CLAC Conference 2006Hamilton College
June 15, 2006
A Change of Voice:Considerations in Implementing IP Telephony
at Swarthmore
Presented by:Mark Dumic
Associate Director Networking & TelecommunicationsSwarthmore College
Swarthmore College Suburban Philadelphia Highly selective liberal arts college 1,450 FT undergraduate students 600 Faculty-Staff Students from 50 states and 46
countries
About the Project End of Life of Intecom E Infrastructure issues
Pure fiber distribution between buildings – no monolithic copper plant
Copper in buildings varied between Cat 3, Cat 5 and Cat 6E (by building)
High awareness of lack of disaster recovery with current system
Previous Student Telephone Environment
Digital phone per student, separate DID and VM accounts
Eliminated LD after Spring 2004 No student technology fee or monthly
phone fee College philosophy toward students 90%+ cell phone penetration Declining use of VM by students
College Decision Process PBX Committee Members:
Director of Information Technology Services Assoc Dir Networking, Systems & Telecom VP Finance Controller Dean of Students Director of Housing Provost Facilities Technology Coordinator
College Decision Process (cont.) Student venues and what we heard
Don’t want to give out cell phone numbers 10-15% of students don’t want or can’t afford cell
phones International students Cell phone reception problems DON’T TAKE OUR WIRED PHONE AWAY No clear consensus about student services or
technology throughout process Cost a concern (for College and students)
Get Help! Retained Compass Consulting
International, Inc. (now Acentech, Inc.) Assist with defining & investigating
options for students Evaluate issues associated with
technology options (IP telephony) RFP and Implementation
Evaluation of Student Technology Options Digital phones in rooms Analog phones in rooms IP PBX – hard or soft IP phones in rooms Outsourced PBX for residence halls Traditional Centrex IP Centrex College-issued cellular phones Student-selected cellular phones Commercial VoIP (e.g. Vonage or Skype) Voice over Wireless LAN (VoWiFi)
Design Goals PBX Technology: IP, TDM, hybrid
Analog, digital, IP, softphones... No killer app
Decided to not specify PBX technology in RPF - possible cost savings in TDM or hybrid?
Design Goals (cont.) Preserve future flexibility
Choice of options for maintenance, parts, augmented staffing
Financially stable company with strong US market presence
More control over upgrades Minimize vendor lock-in Maximize useful life Adapt to future applications & standards (SIP)
Design Goals (cont.) Maintenance Considerations
Lots of demands on small staff - continue outsourced support
Telco Agency - no finger-pointing Swarthmore is “high touch”:
• High vendor contact & communication• Like close working partnerships• “Big fish in a small pond”• Plan tailored to take advantage of what we do best • Flexibility to have vendor do what we can’t do well
These considerations favored local support rather than National support model
Design Goals (cont.) Separate Voice and Data Networks (Initial Scenario)
Wanted telecom vendor to have complete responsibility beyond MACs
Small internal staff needed for other areas Staff had little VoIP expertise But envisioned combining networks later Recently purchased switches not powered (not much incremental cost to keep separate)
RFP Process Design
Didn’t dictate IP or hybrid Did decide on analog student lines Cisco network for future integration Required 3 student scenarios Explored boosting of cell phone coverage
Pre-screen RFP Bid process
RFP Process: Responses Responses Evaluation & results
Proposal review Financial analysis Finalist meetings
RFP Process: Selection Selected Cisco Call Manager from TransNet
Corporation in Somerville, NJ Decision based on the capabilities of and
chemistry with the reseller Comfort level with converged network 24x7 monitoring & problem resolution for data network for
cost of just PBX maintenance Enhanced reliability & technical depth for network Significant Higher Education experience Ability & willingness to dovetail support with current staff,
telco management
RFP Process: Selection (cont.) Major Benefits of Cisco, too
Long term presence in US telecom market Familiar technology to Swarthmore Excellent competitive market for maintenance,
components, staffing, 3rd party apps Good disaster recovery architecture The most future-proof system proposed Best E-911 and malicious call trace capabilities
New System Details Decided on a converged network Totally redundant 6513 cores 3750s in-line power in buildings with links
to each core Redundant Call Managers & Unity (VM)
servers 1,100 IP phones (faculty/staff) 300 analog phones (public, FAX, etc.) 1,300 analog lines (one per student)
Cisco 7941g Phone
Student Reaction “I think this is the best of possible outcomes. I’m
glad that this system was within our budget and I think the administration has dealt with this in a responsible manner.”
Student Council Co-President
“I think this is basically a pretty sweet deal” Associate Dean of Student Life
Blended Support Model Initial Assumption was separate vertical
networks for voice & data Enhanced support at minimal cost by utilizing
horizontal support split Monitoring of entire network Quick access to large staff of network engineers for
problem resolution College “boots on the ground” for closet issues Self-spare 3750’s & VG224 saved $$
Flexible Service Agreement (FSA) New territory Needed outside expertise/support Maximize in-house capabilities Didn’t want to pay money for unused
hours Took time & effort to craft the
agreement
FSA Structure Monitoring
annual flat fee 24x7
Remote VPN and phone support pool of hours expire annually
On-site pre-paid account different rates for different times/service levels/expertise roll-over to subsequent years
Convergence Saving at a Small Institution Compelling Cost Reductions led
to successive network integration completely separate voice network combine core and switch stacks but keep
separate voice & data jacks Also use single jack for phone & computer
(reduce switches required)
Convergence Cost Reductions
0102030405060708090
100
% Cost Reduction
SeparateNetwork
ConvergedCore +
Switches
SharedJack
Network CostTotal Cost
Significant Findings (cont.) Network architecture varies
Routed segments or flat L2 Redundancy: core, servers, links Firewalls
Vendor support for Cat 3 varies Not many support Cat 3 (even just for phone) If testing or certification is required, when is this
done?
Significant Findings (cont.) Support & maintenance models varies
All local, all remote w/ dispatch, or a blend Backup, virus protection, security, DHCP, DNS, DC
Telco problem management is possible Staff effort
Expect MAC calls at help desk about the same Big Bonus: 24 x 7 network monitoring & problem resolution
no additional cost Ready access to additional technical depth
Significant Findings (cont.) TDM vs. IP Telephony Replacement Cycle
Install, Train, Proj Mgmt
Licenses
Software
Phones
Server Hardware
Network Hardware
Cables, racks, UPS 7.94%One-time
17.58%One-time
10.21%No limit
2.28%No limit
17.75%8 - 12
8.11%3 - 5
36.13%4 – 7
% of TotalLifetimeComponent
Significant Findings (cont.) Uplift for student phones
Varied widely from College base (chart) Per room & per student also varied widely
(chart) Added 14% to project cost 6% for VM, 8% for analog phone lines Almost no increment to maintenance
since opted to self-maintain gateways
Uplift for Analog Student Lines
0102030405060708090
A B C D E F G
Vendor
% In
c fr
om B
ase
Per StudentPer Room
Lessons Learned Don’t assume students no longer care about wired
phones and that costs are prohibitive. Real cost savings in convergence even for the smaller
institution Bidders have significantly different approaches to
architecture, security, redundancy, Cat3 cabling, and analog costs.
VARs with strong telephony and network expertise are more common – there can be flexibility in crafting support agreements.
Contact Information
Mark J. DumicAssociate Director Networking and
TelecommunicationsSwarthmore College(610) 328–[email protected]