MILLENNIUM PROJECT PROPOSAL

Transcription

1 MILLENNIUM PROJECT PROPOSAL WANDERING VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Network Administrators: Ciprich, Mora, & Saidi ISM 6231 Fall 2000 Dr. Judy Wynekoop

2 MILLENNIUM PROJECT PROPOSAL TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND 2 Timeline GOALS 3 Business Technical Challenges DESIGN 5 Overview Planned Characteristics Building Block Core Block Server Block Media Security Scalability Protocol List SPECIFICATIONS 12 1

3 BACKGROUND As a result of recommendations from the Community Advisory Group, the Millennium Project Task Force (MPTF) was formed by the president of Wandering Valley Community College (WVCC) to plan and implement the computer and network upgrade in order to attract and retain students. The task force is composed of the Dr. Judy Wynekoop, Director of Operations, and the three network administrators for WVCC: Linda Ciprich, Pablo Mora, and Haitham Saidi. The MPTF received a state grant of $350,000 for the upgrade in fiscal year 2001 which must be expended by June 30, The following proposal reflects the fact that no additional funding is available at this time for network administration or management. Timeline PHASE DEADLINE RESPONSIBLE PARTY DESIGN PROPOSAL December 11, 2000 Network Administrators REVIEW January 31, 2001 Director of Operations ACCEPTANCE March 1, 2001 VP, Administration PROCUREMENT May 1, 2001 Director of Purchasing IMPLEMENTATION June 30, 2001 Director of Operations TESTING July 31, 2001 Network Administrators 2

4 GOALS The Millennium Project goals consist of business goals defined by the Community Advisory Group and technical groups developed by the task force: Business Increase enrollment by 25%, effective academic year Reduce the current attrition rate 50%, effective academic year Attract students migrating out-of-state for technology advantages Provide additional and larger computer labs on campus Provide network and Internet access for commuter students laptops Maintain or decrease funding level of network operations Technical Centralize all services and servers Centralize the Internet connection and disallow distributed departmental connections Increase the bandwidth of the Internet connections Standardize TCP/IP protocols Provide extra capacity at switches (commuter laptop connections) Install DHCP software on Windows NT servers Provide network response time of approximately 1/10 th of a second or less for interactive applications Provide approximately 99.9% network availability, 3,000 hours MTBF, and 3 hours or less MTTR Provide Internet and internal network security from intruders Provide a scalable network for future multimedia expansion Provide a network that includes state-of-the-art technology 3

5 Challenges For this proposal, the network administrators have determined several key design challenges: Protecting mission-critical applications - While the institution is moving forward with increased bandwidth and increasingly hungry applications, it is important to ensure the success of mission-critical applications over the LAN. Without quality of service (QoS) controls, non-vital applications can quickly exhaust network resources at the expense of the more critical applications, thus compromising processes and certainly productivity. High availability - A primary objective when designing redundancy into networks is to build a network that can withstand component, link, power, and other types of failures. The network must converge around these failures healing itself without intervention and with minimal disruption in service. It must do all of these things and remain simple enough that the average network administrator can configure, monitor, and manage the environment. Multimedia support - The multimedia application market is tremendously expanding on a daily basis. Distance learning, virtual workplace, audio and videoconferencing, streaming media applications, data warehousing, and financial applications are not just future considerations they have arrived. Manageability - Technology is dramatically changing the way an entity can organize and support the network. The WVCC focus should be on flexible equipment and architecture that can unite network, system, application, and service management. 4

6 Security - The ability to authenticate and authorize users and equipment, as well as maintain integrity of resources and ensure the network is properly utilized are security priorities. Being limited in network administration resources such as money and personnel increases the difficulty of accomplishing security goals. Scalability - Demand on network resources will continue to increase in the future as goals such as the student increase are reached and technology advances in multimedia and end-user power increase. 5

7 DESIGN Overview The task force feels that in view of future growth the network design should be a scalable blueprint with a significant amount of hardware redundancy in the foundation. While WVCC is a small campus and, with expected growth, will continue to be a small campus for some time, flexibility is an issue. Experts predict that college enrollment in the United States will experience tremendous growth over the next decade. WVCC s network should be designed with not only the expectation of planned growth, but the possibility of a moderate to high rate of growth. 6

8 Planned Characteristics Medium size to 5000 nodes and moderate growth rate Both centralized and distributed servers Bandwidth-intensive applications such as multimedia Centralized internet connectivity Redundancy Minimum downtime Limited concern for traffic due to minimal management Security Building Block The building block shown on this view is meant to represent each separate building on campus. The optional server shown in the building block is at the discretion of the department(s) housed in the building. 7

9 The network administrators recommend using Layer 3 switches (LAN switches) at the distribution level. These switches integrate Layer 2 connectivity and Layer 3 functionality and eliminate the need for using both a Layer 2 switch and Layer 3 router. With the rapid changes in technology, it is also conceivable that the newer multi-layer switches could collapse the building block even further by the time equipment is procured. However, for purposes of this proposal and taking into consideration that the network administrators are actually part-time students with limited expertise and experience, both layers are included. (Not to mention the fact that the three network administrators were not in total agreement in this area.) The specifications section shows that the choice at the time of the proposal is Cisco s Catalyst 4000 series (possibly the Catalyst 4908G-L3) for the Layer 3 switches and the 2900 series for the closet switches. The Catalyst 4908G-L3 switch features non-blocking routing and switching for IP, IPX, and IP multicast while also offering wire-speed Layer 2 switching for non-routable protocols such as NetBIOS. (Cisco data sheet) Core Block 8

10 The design includes high-speed Layer 2 switches for the core block two for purposes of redundancy. Since the core block handles cross-campus traffic rather than being responsible for performing processor operations, speed is the most important aspect. All internet traffic passes through the core also. For the campus switch router in the core block, the task force recommends the Cisco Catalyst The 8540 is a modular Layer 2 and Layer 3 switch router that provides wire-speed Ethernet routing and switching services. (Cisco data sheet) Also important is the fact that the 8540 provides seamless integration with the Cisco 7500 class of routers which includes the proposal choice for the dedicated firewall router (see Specifications). The 8540 can handle Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, or ATM switch technology for future expansion. Server Block As in the Building Block, Layer 3 switches are used rather than using both Layer 2 switches and routers. 9

11 For WVCC, the task force is recommending upgrading the servers to Dell PowerEdge 2450 s. Normally around $7,000, Dell offers a terrific educational institution discount and has agreed to an even greater discount percentage for WVCC if all servers are upgraded. The network administrators also recommend increasing the number of enterprise servers during the upgrade in order to increase security and route traffic more easily. Plus, it would decrease downtime for some applications to have increased separation. The list could include servers specifically for: College websites Internet traffic Multimedia applications Library applications College Management Service Windows 2000 Server (upgrading from Windows NT) and printers DNS/DHCP Reserve server(s) for backup and contingency as well as software upgrade and development testing Media The campus already had fiber optic cable between buildings and Cat 5 wiring capability within the buildings although additional network jacks will be required to increase access connections for commuter students with notebook computers. The internet connection should be upgraded from the 56 kbps link provided by the community college system to a T-1 line in order to increase bandwidth to handle multimedia applications and newer, faster, and better technology. 10

12 Security Network security will include user authentication requiring a valid username and password. In addition, servers will be configured with additional user login security depending on the application being accessed. The designated firewall router will increase security for internet use and any connections from the college to outside entities. Scalability This hardware design and the use of DHCP software for dynamic IP addressing will ensure a high level of scalability while limiting the management resources needed. The network administrators also recommend purchasing networkmonitoring tools and a management package with any residual funding. Protocol List Protocol Description TCP/IP Standard protocol for the Network AFP Will run on the top of the TCP/IP to support the Mac systems. RSVP This protocol is not a routing protocol. It will run on the top of the TCP/IP and will work a bandwidth reservation system. When a large file or application is needed to be processed over the network the RSVP will communicate with router, servers and all physical equipments on the path of the application to ensure that the bandwidth needed is available. SMTP/POP This protocol will run on the top of the TCP/IP. This will support e- mail systems. PIM Multimedia protocol to facilitate the transfer of video, voice and other multimedia application in any future expansion. HTTP Internet Use HSRP Hot Standby Router Protocol RIP Routing Information Protocol 11

13 SPECIFICATIONS Device Cisco 7120 VPN Router (firewall) Model T1 Catalyst 8540 Layer 3 switch (core) Catalyst 4908G Layer 3 Switch (Server blocks and building blocks) Catalyst 2924XL Closet switches Features Four-port serial interface provides four channel-independent, synchronous serial ports that support full-duplex operation at T1 (1.544 mbps) and E1 (2.048 Mbps) speeds Extensible to 8 or 12 T1 or E1 ports through adapters Provides for loopbacks High-performance routing 64 MB system memory, expandable to 256 MB 64 MB packet memory for advanced bandwidth management High-speed switch router Provides wire-speed Ethernet routing and switching services High quality of service (QoS) capabilities 10/100 Base TX half and full duplex Layer 1 features Layer 2 transparent bridging Layer 2 MAC learning, aging, and switching by hardware Layer 3 IP, IP multicast, and IPX routing and forwarding Spanning-Tree protocol support Integrated Routing and Bridging (IRB) mode support Inter-Switch Link (ISL) based VLAN trunking support Hot-swappable, redundant power supply modules Hot-swappable Ethernet line modules Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF) - (advanced Layer 3 IP switching technology that could be very useful for future upgrades as more intensive Web-based applications and interactive sessions are developed) Fixed configuration Layer 3 Ethernet switch Non-blocking routing and switching, wire-speed Layer 2 switching for non-routable protocols such as NetBIOS High Performance CPU QoS Comprehensive management tools Access List Support on all ports HSRP support IPX switching features SNMP Management Information Base Compact and cost effective 24 auto-sensing 10/100 ports Supports up to 64 VLANs 12

14 Dell PowerEdge 2450 Servers Pentium III 733 MHz w/256k cache Dual Processor Pentium III 866 MHz Dual Redundant 330 Watt Power Supply Motherboard RAID 5 Multiple hard drives Rack rails 1400 VA Rack-mount UPS 13