Upgrades to the computer routing systems of all three Tufts campuses are approaching completion. The sweeping improvements are the initial steps of the first round of upgrades made to the Tufts computing network since a major upgrade in 1999.
The ongoing upgrades, which follow the 1999 major overhaul, began last year in 2003.
There are still a number of tasks which need to be completed, including the fitting of new fiber optic cables between buildings.
According to Manager of Network Engineering and Security Marc Jiminez, "it will be time-consuming, but an essential step for the next generation of 10 GB network lines needed in the coming years."
In addition, there is a need to replace the border routers which connect the University network to the Internet. There are plans to further upgrade various network infrastructures, including the Pelican network -- the school's main server.
The University has purchased over $700,000 worth of Cisco 6500s routers. These routers will permit traffic within the core network to move at 10 gigabits per second -- one of the fastest speeds to available to campuses, Jimenez said.
Tufts Computing and Communications Services (TCCS), in conjunction with Tufts' Network Operations, replaced the campuses' backbone routers earlier this year. "The backbone routers represent the core pieces of the network, and this is not work we could feel comfortable contracting out," Jimenez said.
The routers function as a sort of switchboard, gathering all the information and then disseminating it to the appropriate locations.
Complaints about slow internet service prompted University trustees to commit to a major University-wide upgrade of data network infrastructure in 1999.
In that year, the Board of Trustees also agreed to provide additional grants to the TCCS to refresh the network every three years.
"As part of the initial upgrade plans, it was decided that the network would need a continual refreshment of equipment in order to stay at the forefront of technology," Jimenez said.
TCCS is in charge of performing and coordinating the refreshing cycles.
The capabilities of the old routers had been worn out from traffic and security measures, Associate Director of Data Network Operations Doug Herrick said. "[Our current] vendor is now more than two generations of product beyond our current routers, and the support resources dedicated to maintaining [our older] platform have been noticeably reduced," Herrick added.
Prior to this upgrade, the routers were also substantially more vulnerable to network-based security attacks due to network structuring that permitted large volumes of malicious traffic. The beginning of the year was plagued with attacks such as the Blaster worm.
Choosing the appropriate time to undertake the upgrading work was one of the challenges of the project, Jimenez said.
"Obviously, the longer you wait, the more advanced the equipment on the market becomes. In counterpoint, the longer you wait the more out of date and potentially vulnerable your current equipment becomes," Jimenez said. "We feel we've found the 'sweet spot' in terms of the capabilities and costs of what is available now and for the foreseeable future."
"I think Tufts has made some real investments in this, and the students are the real beneficiaries," Herrick said.
The original network upgrades resulted in a recorded 99.9 percent uptime for the network, with greatly increased speeds and reliability to every port on campus.
The original upgrade in 1999 took place in three installments -- wiring was adjusted to transmit at 100 megabytes (MB) per second to every desktop rather than 10 MB in 2000, internet connection rose from 43 megabits to 1 gigabit -- one of the fastest rates available -- in 2001, and new electronic devices were introduced in 2002.
