The goal of the UW Infostructure project is to have a reliable, maintainable, and extensible Internet connection available to every UW office worker by the beginning of the 21st century. The recommendations proposed in the following three areas represent the minimum requirements that allow UW employees to effectively interact with the network and computing systems in use on campus and in the global Internet environment. If your networking environment does not meet these specifications, you should investigate opportunities to upgrade.
Selecting Computing Hardware and Software for the Desktop outlines how to set up the desktop environment once your network and your support staff is in place.
C&C's "next generation infostructure" specification calls for all desktop or office computers to be connected to the campus backbone via a switched Ethernet port. This technology replaces the shared Ethernet hubs that are mostly in use at present.
Typically, the 10baseT connection is done over category 3 or category 5 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable run from a network port in the wall to a switch in the "wiring closet" for that area. By using category 5 wire it may be possible to later upgrade to even faster (e.g., 100 Mbps) network technologies.
If a shared 10baseT network is already in place, upgrading to switched 10baseT involves replacing equipment in the wiring closet. This needs to be planned and executed on a subnet-wide basis, not on a group by group basis.
Eliminating shared Ethernet segments also means that older 10Base2 Ethernet using coaxial cable need to be discontinued. Needless to say, any last vestiges of non-compliant and proprietary network technology, e.g. Apple localtalk, should be replaced as quickly as possible.
Upgrading network infrastructure in campus buildings is an on-going effort with many dependencies. Departments should contact UW Computing & Communications regarding their particular situation.
TCP/IP is the only transport protocol that is carried (routed) on the campus backbone network. Using only TCP/IP on local network servers ensures that services can be provided to all the members of a group regardless of their physical location on campus. As projects grow and bring together more people this ability is critical.
A local computer support person is essential. Networks and operating systems are getting somewhat more complicated (and more pervasive) and efficient network connections are necessary to accomplish even the most mundane tasks. It is essential that someone within the local group take responsibility as the networking/computing support person. That person is then able to gather information from the entire group and provide a single point of contact when working with other support people across campus as well as C&C.
If establishing a local server of some sort is part of your plan then it is absolutely critical that you hire or have available a knowledgeable local manager and a backup person for that manager. The responsibilities and tasks of the local manager will take a significant part (if not the entire portion) of the work day, and will often involve being called in during non-work hours. The backup manager should have enough time and knowledge to operate and administer the server(s) in the absence of the local manager.
