🚀 go-pugleaf

[ my first post apparently didn't make it -- apologies, etc. if this is a
duplicate posting ]


I'd like to hear how other institutions are handling access to shared
telecommunications facilities - telephone closets, mechanical rooms, etc.

Here's a brief overview of our situation:

We have a mixture of centralized and local control and responsibility for
network and telecommunications facilities.

There is a University Telecommunications entity, which is responsible for
installing and maintaining the campus FDDI backbone, and connections to
the outside world through T1 lines, and virtually all of the campus voice
communications.  They will also, for a price, install and maintain data 
subnets that are connected to the campus backbone; typically these subnets
consist of the computers owned by a single academic department.

Each subnet is required to have a manager before it is allowed to connect
to the campus backbone.  These managers are typically fulltime University
employees with some knowledge of networking principles and computing, who
agree to be the contact person and administrator for the subnet, along with
their other duties.

As with most institutions that have been around for more than 10 years or so,
not all buildings have separate telecommunications closets.  Frequently, 
the point of demarcation between the subnets and the centralized backbone is
located in a mechanical room which contains air handling equipment, enclosed
480 -> 208 volt transformers and major electrical switches.  However, there
are few, if any, hazards present for a prudent individual.

A couple years ago the University undertook a major upgrade to the cable 
plant, and each college is assessed an annual charge to recoup the cost
of this undertaking.  In exchange, departments are free to use the building
telecommunications wiring for local networking, if they desire.  The rub here
is that the termination points for this wiring is usually in a phone closet
or mechanical room which the central entity is loathe to grant access to,
citing possible personal injury or tampering with wiring and equipment.

Are there other educational institutions out there where the departments
do their own installation and maintenance of telecommunications facilities?
Where and how do you make connections with the central service provider, if
there is one?


    Cliff Hathaway
    Dept. of Computer Science (602)621-4291
    University of Arizona     cliff@cs.arizona.edu 	        (internet) 
    Tucson, Ariz. 85721	      {cmcl2,noao,uunet}!arizona!cliff	(uucp)





-- 

    Cliff Hathaway
    Dept. of Computer Science (602)621-4291
    University of Arizona     cliff@cs.arizona.edu 	        (internet) 
    Tucson, Ariz. 85721	      {cmcl2,noao,uunet}!arizona!cliff	(uucp)