Document Managed by Network Architecture

Introduction

Every building with IT needs at Rutgers University will ultimately be connected to the RUNet network. Initially, however, over half the buildings are not scheduled to receive any new interior wiring plant. Many of these buildings are among those which currently have network wiring in place and are connected to the legacy network. The significantly higher bandwidth available on RUNet will appear very attractive to occupants of buildings that have not received inside plant upgrades and a mechanism will be needed to allow them to participate in RUNet.

RUNet has specific design goals which are outlined in a series of technical documents (see references). Many of these requirements would impact the connection of legacy network infrastructure to RUNet. This paper summarizes those requirements which must be met for this infrastructure to be transitioned to RUNet. The methodology that will be utilized to transition legacy connectivity to RUNet is addressed in a separate paper.

2. Discussion

In order to permit proper deployment of infrastructure for RUNet, the following guidelines have been generated to clearly distinguish between a building which is RUNet compliant and one which is merely RUNet connected.

2.1. Compliant and Connected Requirements

A connected building is a formal subset of a compliant building. To be specific, connected buildings are not required to comply with the inside plant specifications. The listed items are described in more detail further on.

Compliant:

• Core/distribution connected
• Proper OSP and ISP fiber counts
• Compliant equipment rooms
• L3 compliance
• IP only
• Accepted policy
• Accepted address space
• Access layer is 10/100 switched (academic) or 10 switched (dorm)
• Interior wiring

Connected:

• Core/distribution connected
• Appropriate OSP fiber counts (type, quantity, and path)
• L3 compliance
• IP only
• Accepted policy
• Accepted address space

2.2. Core/Distribution Connected

A connection can be made from legacy infrastructure to RUNet infrastructure either at a core network interface or a distribution network interface. The device being connected must meet all the requirements that would be placed on an equivalent RUNet device [IMP].

For a device connected to a RUNet core device:

• Requires a gigabit Ethernet uplink to the core device
• Provides fast Ethernet links to all other networks
• Must be an accepted type of RUNet hardware

For a device connected to a RUNet distribution device:

• Requires a fast Ethernet uplink to the distribution device

2.3. OSP, Equipment Rooms, and ISP

In order to be compliant with RUNet, a building must have sufficient outside wiring plant in place [OSP]. This requirement includes all aspects of the outside plant and the network feed that will be provided through it. This area specifically includes:

• The fiber to the building
• The equipment room wherein the fiber terminates shall be in compliance with the requirements developed by the RUNet design group and Rutgers Facilities. These requirements include but are not limited to:
  • Asbestos abatement
  • Environmental Control (HVAC)
  • Electrical power capacity, un-interruptible power supply, convenience outlets, grounding, and bonding
  • Minimum room size requirements
  • Lighting
  • Fire detection and protection
  • Cable trays
• RUNet L3 capability in parent building

A connected building requires only the appropriate fiber plant be in place to transfer data to the parent building. Where new RUNet OSP is not yet installed it may be possible to utilize existing fiber if it:

• Run to the correct parent building
• Is of the correct type (single-mode vs. multi-mode)
• Has sufficient strands available

Where existing fiber meets all three requirements a building may be connected to RUNet utilizing such OSP. When RUNet plant is installed and becomes available connections utilizing old plant will be moved to the new OSP.

2.4. L3 Compliance

L3 compliance requires that the number of L3 hops required to access the core be appropriate as designed for RUNet [IMP]. L3 devices that were connected in a daisy-chain topology in the legacy network require independent connections to preserve the L3 diameter of RUNet. Devices must be fed by the correct 'parent' L3 device on RUNet; in some cases this will result in a delay to connect a building until it's parent building is connected and active.

2.5. Policies, Protocols, and Address Space

The only permissible L3 protocol type on RUNet is IP [IP]. A distribution node will not route any other protocol. If alternate protocols require support on an RUNet LAN, means other than direct routing of those protocols must be used. This might include IP encapsulation by a user managed device, multi-homing of a user's non-IP device on multiple LANs, or a user managed router or bridge connected to multiple LANs. The burden of choosing and deploying such equipment will not be assumed by OIT. User routing equipment will not be permitted to route or bridge IP packets. Other policies may be developed to enforce Class (or Quality) of Service, bandwidth rate limits, policy based routing, or other requirements.

All devices connected to RUNet must operate with IP addresses appropriate to the L3 design of the network [ADDR]. All new networks will receive such addresses but existing LANs will need to be renumbered before a connection can be made. Note that Legacy devices will, most likely, never need to renumber and until those users desire to move onto RUNet they can remain on their currently allocated IP address ranges. See [ADDR] for more details.

2.6. Access Layer

A RUNet compliant building must have access ports that are 10/100 Mb switched Ethernet for academic buildings and 10Mb switched for dorms. The access layer of an RUNet compliant buildings formally terminates at the wall plate. There are no L2 restrictions placed on user deployed equipment utilized to increase the number of ports available at any specific location [IMP].

Inside wiring for an RUNet compliant building must have the appropriate fiber installed between the equipment room and each telecommunications closet. A compliant building must also have compliant cat-5 copper between the telecommunications closets and the wall jacks in a density compatible with the RUNet design goals. An RUNet connected building requires only the appropriate fiber plant to service the device which makes the connection to the rest of RUNet. Such a building does not require interior fiber to service telecommunications closets or cat-5 wiring to wall jacks. Any existing or installed wiring plant is acceptable where such plant is not associated with the connection to RUNet.

3. Conclusion

Essentially, a connected building is fundamentally RUNet compliant with respect to the outside world, but is forgiven a number of requirements placed on the internal infrastructure. This allows for building not receiving ISP to be attached to RUNet without threatening the design or operation of that network. The rules can also be applied to building who wish to become connected early even though they might receive ISP funding from the RUNet project at a later point in time. At no point will OIT or the RUNet project be responsible for funding all or part of the cost to connect any building not scheduled as part of the project.

This illustrates what requirements would be enforced on any building connected to RUNet. For those buildings listed to receive inside wiring plant all these issues will be handled during the building inside plant design phase. Buildings not included on the inside plant list should evaluate how they can meet the above requirements and determine if they wish to be RUNet compliant or simply RUNet connected. Compliance will require a building survey and evaluation by OIT. OIT will also work with the occupants of buildings not on the inside wiring list to develop a design plan for an appropriate connection.