Terbidium

More Q&A with IT, Internet Connection
 Published by daedalus on 2002-02-06 @ 16:06:40

With anything new comes questions. I've asked Ron Skopitz, director of IT at SPSU a few more questions about out new internet connection. Most of this info will be of no importance to most students, as they would be completely unaware of any changes made to our network. However, for those living on campus (dorms or UC's), or taking part in the CS/SE programs, you may find this information useful.

First off, a bit of additional background info on our new connection: "The OC-3 has 10Mbit/sec of bandwidth activated (in contrast to our 7.68Mb/s from the Ts). However, the OC-3 is currently running ATM as its transport layer. Because ATM is very inefficient at moving IP traffic, they've given us a 20% overhead allowance. This is why the PeachNet monitor scales to 120%. Their plan is to migrate the connection to a SONET configuration soon, which is much more efficient at conveying IP traffic. Also, the company that provides the connection to PeachNet is likely to change soon due to a new contract. We're hearing that the new contract is more economical, which may very well lead to more bandwidth for the same cost. We'll see...." --Ron Now for the questions... (again, answered by Skopitz) Q: Are we connected directly to Ga Tech, or to some other PeachNet site? A: Heh, good question! Our PeachNet monitor and all early conversations indicated that we're connected to Georgia State. However, the technician we've been working with since the conversion tells us that the PeachNet monitor label is wrong and that we're actually connected through GaTech. This makes sense since our Ts were connected to GaTech, but at this point we truthfully cant say for sure! Q: If connected to GT, does it allow us any form of direct connections to GT's campus network? A: Keep in mind that there is actually an OC-12 between our campus and GaTech. SPSU and KSU each have an OC-3 card in our PeachNet routers, so there is still 2 OC-3s worth of bandwidth available. Plus, out of our 155Mbits of OC-3, we're only using 10-12Mbit for Internet traffic. So, the possibility does exist to created some PVCs (permanent virtual connections) between us and some other PeachNet-attached entities. If someone had a research project in high-bandwidth imaging, for example, we could create an out-of-band 50Mbit virtual LAN to GaTech that would be independent of our Internet traffic. Of course, we'd have to pay for the increased use of the OC-12 circuit, but plain bandwidth is much cheaper than actual Internet access. And the neat thing is that, in an "emergency", the PeachNet can increase our bandwidth allotment in a matter of minutes, rather than the weeks/months it takes to get a new T1! Q: Did BellSouth provide the former T1's, or was it all PeachNet, or some other combo of the two? A: BellSouth provided the physical connection between us and the PeachNet. PeachNet is our ISP. They decide how the connections are configured and used. The same is true with the OC connection (i.e. the USG doesn't own the fiber between here and GaTech), but it is my understanding that USCarrier provides the circuits rather than BellSouth (they are cheaper). I do not know who the new carrier will be. Q: What's the plans for the old T1's (back to PeachNet as you have said before)? A: Once everyone is convinced that the new connection is functional and reliable, the Ts will be disconnected. Q1: Do we pay for the OC-3 or the fiber connection (like monthly, if at all), or just the bandwidth we use, as allowed by PeachNet? Q2: Does PeachNet set our available bandwidth from their end, or do they tell you how much to let the campus have? A: The PeachNet folks determine backbone capacity needs and negotiate contracts with bandwidth providers (i.e. companies that own fiber) to get the lowest price per bit. The University System then decides how much bandwidth a school needs based on usage patterns, population, mission, research, etc -- and the cost of the associated bandwidth. The USG does their best to provide the best service to each school based on needs and costs. Of course, our proximity to Atlanta and GaTech (being the main PeachNet node) gives us tremendous leverage over a more remote school like, say, Valdosta State. Even though they are much bigger than us, bandwidth down there is significantly more expensive -- I doubt they will have OC connectivity very soon. Of course, if we feel that we require more bandwidth than we are allotted, we can always pay an additional amount to the PeachNet to cover it. I will be asking them what our cost per Mbit is in hopes that we can provide Internet access to the folks in the Commons -- the stumbling block in the past has always been the high cost-to-bandwidth ratio associated with using T1s. I think we can now provide several Mb/s for the same price -- without installation charges. Hopefully we can soon start talks with them about this. Notes: USG = University System of Georgia 1Mbit/s = 1,000,000 bits/sec = 125,000 bytes/sec = 125 Kbytes/sec (For reference, a 56K connection usually reaches up to 7 Kbytes/sec)