BEG Meeting Minutes August 26, 1998

Kevin Schmidt gave a brief status report on the UCSB backbone FDDI network. Kevin stated that the campus FDDI has been quite stable; however, the spare Lanplex 2500 unit has been returned for repair. Kevin also reported that the original FDDI implementation budget has been reduced to approximately $3000 and that there is no operational budget. Since the FDDI is the primary campus backbone network, the BEG decided that it was critical that there be a budget to handle new connections, supplies, and maintenance of existing equipment. Kevin will provide the BEG with historical spending data by the NOC, and the BEG will forward a request for funding to the CNC.

The BEG discussed routing problems associated with the FDDI backbone network as brought up by Arlene Allen. These problems primarily arise from RIP redistribution by legacy routers which do not support OSPF. The BEG discussed as an option requiring OSPF (and eliminating RIP) from any backbone attached routers. While the group believed that this would resolve most FDDI routing problems, members indicated that it would not be viable to require departments to replace the legacy equipment (~20 legacy routers) without an augmentation of their budgets. The support of centralized routing and VLANS could mitigate these costs; however, the backbone equipment (Lanplex 2500) does not support the 802.1Q VLAN standard, nor does the campus have an adequate router to provide for routing between VLANS.

Elise reported on the status of the fiber installation projects on campus that are related to CalREN2:

• UCSB CalREN2 (Qwest):
  About 2 weeks; will require connections along railroad tracks near Turnpike Road as well as Los Carneros.
• Splitting of campus fiber ring 2:
  Work had been delayed due to funding issues, and Vince reported (outside of meeting) that this work would be completed by the end of October, 1998.
• Completion of fiber ring 4 (Arts, Snidecor):
  Estimated completion early to mid-November 1998.

Elise Meyer reported on the recommendations of the UCSB CalREN2 Implementation Group (C2IG).The basic network design developed by the C2IG is summarized in the C2IG meeting minutes of August 18, 1998.

Key points of the design endorsed by the BEG are as follows:

1. The basic design of the network involves two switches (North Hall and Engineering I) with routing capabilities being provided either internally to the switch units or via a separate router(s). These units will be interconnected via gigabit ethernet and will provide for research group connections of either full duplex fast ethernet (100mbs) or gigabit. Those groups requiring native ATM (eg., Music) will be connected via the CENIC cisco LightStream 1010, which will be located in Public Safety (Vince Sefcik indicated to Elise that two or three ports of the unit would be available for research group connectivity). It was also agreed that providing these connections would be dependent upon the group(s) requesting ATM connectivity showing that there is a firm commitment on the part of network providers and researchers throughout the CalREN2 ATM path to make all necessary aspects of the ATM connection work. This was to ensure connections were not established to the LS1010 switch without a significant likelihood of the connections' being used. This design will limit ATM connections on campus to the LS1010 and allow for native-only ATM support. These connections can utilize multi-mode fiber (MMF) via OC-3 with a distance limitation of 1.5KM from North Hall. The BEG endorsed this design and further requested that the switches to be located in North Hall and Engineering I be specified without any ATM components.
2. The design of the UCSB CalREN2 Network allows for research groups to connect via switches or routers. To support this structure, centralized routing and VLANs (utilizing non-proprietary 802.1Q standard) will need to be supported. The BEG strongly endorsed this structure, while also voicing concerns for the need for a well-supported centralized routing solution. Before VLANs could be deployed in a campus-wide production network, the BEG will need to recommend to the CNC support requirements, including addressing NOC staffing levels and network support hours (eg., 24x7 on-call availability). The BEG also endorsed the recommendation that the UCSB CalREN2 Network support only the IP protocol. Routers connecting to the network must support OSPF, and no legacy RIP equipment will be allowed to connect.
3. Provision for external routing. The BEG endorsed the recommendation from C2IG that a cisco GSR be purchased to provide for external routing for the campus. This will be jointly funded by the UCSB CalREN2 project and Communication Services (50%/50%), with a total cost of approximately $70,000-$90,000. There was concern that the GSR does not at this time support Gigabit ethernet nor filters (Access Control Lists). Rich Prohaska will talk with cisco about getting a timeline for provision of support for these items. The BEG believes that in the future the GSR should be directly connected to the North Hall switch via Gigabit ethernet. If this functionality is not currently supported, then a disposable converter box (ATM --> Gigabit/Fast ethernet) should be placed in between the GSR and the North Hall switch, allowing the North Hall/Engineering I switches/router(s) to remain as pure ethernet.
4. The BEG also endorsed the recommendation that only the original research groups be provided connections. Future connections (both research groups, departments) will be an expansion of the initial scope of the network and the BEG will be required to make recommendations to the CNC concerning policy, support, and funding.

Kevin Schmidt (wearing his Campus Network Programmer hat) also reported that, with the arrival of switches/routers supporting the 802.1Q VLAN standard, the campus needs to rapidly develop and implement the allocation of VLAN ID numbers. The CNP are working on the details of the allocation process and they will bring their recommendations to the BEG for discussion.

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