[tech] Fwd: New UWA network interface options

Matt Didcoe mattman at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au
Mon Oct 17 21:17:10 WST 2011


Or I could reply all and everyone could be enlightened not just David :)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Matt Didcoe <mattman at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au>
Date: Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 9:16 PM
Subject: Re: [tech] New UWA network interface options
To: David Adam <zanchey at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au>


Just to expand on those costs...

8C SMOF from Cameron Hall Guild Communications (Level 2) -> UCC
Machine Room (using UWA provided cable and taking an overhead route as
opposed to what our copper does) comes in around $1300 ex GST (that
includes labour, ducting, FOBOT).

1x Category 6 cable from CH Comms to UCC MR is $470 ex GST, also
taking an overhead route.

[MRD]

On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 9:09 PM, David Adam <zanchey at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au> wrote:
> UWA is getting an exciting new core network, which promises to be
> highly-buzzword compliant. UCC is one of the test groups for the new core
> network, mostly because apparently we're one of the few groups on campus
> doing actual service over IPv6.
>
> To interface with the new network (which will be gigabit fibre to the
> Cameron Hall comms room), we need to upgrade our current uplink equipment
> in the Cameron Hall comms room, which is currently simply a 100mbit fibre
> convertor.
>
> There are two options immediately available:
>
> - Install sesame, a Cisco Catalyst 3508G XL donated by [AHC] and
>  refurbished by me; this has 8 GBIC slots and is currently configured for
>  dual 1000baseLX (single-mode fibre) and 1000baseTX (copper).
>
> - Install palm, a Cisco Catalyst 2948G-GE-TX with 48 10/100/1000baseTX
>  ports and 4 SFP slots (the Uni will lend us SFPs on a long-term basis).
>
> The problem with the first option, which I discovered with a trill of gay
> laughter after having spent many hours trying to get it working, is that
> you can't connected any 100 megabit devices to a copper GBIC. However, I'm
> not convinced that our uplink copper cable will support gigabit traffic.
> Also I will ask the club for $50 to recoup part of the cost of new fans
> and GBICs. [*]
>
> The problem with the second option is that it takes what is currently our
> LAN switch out of commission and wastes 44 perfectly good copper ports.
> However, with the new giant Cisco 4507R installed in the rack, we might be
> migrating off coconut (same model as palm) sometime soon anyway, which
> would negate this.
>
> Alternatively, if we can talk [AHC] into selling or donating the Cisco
> 2948G living in the machine room (which has 48 10/100 ports but two GBIC
> slots), we could use that if our uplink doesn't support Gigabit speeds.
>
> Opinions and other alternatives welcome. UWA IS (nee ITS nee UCS) has
> stipulated against the use of media converters and is very keen to have
> everything that interfaces with the core network from the Cisco line.
> Replacing the uplink copper to the Cameron Hall comms room is apparently
> prohibitively expensive.
>
> David Adam
> UCC Wheel Member
> zanchey at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au
>
> [*]: it also doesn't support PAgP/LACP or load-balancing over aggregation
> groups using anything other than level 2 addresses. We only have two level
> 2 address doing any real work on that link, but that's largely irrelevant
> because our bottleneck is the piece of copper between the Cameron Hall
> comms room and the UCC machine room.
>
>


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