Computing and Networking Services (CNS) is responsible for the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of the core network on the University of Florida campus. Core network services are funded centrally and provided to all campus units at no charge.
Core network services include:
Colleges, departments, and administrative units are responsible for providing local network connections within their buildings. As an alternative to "do-it-yourself," CNS began offering Network Services to the Wall-Plate for a monthly fee.
Standard Wall-Plate services include:
Computing and Networking Services (CNS) now manages 40% of the local networks on the main campus (12,000 of 30,000 ports). On July 1, 2007 CNS will begin a 3-year project to upgrade the remaining 18,000 ports. This OIT sponsored, centrally funded, strategic technology initiative is known as the Wall-plate Project.
As announced last Fall, most academic and administrative units on the main campus are included in the Wall-Plate project. Externally funded auxiliary operations are not eligible. Housing, Shands, and the Health Sciences Center networks are self-supporting and not covered by the central funding.
The project will proceed building-by-building across campus. CNS will do the "quick and easy" projects first. Buildings with major wiring problems will be done last. To find out where your building(s) fit in the year-by-year schedule, please check the Implementation Schedule [PDF]. Units willing to provide additional funding to outsource the wiring upgrade can speed up their implementation.
Shortly before work in a building begins, all units that occupy the building will be asked to "opt-in" to the Wall-Plate Service, and select their desired service level.
The Wall-Plate project budget is $1,500,000 per year.
Equipment upgrades include the data networking devices that reside within a building, such as workgroup switches, wireless access points, and at least one Building-Point-of-Presence (BPOP).
Infrastructure upgrades include the telecom closets, the racks and patch panels in the closets, minor improvements to the wiring within a building, and additional fiber to the building as needed.
Support staff include 3 teams with 3-persons each, dedicated to working on the Wall-Plate project. 9 FTE in total.
The $1,500,000 per year provides a "steady-state" funding and staffing level. Enough to upgrade (replace) 6,000 ports per year. 30,000 ports total, over a 5-year lifecycle.
Note that due to the nature of this work, roll-out is scheduled building-by-building, rather than by department or other organizational unit. You will need to look up the individual physical building(s) in which your unit is housed in order to determine when implementation will be available.
Building Schedule Update: 2/5/2008:
The original version of this schedule was based on estimated work for installing the network only. It did not take into account additional time needed up-front working with the customer to plan their network and consider VoIP deployment. The response to VoIP was far greater than anticpated, with near 100% of Wall-Plate clients electing to participate. That required an adjustment to the schedule. There are also some projects listed as "Prior to Wall-Plate Project." These projects were active prior to July and have taken longer to complete due to the retroactive addition of VoIP. In addition several new construction projects and renovation jobs have been added to the list.
Implementation Schedule (by Building) [PDF]
| Building | Anticipated Customer Commitment | Planned Project Completion | Actual Customer Commitment | Actual Project Completion | Implementation Lead/Contact |
| Dickinson | 8/20/07 | 11/26/07 | 8/20/07 | 2/5/08 | Plant Rodgers |
| McGuire | 8/20/07 | 10/15/07 | 8/20/07 | 10/26/07 | Plant Rodgers |
| Powell | 8/20/07 | 10/22/07 | 8/20/07 | 10/26/07 | Plant Rodgers |
| O'Connell | 9/13/07 | 10/29/07 | 9/13/07 | 10/29/07 | Plant Rodgers |
| Newins Ziegler | 9/13/07 | 2/15/08 | 9/13/07 | 2/21/08 | Plant Rodgers |
| Fine Arts A | 9/25/07 | 2/18/08 | 9/24/07 | Sheard Goodwin | |
| Fine Arts B | 9/25/07 | 2/18/08 | 9/24/07 | Sheard Goodwin | |
| Fine Arts D | 9/25/07 | 2/18/08 | 9/24/07 | Sheard Goodwin | |
| Fine Arts C | 9/25/07 | 2/18/08 | 9/24/07 | Sheard Goodwin | |
| Music | 9/25/07 | 2/25/08 | 9/24/07 | Sheard Goodwin | |
| Psychology | 9/28/07 | 1/28/08 | 9/25/07 | 1/31/08 | Plant Rodgers |
| Norman Gym | 9/28/07 | 1/14/08 | 9/28/07 | 9/28/07 | Sheard Goodwin |
| CRC | 9/29/07 | 12/24/07 | 10/8/07 | 2/7/08 | Sheard Goodwin |
| Floyd | 10/1/07 | 3/10/08 | 12/20/07 | 04/10/08 | Mary Byrd |
| McCarty D | 10/8/07 | 4/28/08 | 9/25/07 | Mary Byrd | |
| Anderson | 10/15/07 | 12/10/07 | 10/25/07 | 1/21/08 | Sheard Goodwin |
| Flint | 10/22/07 | 2/4/08 | 12/31/07 | 03/19/08 | Sheard Goodwin |
| Rogers / Frazier | 10/26/07 | 6/30/08 | 11/27/07 | Mary Byrd | |
| Elmore | 10/29/07 | 3/10/08 | 11/5/07 | Sheard Goodwin | |
| Physics | 11/1/07 | 8/11/08 | 1/23/08 | Sheard Goodwin | |
| 746 Particle Science | 11/2/07 | 3/24/08 | 11/30/07 | Mary Byrd | |
| Criser | 11/26/07 | 6/23/08 | 12/10/07 | 2/20/08 | Plant Rodgers |
| Williamson / Kelvin | 11/30/07 | 3/31/08 | 1/18/08 | Mary Byrd | |
| Florida Gym | 12/3/07 | 5/19/08 | Sheard Goodwin | ||
| Nuclear Sciences | 12/17/07 | 7/14/08 | Mary Byrd | ||
| SW Rec Center | 2/11/08 | 7/14/08 | 2/21/08 | Plant Rodgers | |
| Student Rec Center | 9/22/08 | 12/19/08 | 2/21/08 | Plant Rodgers |
Please refer to linked PDF
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If you have questions about Wall-Plate Services, or VoIP telephone services, please contact: |
If you have questions about the Wall-Plate implementation project, please contact:
Tim Fitzpatrick
timf@ufl.edu
352.392-2061 |