A Model For Centralized Network Support On The Campus Basil Irwin Senior Network Engineer June 8, 1999 National Center for Atmospheric Research

A Model For Centralized Network A Model For Centralized Network Support On The CampusSupport On The Campus

Basil IrwinBasil Irwin

Senior Network EngineerSenior Network Engineer

June 8, 1999June 8, 1999

National Center for Atmospheric ResearchNational Center for Atmospheric Research

Shouldn’t Campus LANs Be Treated Shouldn’t Campus LANs Be Treated Like A Utility Service?Like A Utility Service?

Basil IrwinBasil Irwin

Senior Network EngineerSenior Network Engineer

June 8, 1999June 8, 1999

National Center for Atmospheric ResearchNational Center for Atmospheric Research

National Center for Atmospheric ResearchNational Center for Atmospheric Research 33NCARNCAR

Examples of Utility ServicesExamples of Utility Services

•Examples of utility services* Electricity distribution

* Telephone service

* Potable water supply

* Waste-water removal

* Natural gas distribution


Utility Service AttributesUtility Service Attributes

•Attributes of a utility service* Provides an essential and/or indispensable service

* Universal service is required

* Universal interoperability standards required

* Universal service delivery standards required

* Operated by a central support organization

* Hierarchically architected with tiered service levels

* Universal and fair pricing required


Campus LAN AttributesCampus LAN Attributes

•Attributes of today’s Campus LAN service* Provides an essential and/or indispensable service

* Universal service is required

* Universal interoperability standards required

•Desirable attributes of Campus LAN service* Universal service delivery standards required

* Operated by a central support organization

* Hierarchically architected with tiered service levels

* Universal and fair pricing


Campus LAN AttributesCampus LAN Attributes

•Based on these attributes, it looks to me like the Campus LAN is a service utility

•Therefore, shouldn’t Campus LANs be funded and operated like other Campus service utilities?

•UCAR thinks so, and that’s the way we operate our networks as one of our utility services


The UCAR LAN UtilityThe UCAR LAN Utility


•UCAR serves, collaborates, and is governed by its 63 member universities (R1 universities)

•UCAR consists of ~20 Department-sized internal subdivisions that are semi-autonomous

•~1,200 UCAR employees

•About $150,000,00 total funding for FY1999

•UCAR funding is a mixture of direct NSF funding and grant funding* About 2/3 direct and 1/3 grant

UCAR’s Budgetary & Political UCAR’s Budgetary & Political ContextContext


UCAR’s Networking ContextUCAR’s Networking Context

•9 buildings at 4 county-area sites

•~1,200 local users

•~2,500 local networked devices

•~2,400 “standard” telecommunications outlets

•~110 local subnetworks

•~100 (intelligent) network switches, routers, etc.

•~100 dial-in ports

•~1,200 users at UCAR’s 63 R1 universities* Connected via vBNS/Abilene/Commodity Internets


Service Model For The UCARService Model For The UCARLAN UtilityLAN Utility


Customer-OperatedCustomer-Operated•UCAR LAN Utility is advised by a standing

advisory board of technical representatives from all major UCAR Departments* This is the “PUC” of the UCAR LAN Utility

•Advisory board extremely valuable asset!* Unloads spending priorities from the support group

* Develops consensus clout with higher management» Regarding requests for spending

» Regarding technology deployment decisions

•Strong upper-management support!


Services ProvidedServices Provided

•All Layer1, Layer2, and Layer3 services* Layer1: All physical cabling plant

* Layer2: All logical networking - VLANs/ELANs

* Layer3: All routing (99.9% IP)

* Layer4: Some host-configuration/performance consulting

•All LAN, MAN, and WAN services* Campus LANs

* Intersite MAN connections

* vBNS/Abilene/Commodity WAN connects


Service CategoriesService Categories

•Standard Services* “Free”: no chargebacks

•Premium Services* Fixed chargebacks

•Special Services* Negotiable: basically time and materials

•Department Services* Internal Departmental support personnel


Standard ServicesStandard Services

• Includes all LAN, MAN, and WAN Layer1, Layer2, and Layer3 networking necessary for, and benefiting, UCAR as a whole

•Each office has a telecommunications outlet (“TO” or ”wallplate”) with:* 2 pairs of terminated MM fiber cables

* 4 terminated Cat5 cables

* 2 terminated Cat3 cables (for telephones)

•Each office has one or more dedicated 10Base and/or 100Base switch ports


Standard Services (cont.)Standard Services (cont.)

•The LAN Utility responsibility ends at the wallplate (almost)

•Departments free to attach what they want to the wallplates, including network equipment at their own risk


Premium ServicesPremium Services

•Things like FDDI, OC-3, OC-12 or GigE to the desktop

•Standard chargebacks for such services


Special ServicesSpecial Services

•Anything else anybody wants. Prices are negotiable

• Includes “Emergency” (instant) service


Services Not ProvidedServices Not Provided

•System administration of PCs, Unix, etc.* Completely distributed service model

•DNS* Receives some central funding; ought to be part of

LAN Utility service

•Email* Receives some central funding

•Web* Receives some central funding


Services Not Provided (cont.)Services Not Provided (cont.)

•Security* This was set up as a Security Utility based on the

LAN Utility model

•Telephones and PBXes (except for the cabling infrastructure, which is part of the LAN Utility)* Receives central funding, should be part of LAN

Utility

•Problems on the “other” side of the wallplate


Service ResourcesService Resources


Service ResourcesService Resources

•~$2,400,000 FY1999 networking budget

•Total staff: 12 people

•Type of Staff* 6 Network Engineers

» Perform design, operation, tuning, trouble-shooting, etc.

* 4 Network Technicians» Mainly Layer1 (cabling) construction

* 2 Administrative/Support Staff


Funding ModelFunding Model


Typical Utility Funding ModelsTypical Utility Funding Models

•Usage Based* Example: Long distance telephone service

» Fees based on minutes of service

•Flat Fee* Example: Local telephone service

» Fees based on number of end-points installed


UCAR Funding ModelUCAR Funding Model

•UCAR has an occupancy cost tax based on square footage of space occupied

•This tax is levied to fund all service functions

•For FY2000 this will be $12.51/SF on 543,679 SF for a total of $12.2 million.

•Networking gets $2.9 million, or 24% of the tax

•Networking is approximately 2% of the total FY2000 UCAR budget


How Do UCAR’s Costs Compare?How Do UCAR’s Costs Compare?

• In 1996, Gartner Group estimated annual average corporate networking support costs $3,270/desktop

• In 1996, Forrester Research, Inc. estimated each networked desktop cost $8,000/year to maintain

•UCAR’s networking cost is $1,200/device/year or $2,200/employee/year


More Information About More Information About The UCAR ModelThe UCAR Model

•“A Strategic Plan for UCAR Networking: A Strategic Plan for UCAR Networking: Welcome to the 21st CenturyWelcome to the 21st Century”

•www.scd.ucar.edu/nets/Documents/strategy.html


ConclusionConclusion


ConclusionConclusion

• It wouldn’t be very effective or efficient if each Campus Department or Project operated their own water, electricity, or sewer systems, so why does it make sense for them to fund and operate their own LANs?


The End!The End!