In the spirit of the well-known Twitter feed about a dad's view of the world, the campus network actually provides both insightful and perverse findings to the ITS Comm Tech Director of Networking, Jim Gogan. As part of the annual campus network status update, Jim will share many of these findings, all in a G-rated format, as well as what he thinks the network will be telling him over the next year.

1. S#$% My Network Says
Jim Gogan - ITS Communication Technologies
CTC Retreat - October 21, 2010
“Nervous? In 5 billion years the sun will burn out
and nothing you did will matter. Feel better?”

2. its.unc.edu 2
 Overall performance ultimately depends on the
weakest components
“A parent’s only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel
Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed”
 Chosing specific network equipment keeps
getting more challenging
“ You don’t have to be good to succeed. You just gotta be the least
crappy option. Example: We’re eating at The Olive Garden.”
Network Architecture

3. its.unc.edu 3
Network Architecture
 BIG …… really big …..

4. its.unc.edu 4
Changes to Intrusion Prevention
Systems (Tipping Points)
 New 10 Gbps inline systems installed at the two campus
border points – first time we’ve had complete IPS
coverage at the border (where approx. 98% of the
attacks are seen)
 Allows us to do a phased removal of the majority of
internal IPS/TP units, primarily at the distribution
layer; to date, Phillips, Franklin and Kenan Labs Tier 1s
are gone
 Removals will generally produce noticeable
performance improvements on inter-subnet traffic
“Sometimes it’s nice having you around. But now ain’t one of those times.”

5. its.unc.edu 5
Wi-Fi Networking
 Continues to be an “a la carte” service at
$1200 per access point
 Continues to be based on really, really
moronic technologies and vendor
implementations
“No one cares about all the things your smartphone does. You didn’t invent
it, you just bought it. Anybody can do that. Oh, and there’s a 50/50 chance it
won’t work with WEP”

6. its.unc.edu 6
TAR-WAP
 Teaching and Research Wireless
Activation Project
• Proposals from faculty requesting AP installation in designated
rooms specifically for teaching and/or research activities
• Search http://help.unc.edu for TAR-WAP for details
• Include in proposal:
 Specific academic course/research activity requesting
connectivity
 Summary of how Wi-Fi would be used
 Approx. number of concurrent students
 Commitment to provide feedback to ITS

7. its.unc.edu 7
TAR-WAP Installations since
Sept 2009
• Morehead Planetarium -- Remedy ticket 1563220
• Peabody 306
• Coker 201 -- Remedy ticket 1611676
• Fordham Hall Conference Rooms -- Remedy ticket 1618907
• Swain Hall -- Remedy ticket 1611710
• Med School Wing Classrooms -- Remedy ticket 1618892
• Baity Laboratory Building - SPH -- Remedy ticket 1626497
• Michael Hooker Research Center - Nutrition-SPH -- Remedy ticket 1626497
• Mitchell Hall - Geological Sciences -- Remedy ticket 1680602
• Alumni Building - Archaeology and Anthropology -- Remedy ticket 1678032
• Coker Hall - UNC Herbarium -- Remedy ticket 1698584
• Carolina Center for Educational Excellence - School of Education -- Remedy ticket 1701652
• Wilson Library 318 - CFE Training Facility -- Remedy ticket 1745944
• School of Medicine - Bondurant and MBRB Auditoriums -- Remedy ticket 1720461
• Burnett-Womack - Division of Radiologic Science -- Remedy ticket 1519846
• Peabody Hall Rm 02 - School of Education -- Remedy ticket 1749683
• Peabody Hall 206 and 211 - School of Education -- Remedy ticket 1764506
• Phillips Hall - Physics-SCALE-UP -- Remedy ticket 1719892
• Coker Hall - Biology -- Remedy ticket 1839960
• Coates Building - Geography Research Labs -- Remedy ticket 1839941

8. its.unc.edu 8
Network Management
 Growing use of “NetFlow” collectors

9. its.unc.edu 9
Network Management – More
(Can’t Have Too Much)
 Continued
evolution and
testing of NAC
(Network Access
Control)
 Continued
evolution of NIT
(Network
Information
Tool)

10. its.unc.edu 10
Neutral Hosting Project
 Installation of advanced campus-wide DAS (Distributed Antenna
System) to provide uniform outdoor and in-building wireless
mobile coverage (voice, data and beyond)
 Project has been underway for the past 3+ years
 Final construction design plans (for all sites except Kenan Stadium
and the Smith Center) now under final internal review process—
expect submission to State Construction Office for approval the
first week in November.
 Remaining sites (Kenan and Smith Center) will be finalized in
November.
 Construction start targeted for first quarter 2011.
 AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon participating—Sprint currently dealing
with budgetary issues—will probably join sometime in 2011.
 100% funded by the carriers

11. its.unc.edu 11
Campus Voice Services
 New AVST voice messaging platform installed in April 2010
• Will provide unified messaging, virtual fax and other
advanced features
• Links campus voicemail once again with UNC Healthcare
 Current AT&T Centrex contract expires in March 2011
 Comprehensive voice services RFP released in May 2010
 Interdepartmental RFP response evaluation team now
reviewing vendor proposals—final recommendation due in
November
 IT governance committee working on new rate model
proposal—separates funding sources for core campus services
(networking) from optional services (telephony services)

12. its.unc.edu 12
Working with Network Vendors
 Really? REALLY????
• You want a complete network diagram of all nodes on the
campus network? Really??
• You design a product that sends ARP requests for hosts not on
the local network? Really??
• You build a switch with 10Gb ports, but the ASIC is designed
only to multiplex 1Gb flows? Really?!?
• You say that a core router module is having problems because
of “vibrations”? REALLY?!?!?!
• You add two new promised features, but introduce three new
bugs? REALLY?????????
“ There’s a word for people like that … No, I’m saying, there’s a word and I
don’t know what it is. I’m not being poetic”
“Sometimes life leaves a hundred dollar bill on your dresser, and you
don’t realize until later that it’s because it screwed you”

13. its.unc.edu 13
Working with You
 Great user support COMMUNITY!!!
• Knowledgeable, responsive and inquisitive
 We love seeing NIT results in tickets
 PLEASE send tickets (with IP/MAC address info)
instead of phone calls
“Why would I want to check a voicemail on my phone? People want
to talk to me, call again. If I want to talk to you, I’ll answer.”

14. its.unc.edu
Thank you!