In the coming weeks, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) plans to upgrade network equipment for both the NorthernLights Gigapop as well as for coordinate campuses. These upgrades will provide a number of advantages: they will enable the University to interface with other entities across the region, they will improve the resiliency of our networks, and they will add sufficient bandwidth to keep up with our increasing demand on network resources.
Adding locations
Prior to the cutover, OIT engineers have installed new hardware at different locations around the region. This new hardware will extend our network to multiple new locations such as Ames, IA; Kansas City, MO; the Centennial Office Building (State of MN), and various locations on campus.
Adding resiliency
As part of this upgrade, OIT has installed redundant routers at each of the coordinate campuses to add resiliency. This is an important way to eliminate single points of failure and provide redundancy in case there is a hardware failure, making our network more reliable for users.
Keeping up with bandwidth demand
Each year, the demand for bandwidth at the U of M increases; this year, for example, it is expected to increase by 500 megabits. In order to keep up with this increasing demand, OIT exercises due diligence by adding sufficient bandwidth to its network. Therefore, in addition to making our network bigger and more resilient, OIT is also taking this opportunity to upgrade its commercial Internet connections as well. We plan to have 2.4 gigabits per second contracted for to the Commercial Internet with the ability to burst in excess of 5 gigabits per second. Additionally, we will have over 10 gigabits per second available to Internet2 and other research networks.
Cutover
These changes to the Gigapop and Coordinate Campuses should not affect users in a negative way. OIT plans to cut over in early morning hours, and there is no scheduled downtime.