Network Aggregation Refresh Project
Overview
The current campus network aggregation switches are at or nearing their vendor end of support. Moreover, all of the current network switches are relatively low-performance, and cannot support current/future network technologies.
- Upgrading the network aggregation equipment in networked buildings is the first step in the upcoming general network refresh that will see all switches in almost all buildings replaced, and it improves the reliability of the current building uplinks by removing the problematic current distribution and aggregation switches.
- The general campus network refresh will result in an increase in capacity and capability, both considered necessary to support the next 7-10 years of networking at UMD, and the new Aggregation Fabric and building uplink migration begins this campus network refresh. Additionally, we will have a network that is supported by our equipment vendors for years to come.
- During the migration, we expect that each building will experience an outage of network connectivity for 15-20 minutes. A majority of buildings will be migrated on weekday mornings between 6 and 8 a.m.
Timeline
January 2022
- Project overview delivered at University Technology Coordinating Committee (UTCC)
February 2022
- Project overview delivered at Academic IT Directors (AITD)
- Migration pilot initiated
- Meetings with key campus stakeholders
March 2022
- Migration pilot completed and regular migrations begin
- Project communication to IT colleagues
- Public campus wide notice
- Plan for spring break buildings
- Migrate the majority of residence halls over Spring Break
Process
- The project team will actively collaborate with key campus stakeholders to develop and sequence a schedule that limits impact of the scheduled outages (Athletics, Dining Services, Facilities Management, Health Center, Public Safety, Residential Facilities, etc).
- During scheduled outages, DIT staff will replace network aggregation hardware.
- Migration schedule will be regularly updated as the schedule develops.
Note: The building list shows buildings that have uplinks to network hubs, and does not include the subtending buildings (ex. the 8 Courtyards buildings feed into Courtyards Maintenance Shed). - If there are any date changes, weekly notifications will be pushed to POCs in key campus stakeholder groups.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, services that will be impacted are campus provided wired and Wi-Fi internet connection, wired phones, emergency/PERT phones.
During the actual migration, the network outage will only last for 15-20 minutes.
Yes, key cards systems will continue to grant you access to your building.
Contact
If you have questions, please email net-agg-switch@umd.edu.