Network Switch Refresh Project Progressing

The Network Switch Refresh project is a campus-wide network upgrade that will replace aging network switch infrastructure with newer hardware. The updates will improve the existing network’s monitoring and performance capabilities.

This is in accordance with internal assessments that show increased Wi-Fi use and supports the university’s goal of encouraging the UTA community to rely more on wireless connectivity.

Jason Hardy, Director of Infrastructure and Operations, notes that since January, we have upgraded 83 buildings. We have prepped, configured and installed 739 network switches. Before our consolidation work began, those buildings were served by 1049 switches with significant over-provisioning (waste of resources). These switches represented 49,848 network ports. We’ve been able to reduce 16,860 ports across those buildings, representing a capital investment savings of $1.73 million over five years (or $347,244 per year from our budget).  

The team has worked 100 overnight shifts, consuming more than 4,900 person-hours of effort. Additionally, work during the day for support of clients has consumed more than 9,600 person-hours of effort across multiple organizations within and outside of OIT.

Benefits

• Procure and install core network equipment to support increased demands from on-campus and remote instruction and research (100G capability)
• Enhance the capacity and redundancy of the network core toprovide continuous operation in the event of a hardware failure (network reliability)
• Enhance our IT security position by enabling all data entering or leaving the institution to be protected by a next-generation advanced firewall

Ashley Green • 2023-Jun-29