IT Committee – Plan for Next Generation Wireless Deployment

IT Committee – Plan for Next Generation Wireless Deployment

Message Plan for Next Generation Wireless Deployment for FSILGs – June 2, 2014
Dear Members of the AILG,

This year, we marked the fifth anniversary of the Community Networking Upgrade Program (CNUP), our $2M project to upgrade the LANs and WLANs of every FSILG to modern networking standards.  As we mark this anniversary, we also face a challenge.  Much of the equipment that we deployed in the CNUP project, such as the wireless access points and wired switches, has a five year lifespan.  Over the past year, we have begun to see access points and switches in houses fail, so the AILG IT committee has been working with MIT’s Information Services & Technology Department (IS&T) to address this issue, as well as to prepare for deployment of the next generation of wireless equipment, which IS&T is planning to roll out across the MIT campus in the coming academic year.

We are pleased to inform you that we have a solution, thanks to IS&T, the Division of Student Life, and the Independent Residence Development Fund (IRDF).  Under this new program, the equipment should be refreshed every five years without requiring a major new capital outlay by the FSILGs.  In addition, MIT IS&T will be monitoring the networks to fix anything that breaks, dies, or otherwise has a problem at no additional charge to the AILG or individual houses.  Below are additional highlights and points about the program:

  • IS&T will manage houses’ next generation wireless networks just as they do on campus.  WiFi in the FSILGs will look and function exactly like campus WiFi, providing single sign-on access for students
  • The level of support will include all functions noted in the current BNS agreement, plus network monitoring, security, replacement of failed units
  • First year (FY2015 starting this July 1) support cost is the same $1,000/house/year as the current BNS program
  • Second and subsequent year support cost will be $2,000/house/year
  • IS&T and the Division of Student Life will procure all needed central office equipment and underwrite all the annual vendor support costs, including the fiber links
  • The IRDF will finance the new FSILG equipment of about 400 access points and new switches to support the new high bandwidth 802.11AC standard.  Half of this cost will be billed back to each FSILG over a five year period, by deducting approximately $1,000/house/year from the Educational Operating Grant.  This program is designed to support 5-year refresh of network equipment in perpetuity
  • IS&T will provide project management and installation of all the needed new equipment, both in the FSILG and central office location.

On these last two points, please note that the total lump-sum cost of replacing the end-of-life components, including wireless access points, controllers, and switches will be at least $25,000 for most FSILGS.  But with the MIT contributions we are getting, the net costs to the FSILGS reflect only one third of the total costs of providing this high bandwidth wireless network and are less expensive than 100Mbps cable modem service from Comcast, while providing ten times the Comcast bandwidth (1Gbps, scalable over our new dark fiber network).  We hope all FSILGs take full advantage of this program, which is also a requirement for continued access to MITnet.

We plan to roll this program and the new equipment out over the coming summer and fall semester with the whole process completed well before the end of the academic year.

Please email me with any questions you have.

Sincerely,

Ash Dyer ’06, Chair,
AILG IT-Telecomm Committee