“Measure twice, cut once” is a familiar saying among carpenters, but the adage applies to implementing a new campus network as well. In 2014, the introduction of a new network has quietly but busily transpired in offices, conference rooms and loading docks – both on campus and at the Primary Data Center. As the first loads of switches and other hardware components arrived, William Deigaard and other university and industry representatives continued measuring and planning, activities that would transform Rice’s needs, industry best practices, and vendor contracts into usable wired and wireless solutions for a campus community that frequently exceeds available bandwidth capacity on existing wireless networks.
“We want the upgrade to the new network to be as invisible as possible and minimally disruptive to campus activities,” explained Deigaard. Those are encouraging words for Rice faculty and staff who transitioned to RiceNet2 ten years ago.
The RiceNet2 project, the second generation university network installed between 2004 and 2007, included non-network changes so significant that IT system specialists had to assist most Rice faculty and staff connect their individual computers to the new network. In addition to completely rewiring the campus, changing all the network switches, and adding hundreds of wireless access points, RiceNet2 was used to introduce new security protocols and storage solutions. Community members learned to use NetIDs, Single Sign-On (one central password authentication system that could be used in multiple applications), Clean Access (confirms anti-virus software and ensures only virus-free computers were connecting to the network), and a new storage system.
“We aren’t pulling wires this time,” smiled Deigaard, “but we are working on some revolutionary ways to ensure that Rice traffic is routinely running at the highest possible efficiency level for each individual. ExtraHop is one of the tools we will use to ensure that applications and systems on the network perform properly and consistently. We’re also revisiting the current RiceNet2 segmentations, also know as affinity groups. We have found that assigning permission by a single role or affinity (faculty, staff, student, visitor) is not sufficiently granular to efficiently address our needs. We are working on a RiceNet3 implementation of Cisco’s Identity Services Engine to provide more features and increased agility that can meet our evolving requirements.”
RiceNet3 will be rolled out to a building near you in the next 12 months. Watch for further progress updates in the IT News Blog: itnews.blogs.rice.edu