Excerpt from the 2015-2016 OIT Annual Report
Increasing speed, improving redundancy and security, and preventing disruptions are goals of upgrade
OIT’s Networking Team
The RiceNet3 project is nearing completion and represents Rice’s third significant investment in network and data communications. Primarily, this network refresh consists of higher bandwidth, more support for network-powered devices, and a complete backup power system for the entire network. Additionally, RiceNet3 also provides a framework for the deployment of new and more advanced services such as a more secure network logon, significant improvements in the detection and prevention of security threats, and more effective management and monitoring.
FY 2015 – 2016 was a busy year for all groups in OIT as the Rice Networking and Data Center teams deployed RiceNet3 equipment into every Rice building. Over the past 13 months, over 300 routers, switches, or power systems were replaced or installed with minimal disruption to campus activities and operations. Every access switch on the Rice campus now has redundant, higher speed (10 gb/s) uplinks to the campus network core which interconnects to the Internet via multiple 10 gb/s links to commodity networks and via a 100 gb/s link to the Internet2 research and education network (one of the first installed in Texas). Additionally, every single RiceNet3 network device is supported by an emergency backup power system so it can continue to provide services when power is disrupted to the whole campus or individual buildings for periods less than one hour. This helps improve all campus operations by significantly minimizing the disruption and ensures critical systems such as security devices (access controls and cameras), building automation systems, and monitoring systems remain on-line through power blips.
Additional time has been invested in the development of a new 802.1X-based Identity Services Engine (ISE) system. ISE provides an authentication and policy system for connecting devices to RiceNet3’s wired network in a more secure and flexible manner. The Rice Networking team, in conjunction with the IT Security team, systems administrators, Campus Services team members, and members of the campus community have developed and tested ISE. All of the residential college buildings are already using ISE successfully on a daily basis.
Wireless enhancements have been implemented in a number of campus buildings. Rice’s network team has been performing wireless surveys, working with the campus community to identify and understand their needs in order to improve everyone’s experience through better placement of existing access points (APs) as well as installation of additional units. Throughout the last year, significant improvements have been made across campus and in residential apartments by adding 250 APs, raising the total number of campus APs to 1,836.