Spotlight on Wales

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Spotlight on Wales

• With thanks to Chris Price

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Overview

• Current Provision
• The North and South Wales MANS, LLNW, contract
  timelines and lifespan of current networks
• WAG Strategy and Public Sector Broadband
  Aggregation
• MANs Migration to LLNW
• SJ5 preparations in Wales

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Current Provision
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SWMAN

• Contracts began April 1st 2002
• NEOS Networks supply fibre backbone (SURF) and
  local access links (BT LES)
• MLL microwave links for 4 sites in West Wales
• Contract extended from April 1st 2005 for a
  maximum of 2 years i.e. up to April 1st 2007
• Opportunity of break point from July 2006 onwards
  (provided 6 months notice given).

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SWMAN

• Problem we can only run SWMAN up until April
  2007.
• Replacement network unlikely to be ready by this
  date
• Need to look at alternative short-term provision.
• WAG has allowed SWMAN to use LLNW.
• Contracts amended to allow SWMAN backbone links
  to expire, but retain our local access circuits.
• Proposal is to configure SWMAN routers to send
  traffic over LLNW backbone.

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NWMAN

• Contract with Cable Wireless, delivered over
  several stages.
• Mixture of fibre (A55 fibre and BT circuits) and
  microwave
• Radio infrastructure and licenses owned by NWMAN
• NWMAN contract with Cable Wireless expires at
  end of December 2006
• WAG has allowed NWMAN to use LLNW
• Proposal is to configure NWMAN routers to send
  traffic over LLNW backbone.

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Our Current Position

• The MANs have a finite lifespan.
• We need to provide JANET/Internet access without
  impacting upon service, or degrading performance.
• To procure a Welsh Research and Education Network
  (i.e. a replacement for both MANs) would be
  expensive.
• Need to take into account long-term WAG
  strategies for networking in Wales

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WAG Strategy and Public Sector Broadband
Aggregation
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What is PSBA?

• A commitment to develop an agreed Welsh policy
  for aggregation of public sector demand for
  broadband infrastructure.
• Implemented via phased approach.
• Early phases focus on purchasing a core network.
• Procured in a manner that will allow other parts
  of the Welsh public sector to join it as
  necessary.
• Purchased and designed to allow an organisations
  network traffic to travel over the core
  infrastructure (i.e. VPN and transit bandwidth).

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Stakeholders in the PSBA Project

• Unitary Authorities (LLNW)
• Schools, libraries and ICT learning centres
  (LLNW)
• NHS Trusts including Hospitals (DAWN2)
• GP surgeries (DAWN2)
• Higher and Further Education Institutions (NWMAN,
  SWMAN)
• Blue Light services i.e. Fire and Rescue (3
  separate networks)
• Assemblys own network (MERLIN)
• Project is limited to organisations that derive
  funding from NAfW.
• Excludes UK-wide public bodies
• e.g. DVLA, HMRC, Police (responsible to Home
  Office)
• Excludes business and commerce.

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PSBA is going ahead.

• At meeting on 23rd January 2006, Andrew Davies
  the minister for Economic Development and
  Transport received cabinet agreement.
• A pooled budget will be created from 1st
  January 2007 to fund the provision of a PSBA core
  and local access network contracts.
• The budget will be derived from existing planned
  network expenditure across WAG Ministerial
  portfolios.

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So thats the future but what about now?

• It will take some time to procure and build an
  All-Wales Public Sector Network, and agree upon a
  workable governance and finance and management
  model.
• For SWMAN and NWMAN, the problem is that existing
  contracts will expire BEFORE an AWPSN is ready.
• Need to explore interim solutions for maintaining
  network access.
• Step forward the LLNW.

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MANs Migration onto LLNW
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A reminder of the LLNW

• Lifelong Learning Network for Wales, Funded
  directly by the WAG, responsibility of the
  Broadband Wales Unit (BWU).
• Managing Agent is WNL, network operator is
  Logicalis
• Procured by WNL and UKERNA in late 2001, early
  2002, delivered and ready for service by 1st
  August 2002
• All-Cisco and all-fibre BT solution.
• Designed to provide shared backbone for all
  schools, libraries and ICT learning centres in
  Wales.
• Unitary Authorities are also using it for
  corporate traffic

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The LLNW

• Backbone forms a resilient ring around Wales
• Mainly 622Mbps with 2 x 1Gbps between Treforest
  and Cardiff
• 22 UAs connected in to 7 Core-PoPs
• C-PoPs based in HE institutions
• LLNW connects to JANET at Cardiff (1Gbps) and
  Wrexham (shared 155Mbps)

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The LLNW

• The LLNW contract has been extended up until the
  end of March 2008, but cannot easily be extended
  past this date.
• Performance monitoring and measuring indicates
  that the LLNW can comfortably accommodate MANs
  existing traffic and likely future growth.
• The network is reliable, and the routers (Cisco
  GSR) are up to task of handling MANs traffic in
  addition to UAs, schools and libraries.
• The sensible solution therefore is to migrate
  MANs onto the LLNW, close down MAN backbone links.

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MANs Migration onto LLNW

• Requirement to setup multicast on LLNW ahead of
  migration of MANs. Completed at end of February
• To date, 2 SWMAN Core-PoPs have been migrated
  onto the LLNW.
• Aberystwyth on March 8th
• Trinity on May 16th
• Newport aiming for May 30th
• Followed by Glamorgan, Swansea and Cardiff during
  June and July.

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LLNW
SWMAN
JANET BAR
Glamorgan
To Wrexham
Cardiff Park Place
Swansea
To JANET
Individual HE / FE sites
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MANs Migration onto LLNW

• Some sites on both MANs are replacing microwave
  links with fibre.
• Due to cost and distance constraints these sites
  will not be linking back to MAN C-PoPs
• Instead, these sites will link to their nearest
  Unitary Authority PoP router, and traverse the
  LLNW backbone.
• In South Wales
• Pembrokeshire College links to Pembrokeshire
  County Council via LES100
• Lampeter links to Ceredigion County Council via
  LES100

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MANs Migration onto LLNW (North Wales)

• Coleg Llandrillo links to Conwy County Council
  via LES100
• Coleg Llysfasi links to Denbighshire County
  Council via LES100
• Coleg Powys links to Powys County Council via
  34Mbps Megastram
• Deeside College links back to Flintshire County
  Council via LES100
• Welsh College of Horticulture links back to
  Flintshire County Council via LES100
• NWMAN currently tendering for these links into
  LLNW.

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SJ5 Preparations in Wales

• SJ5 will connect to the LLNW, not SWMAN or NWMAN
• We need to migrate sites onto LLNW in a
  controlled manner so that we continue to receive
  JANET connectivity.
• In South Wales, process already underway to
  migrate SWMAN sites onto LLNW
• Process began with enabling Multicast upon LLNW

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SJ5 Preparations in Wales

• Migrations to date have proved relatively
  straightforward downtime of approximately 10
  minutes for routing changes.
• Expect that this will increase as the larger
  SWMAN PoP sites are tackled more network ranges
  to stop routing over SWMAN, and added to LLNW.
• This work also affects WVN ranges used for IP
  video-conferencing. Requirement for QA testing
  following migration.

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LLNW
SWMAN
JANET BAR
Glamorgan
To Wrexham
Cardiff Park Place
Swansea
To JANET
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To Wrexham
Glamorgan
Cardiff Newport Road
To JANET
Cardiff Park Place
Swansea
To JANET
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