Office of the CIO Annual Achievement Report

2007 Achievements

Network Access and Quality Initiative
Part 1  Provide high quality connectivity for faculty, students and staff on the Columbus campus and to/from the regional campuses using "last mile" connectivity to Ohio’s new statewide Third Frontier (Dark Fiber) project.
Part 2  Upgrade and appropriately size network bandwidth from inside buildings in order for faculty to take advantage of Internet2 capabilities in the support of research.
Part 3  Provide network reliability and continuous information flow for data intensive services such as video and collaborative computing. As more university services become web-based, provide network access to those university employees without access to a computer during working hours.
Part 4  Facilitate high-quality, low-cost connectivity for faculty, students and staff from off campus locations, such as the Columbus university district.

Since 2004

Upgraded the main campus OSUNet backbone to fully redundant core routers and 10 GB transport; upgraded regional campuses’ WAN connections; upgraded the campus fiber optic infrastructure; migrated DNS/DHCP services to an appliance that supports distributed management; replaced the uninterruptible power supply UPS and upgraded HVAC at Baker Systems; rolled out a new network service for college and department networks; increased OSUNet Internet bandwidth to 425 Mbps for Internet1 connectivity; established a redundant Internet1 and Internet2 peering arrangement with OSCNet; began using CAT6 voice and data wiring in campus buildings; designed and installed new conduit infrastructure for University Airport, the Adventure Recreation Center, and Gateway Center; deployed wireless services in all residence halls and 250 student gathering areas; installed a Vyvx fiber optic network connection to transmit high-definition digital broadcasts from the Ohio State campus; introduced TextNet for the hearing impaired; led the expansion of Internet connectivity to rural Ohio; and organized the Internet2 Gigaconference and the annual global Megaconferences.

Since 2007

• Completed the OSU Wireless Phase II Project with 3,383 access points and full redundancy in place for core wireless controllers; began work on rollout of distributed management support software.


• Improved the OSUNet backbone by adding Stateful Switch Over features and redundant fiber optic links between core routers and upgrading the OSCNet peering routers.


• Upgraded the mission-critical DNS and DHCP system infrastructure without impacting customers or causing service outages and continued planning to enable local IT staff to make changes to Domain Name and Dynamic Host records they control.


• Expanded web site services on Ohio State Mobile to include free downloads of Ohio State ring tones and MP3 audio files. The site, designed for users of handheld devices such as cell phones, mini laptops, and wireless PDAs, offers one-stop access to services such as Buckeye Link, the university directory and maps, wireless hotspots, the University Libraries catalog, and university news and events.


• Continued the WOW! Affinity Program contract, which opens the company’s discount Internet, cable, and phone service to students off-campus, as well as faculty and staff.


• Extended Ohio State’s fiber optic lines infrastructure for voice and data service to the former Long’s Bookstore on High Street in coordination with the city of Columbus and utility companies. The Campus Partner property currently houses temporary university operations displaced by Ohio Union construction and University Libraries’ student-oriented Study Place at High (SPAH).


• Upgraded data service in the West Campus area with new gigabit service, providing 10 times faster transmission rates to 14 buildings and upgraded the campus secondary Internet connection from Time Warner Telecom for potential future service increases.


• Completed successful pilot testing, network design, and migration to Voice-over-IP telephone service at the Telecommunications Network Center, with 60 phones onsite, VoIP switches in place, and wireless VoIP ready to deploy. The VoIP Migration Project team is now documenting service offerings and current limitations to widespread deployment.


• Upgraded the core processors of the university’s phone system to “Carrier Grade” Linux servers; the improved system can handle IP and SIP lines and IP trunks.


• Expanded rural high-speed connectivity in southern Ohio by installing an Internet satellite downlink and Wi-Fi in the village of Vinton (Gallia County), Ohio and by establishing a community learning center with six computers, a printer, and educational courses.


• Provided 14,839 hours of video conferences through the Internet2 Commons videoconferencing service. In addition to supporting the normal collaborative conferences among the 22 global institutional members, the Commons supports huge worldwide events such as the Megaconference and Megaconference Jr.


• Added the Big Ten Network to Ohio State’s cable TV channel lineup at the Columbus, Mansfield, and Newark campuses.