Syracuse University has begun the long, multi-million dollar process of renovating its computing network.

Headed by Information Technology and Services, the Network Master Plan calls for the replacement and expansion of wiring and electronics in and around campus buildings – 209 in total.

The end result of this will be a network better able to handle the increasingly large amounts of data sent through it – meaning faster, more stable Internet access for network users.

Additionally, the project will renovate or, in some cases, rebuild network distribution points in many buildings as well as expand wireless coverage to the entire campus.

‘The plan is to build up a process so the network will be continuously sustainable,’ said Paul Gandel, SU’s chief information officer. ‘There are things we haven’t replaced as quickly as we should have.’

But Gandel and other administrators said the project is not a response to any major problems, instead a proactive effort to prevent them from occurring.

‘Eventually, you are going to hit limitations,’ he said.

The university board of trustees gave final approval spring semester 2006 for $5.35 million of university funds to be allocated for the project in the university’s 2006 to 2007 fiscal year. The total budget is $31.3 million over five years, said June Winckelmann, associate chief information officer, though each year the project will have to reapply for another portion of that grant.

Some of the project’s funds also come from the annual ITS budget, including communications fees paid by students living in dorms, Winckelmann said. Part of that annual budget is also used to maintain the current network.

Although the additional budget was developed in 2004, inflation in the prices of materials has since then caused problems, and adjustments made last fall were not enough.

‘We know our inflation changes were not enough,’ said Jenny Gluck, manager for Network Design and Development. ‘But we will try to work within (the current budget).’

They have also set a tentative five-year projection for the project’s completion, set at a very aggressive schedule, Gluck said.

Of the 209 buildings targeted by the project, 121 will need new electronics and/or upgraded and expanded wireless points.

Wireless expansion began as soon as the budget was approved and will be worked on throughout the span of the project, Gluck said. Right now, ITS is testing new electronic equipment for the buildings.

The other 88 buildings will undergo total renovation.

Contractors for this phase of the project have not yet been hired, but the project is in the process of narrowing choices down, and construction will begin around December, said Chris Sedore, director of Network and Communication Services

Many of those buildings have various times throughout the year when construction would be too disruptive, Sedore said. The order of renovation for the buildings remains tentative for the moment because the project still needs to plan around these schedules, an easier task once contractors are selected.

The Center for Science and Technology, Link Hall, Huntington Hall, the Physics Building and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Centers I and II are the tentative first batch of buildings to be renovated, according to the project’s Web site. Renovations in Day and Haven halls, the only residence halls to undergo renovations, will take place this summer, Gluck said.

EzraNet, a similar project ongoing at Cornell University since 2003, has had to deal with issues like these.

‘All of the construction work is always done at night,’ said Sasja Huijts, program manager for EzraNet. These third-shift hours avoid any conflicts with the residents of the building during the day.

EzraNet also installs the new building wiring parallel to the old, Huijts said. This way, the building’s network is disrupted for a short period of time when the switch is made from the old system to the completed new one.

At SU, Gluck said the plan is to use the same approach of parallel wiring and third-shift hours; Huijts said she and Gluck have consulted with one another.

Some of the copper wiring that will be replaced is from the original network installed in the 1970s, Gluck said, though that is not always the case because of construction and renovations throughout the years. By replacing the older copper wire, the project will fix or prevent problems with network performance.

However, also at stake in each building are concerns about academic space and historic preservation.

ITS asked the Office of Campus Planning, Design and Construction to help reconcile contractors’ proposals with the specific design limitations in each building.

‘The whole key to the success of this project, from our standpoint, is to install the wires so that they are innocuous to the buildings’ historical qualities,’ said Steve Schroeder, assistant director for planning for CPDC. Fifteen buildings, all part of the original SU campus, are on the national registry of historic land marks.

The CPDC also takes into consideration the design requirements ITS has for the renovations of the telecommunications rooms, such as the entry point of exterior network cables, said Chris Danek, assistant director for academic facilities for CPDC.

In some cases, the old rooms can be used, but others are poorly located for rooms that contain electronics, Danek said.

‘I’ve been in rooms where we have no cooling at all and in others where we have a jerry-rigged (cooling) system,’ he said.

However, Danek said taking program space for the new telecommunications rooms is a last resort.

‘Anytime we take space, it takes away from the academic side,’ Gluck said.

The end result of all this is a process of give and take.

‘Really what we try and do is look at every option,’ Danek said.

For construction outside the buildings, historical preservation and academic schedules are of less concern.

This component of the project targets fiber-optic cables that connect each building’s internal copper-wire system. They are part of an extensive system of cables that runs underground through campus, most of which will remain untouched.

Once completed, the renovations will allow the network to better handle the increasing amount of data sent across it, Gandel said. This increase in data sent is the result of more and more people relying on daily use of the network.

‘We’re all using the network constantly,’ he said.

The university installed the fiber-optic cables that are in use now from 1987 to 1988 as part of its first and only large-scale network upgrade until now – though it was smaller in comparison to the scope of the Network Master Plan, said Jim Pampinella, manager of the Network Communications and Wiring group.

The renovations will not remove, but rather supplement those existing cables with newer ones. In addition, a new distribution room for fiber cables will be built to improve network resiliency.

An older network cable, no longer in use, will be removed during the construction. By leaving the active cables alone, network operations should remain uninterrupted, Pampinella said.

‘We are more concerned with the impact on busy areas, such as where there are a lot of pedestrians or traffic,’ he said.

Although the project in its entirety requires extensive planning and coordination, Sedore said he does not think anyone will be uncooperative.

‘It’s very likely that you’re going to want to work with us,’ he said. ‘It’s as if someone were to offer to paint your house.’

Published on November 1, 2006 at 12:00 pm