Based on work by DoIT Network Services, UW-Madison

The Network and theRole of Tools

January 6, 2006

Ron Kraemer, Deputy CIO

The Campus Network was…

• ATM LANE with 5 or 6 routers.• Centrally-managed configurations for 50-

75 devices.

• Campus departments administered their own local networks (no qualification process).

• “Hodgepodge” of hardware, software, procedures and network designs.

The Campus Network is…

• Standardized on Cisco equipment.

• 10 Gb/s backbone.

• 1 Gb/s departmental connections.

• A centrally-purchased and centrally-managed core network.

• Embracing department engagement.

Campus Network Details

• Nearly 900 Cisco network devices.• A few Juniper and NetScreen devices.• 49,700+ managed ports.• The number of managed buildings,

devices, and ports grows daily.• Common network management tools.

Network By ByManagement Workgroup Building

Central 13 7Collaborative 177 113Delegated 16 4Hybrid 8Pending (buildings) 24 24

Total 230 156

Network Management Strategy

Data current as of December 2005

Key Strategies and Tools

• Sustainable funding model• Continuous communications• Campus-wide wireless service with distributed guest

account administration• 24x7 network operations center• Relationship with UW Police and Physical Plant• Continually update tools• Empower department IT staff to manage some things

that are important to them using a powerful set of web-based network monitoring and administration tools

AANTS: Authorized Agent Network Tool Suite

• Loosely-coupled set of web-based utilities for network administration.

• Tools are team-developed in-house, optimized toward local networking practices, driven by user need.

• About 244 trained network administrators.• Allow users (campus LAN administrators and network

engineers) to manage network devices, change device configurations, troubleshoot, inspect traffic data, coordinate with users, and perform other network management tasks.

LookingGlass

• Run command-line operations on devices and view results.

• View ethernet switch logs.

• Useful for troubleshooting.

NetStats

• Graph router interface and switch port statistics.

• Time-series summary graphs displaying different types of traffic statistics at the campus network border.

• Searchable interface to traffic statistics.

• Uses free tools (like MRTG) to gather and present stats

NetWatch

• Locate a host given a MAC or IP address.

• Discover which devices are connected to a specific switch.

EdgeConf

• Configure device ports (2,079 port changes 1/4/2006).

• Perform multiple port changes as one transaction.

• Examine switch port configurations and other switch information.

• Users can only change devices/ports for which they are authorized.

VlanFinder• Discovers all currently active VLANs.• User selects one or more VLANs.• Display devices and ports on which the VLANs are

active.• Display VLAN attributes:

– Configuration of routed VLAN interfaces – Any trunk allowed VLANs– VLAN Spanning Tree Protocol priorities

• Device names and ports will be hot-linked (where applicable) to EdgeConf.

MailByDevice

• Select one or more network devices.• Find all VLANs on each device.• Get all technical and administrative contacts for each

VLAN from the WiscNIC database.• User can compose an email message.• Message will be mailed to all users.• Used to alert users when certain devices are going to

be affected by NS actions.

CodePusher

• Push commands, operating code, or configuration code to selected network devices.– Run command-line directives (e.g. ‘show int’).– Upgrade system software.– Modify device configurations.– Manage ACLs.

• Parallelized for maximum efficiency.• Can specify a delayed device restart date/time.• Parses results into log files which can be viewed from

the web browser .• Performs error-checking.• Reports results via email.

Summary• Most network administrators throughout

campus feel empowered.– Users manage their local networks.– Users determine tools emphasis and direction.

• Improved campus relations.• Improved security management.• “Cost-smart” for campus.• Enables more effective response to

challenges (security) and opportunities (better services).