1

A Gathering of State Networks: Strategies for

the Next Decade

Scott Gerstenberger - wsg@merit.eduMike Mosher -

mmosher@merit.edu

Merit Network, Inc.www.merit.edu

2

Merit Background Private, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), Michigan

membership corporation Founded in 1966 by Michigan State

University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University

Members now include all 13 public universities in Michigan– Each member has a seat on the Board of

Directors 100 employees $23M annual budget

3

MichNet Services Overview

MichNet is the name of Merit’s network Michigan GigaPOP and MichNet backbone MichNet dial-in service Web and email hosting and support

services Center to Support Technology in Education USF (E-rate) educational activities Performance analysis and security

consulting

4

MichNet Services Michigan GigaPOP and MichNet backbone

– External Connectivity» Abilene (Cleveland) OC-12» Chicago NAP OC-3, OC-12 on order» Cable & Wireless 3 DS-1s, 2 DS-3s» Qwest DS-3, second DS-3 on order

– Abilene Service» Michigan State University» Michigan Technological University» UCAID Ann Arbor offices» University of Michigan» Wayne State University» Western Michigan University

5

MichNet Services - 2

– Commodity Service» 18 POPs in Lower Peninsula» 3 POPs in Upper Peninsula» Mix of POS and ATM» DS-1, DS-3, OC-3, OC-12 point-to-point circuits» Cisco 7500 and 12000 routers, LS-1010 switches» Connections to Ameritech ATM/Frame Relay (OC-3)» Connections to GTE ATM/Frame Relay (OC-3)» 24x7 Network Operations Center» 400 customer attachments (56k to OC-3)

6

7

8

MichNet Services - 3 MichNet dial-in service

– Service provided to organizations, not individuals» Each organization provides its own end-user support» Distributed authentication/authorization/accounting using

Merit-developed RADIUS software» Sophisticated mechanisms for regulating shared use of

dial-in facilities by many different organizations» Over 250,000 users

– 12,000 Michigan lines at 163 POPs» 95% local call coverage in Michigan» 36% ISDN and v.90» 72% v.90

– National 800 service– National/international dial-in via AT&T

9

10

MichNet Services - 4 Web and email hosting and related services

– Build and support Internet servers– Provide streaming media services

Center to Support Technology in Education– Develops online K-12 resources and training

materials– Often involves state level K-12 partnerships– Activities generally grant funded

USF (E-rate) educational activities– Popular email forum and in-person activities

Performance analysis and security consulting

11

MichNet Customers Merit’s 13 owner-member universities 275 other affiliated organizations

– Approximately 90% of the state’s K-12 districts– Approximately 95% of the state’s public

libraries– Most of the state’s community colleges and

private 4-year colleges– Various governmental, health-care, and non-

profit organizations– Over 50 commercial organizations and ISPs

12

State Educational Environment

Very decentralized– 13 universities are all independent of each other– K-12 and community colleges also decentralized

No state-provided network for education No state-imposed networking standards for K-

12 or higher education No explicit state funding for networking Merit has no formal relationship with state

government, but lots of informal contacts

13

Merit’s R&D Activities Active in networking software and

standards development for many years Lead partner with IBM and MCI in

managing the NSFNET, 1987-1995 Current activities:

– AAA (RADIUS) Consortium– GateD Consortium– Multithreaded Routing Toolkit (MRT)– Internet Performance Measurement &

Analysis– North American Operators Group (NANOG)

14

Merit’s Funding Model No state funding The 13 members pay annual sliding

membership fees that cover uncapped connectivity wherever they need it– Fee based on bandwidth and Board voting rights

Affiliates pay for services based on service, bandwidth, location, and organization type

K-12 technology training is grant funded R&D is grant funded or funded by licenses Consulting services are fee-based

15

Challenges for Merit Network capacity management

– Forecasting bandwidth requirements– Buying commodity service and telco circuits

» Good news – new providers, prices are dropping» Bad news – new providers, erratic lead times, unmet due

dates

– Sharing infrastructure for Abilene and commodity– Looking for less expensive last mile connectivity

» Using CLECs» Installing dark fiber» Co-locate POPs with carriers» DSL» Wireless

16

Challenges for Merit - 2 Working with K-12s and libraries

– Decentralized environment makes this time consuming

– Uneven understanding of technology– Large disparity in financial resources– Merit generally can’t represent or speak on behalf

of the Michigan community with any authority– Struggling with IP video, training teachers,

computer-based curricula, etc.– Role and direction of state government has often

been unclear.

17

Challenges for Merit - 3 Sustaining grant-funded K-12 training

– Have learned that teacher training is not something for which most school districts have money available

– Evolved to relying on grant funds– Grants are often fairly short term and time

consuming to obtain– Staff uncertainty about future projects

18

Challenges for Merit - 4 Promoting Internet2

– Signing up additional participants– Participating in demos and other Internet2

promotional activities» Demos can be expensive and/or hard to arrange» Applications not yet abundant

– Devising equitable ways to use shared infrastructure to support both Abilene and commodity traffic

19

Challenges for Merit - 5 Sustaining R&D activities

– Staff losses to commercial world– Changes in NSF priorities makes funding

harder– Merit R&D activities less related to

operation of MichNet than they once were

20

Challenges for Merit - 6 Being a non-profit in an increasingly

commercial world– Is Merit a technology partner or just another

vendor? – Sometimes viewed with skepticism by

organizations that haven’t used our services– Hard to retain staff (pay rates, stock

options), but good working environment and high quality of current staff helps

– No deep pockets when major capital needed