A RON in Ohio Linda Roos A Gathering of State Networks February 9, 2005

Today’s Presentation OARnet background Third Frontier Network (TFN) –Rationale –Financing –Implementation –What is Next?

OARnet Background Founded in 1987 as part of the Ohio Supercomputing Center 90+ higher ed member institutions Board of Regents funding OSTEER advisory council Internet2 gigapop

TFN Rationale Allows dramatic increases in bandwidth at minimum cost Estimate of $20M - $60M savings over 10 years Promotes technological innovation Enhances collaboration

TFN Financing $21M investment Financing from Ohio State University –Loan for fiber ($7M) –Short-term financing ($2M) Financing from state capital budget ($8.5M) –Equipment –Last mile to 17 institutions

TFN Project Phase 1: replace backbone with dark fiber Phase 2: connect 17 universities to network with dark fiber or gig circuits Phase 3: connect other universities and colleges

Dark Fiber Acquisition RFP issued during Summer of 2002 Selected a bid from Spectrum Networks –American Electric Power (AEP) –Williams Communications (Wiltel) route miles Multiple IRUs for right of way

Implementation Multi-agency policy committee OARnet SchoolNet Department of Administrative Services Ohio Board of Regents Ohio Supercomputer Center Began in 2002

Implementation TFN Advisory Committees Lighting and Architecture Price Modeling Committee Last Mile Committee Implementation Committee Began in late 2002

Lighting and Architecture Committee Made recommendations on –Requirements for equipment –Requirements for PoPs –Service levels

Equipment Cisco (DWDM) Cisco switches and routers Juniper routers Cisco equipment purchased through SBC SBC did initial fiber characterization, configured, pretested, and installed equipment

Summer/Fall 2004 Hired two optical engineers Backbone implementation (two OC-48s) Connection of old PoPs to new PoPs Connected most of first 17 institutions National Roll-out event in late November

Maintenance of Network Using CTM software First fiber cut tested redundancy Of squirrels and angry farmers

Last Mile Committee RFP issued in Dec 2003 for last-mile connectivity to all higher education and K-12 sites SBC responded and signed contract –OC3 and gig circuits Time Warner Cable is negotiating contract –OC3, gig and 10 gig circuits

Price Modeling Committee Associate specific costs with fees Commodity internet costs separated from other costs Cost-effective intra-Ohio bandwidth to encourage collaboration

What is next? Connect institutions with state-funded last mile connections Assist institutions with last mile solutions SchoolNet equipment purchase and implementation Investigate fiber possibilities Seek partners for network

Contact Information Linda Roos OARnet