Advanced Technical User FAQ

On this page, you'll find a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the Campus Network Upgrade Project from an advanced technical user point-of-view.

Q: Why not use wireless instead of rewiring the entire campus?

A: There are many reasons why going with an completely wireless campus networking infrastructure would not be a sufficient alternate to upgrading the existing campus network and wiring infrastructure.

First and foremost, the minimum wired transport rate for the upgrade is faster than current wireless transport rates. The Campus Network Upgrade Project provides for selective 1 Gbps wired data transport, which is up to 9,000 percent faster than the current wireless rate of 802.11b. In other words, going with an all-wireless campus network would produce (at best) a marginal improvement in connectivity. In projecting data transport requirements over the next 10 years, it would not be in the university's best interests to design to such a small, incremental improvement given the growth of high-bandwidth applications since 1987, the year the campus network was last upgraded.

Second, the network density of an all-wireless campus would invariably result in mutual interference of access points. This would greatly reduce the availability and reliability of the wireless network. In layman's terms, an all-wireless network would be overwhelmed by the vast number of network users on campus, and would outlive its usefulness rather quickly.

Third, every wireless access point must be wired to the core network via Category 5 or greater cable. A significant wired infrastructure is a necessary prerequisite to support the current density of access points in UIUC public spaces. As the campus plans to increase the number of public areas with UIUCnet wireless access, additional Cat5 (or greater) wired infrastructure would be needed to support those additional access points. The existing Category 3 wiring infrastructure is of very little value in expanding wireless coverage.

Q: Should we be looking ahead and implementing fiber to the desktop?

A: There are currently two reasons fiber to the desktop is not currently being implemented: economic feasibility and technological utility for exponentially higher data rates.

Q: Will departments have the ability to firewall their building through department administered firewalls?

A: The increasing vulnerabilities of data and systems to network-borne intrusion events provide a strong motivation for departmental firewalls. However, building infrastructure is often shared between departments, as well as between CITES and F&S. Because UIUCnet makes extensive use of VLAN trunking, multiple VLANS are often carried on the same connection to the building. Therefore, interruption of this connection to insert a department firewall at the trunking level is not desirable.

In order to troubleshoot and maintain UIUCnet, CITES Network Maintenance must have visibility into the department LANS, which precludes some common firewall implementation techniques. The Campus Network Upgrade Project supports a distributed network management framework in order to achieve the targeted levels of reliability, security, and availability. The reference design accommodates departmental firewalls and sniffer ports in a consistent fashion across campus. [Phil note: still true?]

Q: Will we have to replace equipment we have just installed in order to make all equipment similar?

A: The Campus Network Upgrade Project funding model assumes a four-year refresh cycle with three lifecycles:

Equipment in place that can support the Cat6 data rates will not need to be replaced. Since the Campus Network Upgrade Project is a five-year program, Year Five installed electronics will be refreshed in four years. Thus, pre-existing electronics will be refreshed by the end of the five-year project, and most if not all equipment will support the standardization requirements as stated in the project objectives.

Some peer universities have developed funding models sufficiently robust to be able to refresh electronics at the end of their technological life. Most peers have developed a three- to four-year refreshment cycle as a compromise between economic feasibility and technological obsolescence. The cost of refreshment of electronics is provided through Campus Network Upgrade funding.

Q: Will the Upgrade convert our phone service to Voice-over IP (VoIP)?

A: Not at this time. The most pressing telecommunications need on our campus is upgrading the data network, and that is where the resources are being concentrated.

In order to even consider converting our phone service to VoIP, we need to have a solid campus backbone and at least Cat5 cabling in the buildings. When the current data network upgrade is complete, we will have much of the necessary infrastructure in place to make a VoIP conversion.

Meanwhile, CITES is testing VoIP internally. The current cost-benefit ratios realized with converting to VoIP do not make it an immediate candidate for campuswide adoption. In short, the IP phones are relatively expensive compared to the analog phones we use today, and most people do not perceive the existing phone system as broken or in need or replacement or upgrading.

Q: Will the Upgrade provide campus with a network with “five nines” (99.999 percent) of reliability?

A: Probably not. “Five nines” reliability is not the design goal of the Campus Network Upgrade Project. The Upgrade is being engineered to meet a “three nines” (99.9 percent) standard. The total dollars allocated for upgrading the entire campus will be stretched very thin just to get the entire campus upgraded to 10/100 Mbps connectivity to the desktop with a 99.9 percent reliability.

“Five nines” may be obtainable, but it would require a significantly larger investment in items like back-up batteries, redundant fiber feeds, and standby generators. All of those items can be added to the existing design, but for budgetary reasons are not included at this time.

To put “five nines” in more concrete terms, a 99.999 percent reliable network could have up to 5.13 minutes a year of outage. By contrast, a 99.9 percent reliable network could have up to 8.5 hours a year of outage. At this time, 8.5 hours a year has been determined to be an acceptable balance of cost and reliability.

Q: Is the campus increasing the number of locations with UIUCnet Wireless coverage?

A: Yes, the Campus Network Upgrade Project not only provides for the upgrade of the wired infrastructure in a building, but also adds UIUCnet Wireless coverage to all the “public spaces” in that building. Each building being upgraded is surveyed to determine where wireless access points need to be installed in order to provide “public space” wireless coverage; and the infrastructure that is necessary to provide wireless networking is installed along with the wiring upgrades.

Q: What is the definition of a “public space” for the purposes of the Campus Network Upgrade Project?

A: A “public space” is defined as any space in a campus building where students and/or faculty may meet and collaborate. This would include, but not be limited to classrooms, teaching labs, conference rooms, libraries, lounge areas, and food courts. The primary spaces excluded from this definition are private offices and research-only labs.

Q: Can a unit request “full building” UIUCnet Wireless coverage for a building, and if so, who pays for that additional coverage?

A: Yes. As part of the wireless survey, units are given the option to request full building coverage. The additional cost of providing full building coverage is charged to the unit making the request.

In some cases, the additional cost of covering an entire building is relatively small. In other cases, a significant amount of additional equipment must be deployed. Each building is different, and the need for additional equipment depends on how isolated the “private” areas of the building are from the “public” areas of the building. If a private office is adjacent to a classroom or a conference room, there is a good chance there will be some UIUCnet Wireless coverage “leakage” into that office. The only way to guarantee total coverage is for the unit to pay for it.

Q: Can our unit have “private” wireless coverage in our offices rather than UIUCnet Wireless?

A: Yes. Units may request and fund “Independently Secured Departmental Wireless” coverage, as long as it can be engineered to not interfere with the “public space” UIUCnet Wireless coverage. Contact the CITES Network Design Office at ndo@uiuc.edu for more information.

Q: What about “public spaces” that are outside of buildings? Is there a plan for providing UIUCnet Wireless coverage on the various campus quads?

A: At this time campus resources are being concentrated on providing UIUCnet Wireless coverage to the “public spaces” inside campus buildings. There may be locations where UIUCnet Wireless coverage “leaks” out of a building and provides some limited external coverage as well. While that is acceptable, it is not a goal of the current Campus Network Upgrade Project. If a unit has a specific need for external UIUCnet Wireless coverage and is willing to fund the equipment and its installation, CITES will facilitate providing that coverage to the extent that the technology permits.

Q: Can anyone who can receive the signal use the UIUCnet Wireless service?

A: No. You must have either a valid UIUC NetID and password or a sponsored “guest account” to be able to access UIUCnet Wireless.

When you first connect to UIUCnet Wireless and try to use a web browser, you will be directed to the authentication page, where you will need to provide your Network ID and password. For most applications, you can use the QuickConnect method of authentication. For some applications, you must use the Virutal Private Network (VPN) client to authenticate.

For more information about the campus VPN system and to download the free VPN client software, please see the CITES VPN page.

Q: Our Department has guest lecturers that will be on campus for two weeks. Is there a way that we can get temporary “guest accounts” for those people while they work here so that they can access UIUCnet Wireless?

A: Yes. There is a process for up to five people in your unit to become authorized to create “guest accounts.” If you need more than 10 “guest accounts” at one time, CITES can do that for you in a batch process, but you will need to match the “guest account” names to the actual users. Network Administrators can request the form for becoming authorized to create “guest accounts” from wireless [at] uiuc.edu. If you are a guest of the university and you need a “guest account,” you should contact your unit’s Network Administrator. Guest accounts are active for three days, but may be extended by having the account’s creator contact wireless [at] uiuc.edu with an extension request.

Q: Why do we need to authenticate at all? Don’t some campuses have “free wireless Internet” available everywhere?

A: Although end users may not be paying for Internet access directly, Internet access is never free. There are costs and obligations that come with providing wireless Internet access. The campus is responsible for knowing who is using its resources, and for restricting resource availability to the appropriate members of the campus community. Authentication protects the University’s administrative records, academic records, research data, and the personal identity information of nearly 50,000 users. To allow unauthenticated access to UIUCnet Wireless service would violate campus policy.

Q: What are the different types of Wi-Fi or wireless data technology? How are they different?

A: The most common type of wireless equipment used today operates according to the is 802.11b (“b”) industry standard for wireless networking, which will operate at effective speeds of up to 5 Mb/s in the 2.4 GHz radio spectrum. That is the same part of the spectrum that is used by 802.11g (“g”) equipment, which operates at effective speeds of up to 25 Mb/s. The “g” standard is backwards compatible with the “b” standard. If you have a “g” card in your laptop, it can communicate with a “b” access point (at “b” speeds). Conversely, if you have “b” card in your computer, it can communicate with a “g” access point - again at “b” speeds. Most of the Intel-based or Apple laptop computers with built-in wireless capabilities have “b” or “g” equipment.

Like 802.11g, 802.11a (“a”) equipment is also capable of an effective speed of up to 25 Mbps but “a” wireless equipment operates in the 5.4 GHz spectrum. Consequently, it does not interfere with or interoperate with “b/g” equipment. The effective range of the “a” technology is somewhat less than “b/g” technology. For a more technical description of the various wireless standards, please see CITES' Wireless Networking Speed: Ideals and Experiences page.

Q: What types of wireless access points are being installed on campus for the UIUCnet Wireless service?

A: The access points being installed are 802.11 “a/b/g” compatible. Those are the three standards that are collectively referred to as Wi-Fi. You can use a laptop or other device that uses 802.11a, 802.11b, or 802.11g to access UIUCnet Wireless.

Q: I need to buy a card for my laptop to access UIUCnet Wireless. What type of card should I buy: “a,” “b/g” or a combo “a/b/g”?

A: On the UIUC campus, all new access point being installed are “a/b/g” compatible models. Because of the effective range differences between the “a” and the “b/g” technologies, some areas of some buildings may have “b/g” coverage but not “a” coverage, so you at least want a “b/g” card. 802.11a is not as widely deployed in coffee shops and other Wi-Fi locations available to the general public as 802.11 b and g. So again to maximize the usefulness of your card, you want a card that can at least work with “b/g.”

However, 802.11b and 802.11g are built into many laptop computers and there will typically be more people attempting to access the “b/g” UIUCnet Wireless network at any given location than the “a” network. So to avoid congestion, you may want a combo card that also supports “a.” High-capacity locations are best served with "a" and if you expect to use wireless in locations like large lecture halls it will be to your advantage to have "a" capabilities. So, in order to be able to use your computer in Wi-Fi enabled coffee shops and to maximize your coverage areas on the UIUC campus you will want a card with “b/g” capabilities. If cost and maximizing coverage are your primary concerns, purchase a “b/g” card. If your connection speed in congested locations is your primary concern, spend the extra money for an “a/b/g” combo card.

Q: Does UIUCnet Wireless support any of the “turbo” or “extra-fast” versions of 802.11g?

A: No. The access points being deployed by CITES for UIUCnet Wireless coverage only support the base 802.11 standards. There are not currently any industry-standard “turbo” implementations of 802.11. Many wireless equipment vendors have created their own proprietary “turbo” systems that promise two or three times the effective data throughput of standard “g,” but none of those systems will interoperate. There are efforts underway within the standards organizations to define a common “turbo” standard, but until such a standard exists and interoperable equipment is widely available, CITES will wait before implementing something that is not standard.

Q: Which buildings have UIUCnet Wireless coverage today?

A: To see a list and a map of UIUC buildings with wireless coverage please see CITES' UIUCnet Wireless Access Locations.

Q: When will every building on campus have UIUCnet Wireless coverage?

A: Not any time soon. The Campus Network Upgrade Project is roughly two years into a five-year project and “only” provides upgrades for 150 of the 300+ campus buildings. There are more than 60 buildings that are included in the first two years of the project, and many of those are major campus buildings. For the entire list of buildings that are included in the first two years of the project please refer to the Building Lists for the Campus Network Upgrade Project.

Q: What about Wi-Max? Will CITES be deploying Wi-Max technology?

A: No, probably not in the next couple of years. The first type of Wi-Max (also conveniently known as 802.16 2004) is a building-to-building technology, not one that is intended to communicate with laptops or portable devices. While there may be applications on campus where this type of Wi-Max could be used to provide connectivity to buildings on the South Farms and to other remote locations where there is no fiber-optic cable plant, 802.16 2004 is not a technology that will affect end users directly. By late 2005 or early 2006 we expect to see manufacturers producing 802.16 2004 equipment for the U.S. market.

The more interesting version of Wi-Max is 802.16e, which is intended to communicate directly with laptops and other portable devices over greater distances and at greater bandwidths than any of the 802.11 technologies. That version of Wi-Max is still on the drawing boards. It is not a ratified standard yet, and it could be two to three years before any commercial products are available for the U.S. market. If 802.16e lives up to its promise, it is certainly something that CITES will consider for deployment on the UIUC campus. At this point it is too early to make any firm predictions.

Q: Is there an official CITES position on the use of wireless technology for accessing UIUCnet and campus network resources?

A: CITES recognizes the convenience that UIUCnet Wireless access provides but is also deeply aware of its limitations. For the foreseeable future, hard-wired connections will be faster and more reliable than what wireless technology will provide. If you have a choice of using a hard-wired or a wireless connection to UIUCnet, we will almost always recommend using the hard-wired connection. Nevertheless, the security and reliability of wireless technology have improved to the point where security should not be a concern for anyone using UIUCnet Wireless service.

Questions?

If your unit would like more information about the Campus Network Upgrade Project, please contact Mike Smeltzer, Director of Network Communications, at smeltzer [at] uiuc [dot] edu or at 244-3835.

Campus Network Upgrade Project