- Current Network Status
The FDDI ring was found to be wrapping between Keck and CFHT about two months
ago. The problem was traced to a faulty FDDI cable at Keck. Jonathan
Chock of Keck was asked to replace the cable. Since the fiber
distribution panel and the router are very far apart at Keck, we were not
able to let them borrow one of ours.
On the morning of Nov 18th, we lost the connection between HP and UH
Manoa campus due to a faulty serial card. The card was replaced on
the same day.
On the same morning, Subaru was connected to the FDDI ring. In spite of
the wrapping between Keck and CFHT, we managed to complete the job without
interruption of service by putting Subaru between Keck and CFHT.
As a result, the wrapping is now occurring between Keck and Subaru.
- Status of Infrastructure Upgrade
The MKOCN fibers for Subaru was handed over to us by HawTel on Nov 17th.
Installation of the MKOCN fibers for Gemini, SMA, and the HawTel
DS3 fibers for Subaru and Gemini are expected to begin on December 22, and to
be completed before the end of the year.
Construction for the renovation of the old generator room will
start in January. While construction will not be completed for a few
months, details have been worked out with HawTel to support Subaru's
OC-12 in an area in the old generator room that is not affected
by the renovation.
- Allocation of DS-3 Circuits
The Mauna Kea Directors have agreed to the following policy for the
allocation of the DS-3 circuits:
Reserve five of the nine DS-3's currently unallocated -- one each for
Gemini, JAC, SMA and IfA/IRTF, plus one for contingency. The remaining
four unallocated DS-3's may be sold to organizations which wish to buy
a second DS-3.
- Contact Persons in case of Network Emergencies
Hilton Lewis of Keck suggested to form a subgroup comprised of one
contact person from each observatory with experties to handle
network emergencies such as attacks by hackers or viruses.
Here are their names and phone numbers:
- CFHT: Bob Link(808) 956-6756
- CSO: Richard Chamberlin(808) 935-1909
- Gemini: Henry Stilmack(808) 961-3756
- IRTF: Pui Hin Rhoads(808) 576-9195
- JCMT: Henry Stilmack(808) 961-3756
- Keck: Jonathan Chock(808) 885-7887
- SMA: Alan Kusunoki(808) 933-6947
- Subaru: Ryusuke Ogasawara(808) 934-5973
- UH 88": Pui Hin Rhoads(808) 576-9195
- VLBA: Bill Hancock(808) 935-6719
Since everyone is in the mkonet mailing list, we decided to use that
to exchange email for the time being.
- Alternate Internet Access
As far as performance is concerned, samples of traffic on the Big Island
T1 line and the mainland link indicate that (1) the traffic patterns are
complementary in that the T1 line has its heaviest traffic during the
night, and (2) though the T1 is fully saturated for up to an hour at a
time during large file transfers, the total traffic being carried doesn't
scream for increased bandwidth. Also David Lassner, the director of UH
Information and Technology Services has indicated to Pui Hin that
procurement is underway to add two or three additional T1 to the existing
4xT1 mainland link.
As far as reliability is concerned, UH is looking into completely separate
link to the mainland for redundancy, and acquiring hot spares for the
main router. Also, what might help is a low-speed, on-demand backup
circuit to cover those instances when the connection to the mainland is
down due to reasons such as: the T1 is down, the Sprint T2 is down,
or equipment failure at UH campus. Pui Hin is investigating possibilities.
Daily and Hourly traffic graphs for the mainland link and the T1 between
HP and UH can be viewed at the following URLs:
- Further Discussion on ATM Support on the Summit
Cost remains the issue for adding ATM support on the summit. However,
Keck and CFHT are currently paying a $5k to $6k annual fee per router
for hardware maintenance through HawTel. doing it ourself might not cost
more. Further, CFHT and Keck will donate their old Proteon equipment
for use as hot spares for the FDDI network. This might help cut down
the overall costs. Pui Hin will make further analysis.
Even though there is currently no performance requirement for ATM
between the summit and HP, ATM remains attractive for its switched
architecture. Other than the central switch, equipment failure
at one site does not affect other sites. This will make trouble shooting
a lot easier than FDDI.
- Next Meeting
Friday, March 6, 1998, 10:00 a.m., at IfA.
