Best and Worst from 2006

Best

• Deploying Layer 3 core
• No traffic disruption devices
• Load balancing
• Redundant fibers to closest POP
• Data center upgrade
• Upgrading all 1200 APs on campus (see also Worst...)
• DNSSEC being evaluated seriously
• Large upgrades happening across campuses
• VoIP - worked out successful business model
• Integrating/synchronizing teams of engineers on multiple campuses
• Hired new security director - convinced performance is as important as security
• IT re-org - got rid of silos
• Merging voice/video/data orgs
• Schedule failure testing of network - 95% worked as it should have and
uncovered some problems...
• Getting off state-mandated Centrex PBX
• Successfully fending off attacks
• Network diagnostics rising up the priority stack
• Fiber pathway going away...
• User expectations for networking (e.g. performance, availability) are finally
living up to what we thought they might be in years past
• Statewide fiber network
• Wireless standards
• Layer 3 core
• Organization embraced "customer driven" approach
• Systematic approach to network data export (for research)
• Blackhole router (automated) - Juniper XML or Zebra router

Worst

• Traffic engineering
• Capacity exceptions
• Planning of lightweight wireless deployments
• Voice outage - operational issue rather than an outage
• Sharing responsibility with another group to manage fiber install
• Secure wireless prototype (WPA) rollout no one is using...
• Migration of old load balancer - caused outages
• Upgrading all 1200 APs on campus
• Turning off Usenet on campus
• Integrating/synchronizing teams of engineers on multiple campuses
• VoIP rollout - cost recovery/business model
• Silo disruption is getting in the way of work getting done
• Security reports separately from IT infra group. They campaigned to put
firewalls in front of every edge network on campus...
• VoIP rollout challenges
• Metro wireless challenges
• Moving onto new phone switch...
• Unit level firewall deployment
• Engineering challenges around VoIP rollout
• Traffic disruption (middle) boxes
• No sign of progress against worsening complexity...
• Fresh look at options as a result of external challenges
• User expectations that wireless capacity/availability is/should be the same
as wired network.
• "selling" new cost recovery or business models for wireless/phone/data/backup
services
• New voicemail system deployment
• Changed the funding model for faculty grants
• Big firewall project
• sup720-3b table space exhaustion
• Redundancy - degraded service harder to see
• Installing new IPSEC platform instead of SSL VPN