The fiber project is complete. Horizontal copper wiring was extended to October in order to add classrooms and to correct several deficiencies. All unconnected users within the scope of the project have been connected to an interim switched 10/100MB backbone. Recently established milestones include: negotiating contract for ATM switches by November, releasing the RFQ for routers just following that, performing an interoperability pilot with 1-3 top vendors in January through March, performing a production confidence test in April-May and beginning final stage electronics installation in June.
Delays in the implementation of the radio system because of faulty antennas resulted in taking "beneficial use" of the trunked radio system. Eighteen departments with 370 radios between UCD and UCDMC have been brought up. The four police consoles are up and running as well. There are significant problems with coverage within all buildings, however, and evaluations are underway to determine the most cost effective means of correction.
Several complexes are now up in preparation for September 22 student move in. Delays with the cabling vendor have pushed some complexes out into the October/November timeframe.
Negotiations have been completed with Sonic Cable Television. The issue regarding UCD being exempt from Franchise Fees regardless of FCC status is under discussion between the City and TCI (Local Franchise). Resolution is likely within the next month and current word from the City attorney is that things look favorable. RESNET design is therefore moving forward with a fiber based rather than microwave based solution across public rightaways.
UCDMC has proposed the opening of negotiations leading to the eventual use of Brook's fiber optic facilities currently available in the Sacramento area and eventually planned for the Davis and surrounding areas. Meetings have been scheduled in October to discuss the relevance of this with other regional networking activities, Internet2 and CalREN.
UCOP has indicated that the restoral of the Bay Area Teleport microwave system should be an immediate concern and has called for a preliminary meeting to discuss the details. Resulting actions are pending the meeting.
Parallel runs between COMPCO and the existing system have yet to compare favorably. Work proceeds with COMPCO in identifying software bugs which are causing differing results. Specific modules to be brought up include Service Orders, Billing, and Cable Plant Management. This project has had continual problems and discussions of possible contract cancellation and product abandonment will occur this month. No payments have been made to COMPCO. Consultation with other campuses using the client/server installation has shown similar problems to what we are experiencing. Apparently, implementation of the integrated suite of modules requires a tremendous amount of customization and codevelopment in order to be successful.
HP Openview implementation for operational applications and network management is 90% complete. Completion of programming requirements that will render the system fully operational is anticipated by the end of September.
The introduction of an automatic trouble reporting and ticketing system is now underway. This is being accomplished by combining Remedy with HP Openview and should significantly enhance the Network Operation CenterÕs responsiveness to trouble reports and provide tracking and documentation capabilities.
Roof repairs to be undertaken prior to Fall. Evaluation revealed the need to replace the roof and discussions are underway to determine timing for the replacement. AC enhancements are being made to the new Network Operations Center to provide adequate cooling for the new network equipment area. Specifications for a generator are being developed at Architects and Engineers and current battery capacity is being increased.
Work was completed on several construction projects: Young Hall cable rehoming to clear East Hall building site; power pole relocated and network intercept box placed for the new Environmental Services facility; Pacific Bell placed fiber to two locations for the OC-12 Sonet ring to serve the Pacific Standard building. Work continues on the remaining construction projects, including inspections for Resnet and all seismic retrofit work. The RFQ for maintenance and upgrade options to the SL-100 switching platform is now being reviewed in draft form. The First draft of the campus wiring standards document has been completed.
The wireless PCS telephone pilot with AT&T wireless is concluding at the end of September. Post-surveys will be sent out to pilot users but informal surveys show that reaction has been very positive. The CDPD data networking pilot got underway last month with 5 laptops registered with wireless network connections running at 19.2K. Initial testing is showing some problems with the compatibility of Win95 and the special AirCards, but the service is reasonably good. Access to UCDNet is restricted and the system potential is to provide access to the campus network while on campus and to a private account while off campus. Testing of the ÒpocketnetÓ webbrowser/cellular phone option will begin as soon as the newest Mitsubishi model is available. This device may prove useful for mobile dispatch workers. It allows for service orders to be received via a small screen with predetermined responses that can be seen by a central dispatcher using the WEB and it also doubles as a PCS phone.
Serial router sites have been converted to Class B addresses provided by UCOP and the BBN CIDR blocks were returned in July.
The Internet2 Campus Conference is being hosted at Davis on September 15 and 16. This conference brings together individuals from 100 member universities to participate in workshops on QoS, Vlans, Multicast, routing, monitoring, management, accounting, security, and user interfaces.
A non-exclusive agreement with CalWeb, a local provider, has resulted in little subscription activities. Despite the low cost of service ($10/month), less than 100 subscriptions have been made and complaints continue regarding the frozen 500 14.4 modems. Current statistics show over 35,000 calls per day into the modem pool and 15-20,000 deflections. A letter of understanding has been signed with MCI for ISP services which includes 800 number access for $0.10/minute, 75 hours of connect time per month, free connect time between 1am and 6am each day, local access nationwide in 300 locations, California access in 52 locations, local Davis access, e-mail, chatgroups, and newsgroups for $14.95 one time set up and $14.95 per month.Ninety six modems have been added to the modem pool this month and will be dedicated to Faculty use. These are the first modems installed at UCD that enable up to 56kbs and ISDN service. They are also the first to use Kerberos for authentication.
Implementation of new authentication services to replace IP address-based authentication is underway to allow authorized access to campus resources (web pages, newsgroups, etc.) through third-party internet service providers.
The "Wide Area Network Davis" project intended to get apartment complexes connected through highspeed connections to campus is underway. Greystone complex is already up and running and it is anticipated that several other complexes will do likewise by the Summer of '98.
The rate proposal for voice rates is near completion and will be submitted to the rate review committee within the next two weeks. It is anticipated that updated rate implementation will be delayed from the expected January 1, 1998 date to July 1, 1998. Part of the proposal entails moving to flat rates for anyplace, anytime interstate and intrastate calling at $0.15 per minute. This rate is expected to be reduced to between $0.09 and $0.10 once debt retirement on the switch occurs and remaining network subsidies are covered exclusively in network rates. Local calling will remain at $0.02 per minute. Voice Line rates are being proposed at $27.50/month.
Preparations for the new campus directory are now underway. Additional activity is required because of the new area code change for Davis which will be implemented in November. All UCDMC listings will carry the 916 area code since calling the Med Center and all of Sacramento will require 10 digit dialing.
Through the State agreement with MCI for payphone business, we are looking into the posting of advertisements on some of our outdoor payphones. This business is being coordinated by MCI and will bring in commission revenues to UCD, the amount of which is yet to be determined. Discussions currently include restrictions on type of ads and campus rights to pull adds anytime by providing appropriate vendor notice.
Last updated: October 15, 1997