineered capacity during peak periods. Y2K compliance testing of the radio system has been completed with satisfactory results.
Additionally, the City of Davis has expressed interest in working with UC Davis and the UCDMC to expand the 800 MHz Trunked Radio system.