ITRP2 Installation Schedule at CSUSB

Telecommunications and Network Services (TNS)

June 16, 2009

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How will the ITRP2 project schedule affect me?
Answer: During the brief scheduled interruption (typically 2-4 hours), your computer network
connection and your VoIP telephone connection will be interrupted. You can still use your
computer, but there will be no network access to any external resources. Your phone will be out-
of-service during the scheduled interruption, but service will resume as soon as the new switches
are installed and configured. You may see intermittent connections, especially on your phone,
during the scheduled time, but that is part of the normal installation process. In general, do not
expect your connections to be fully restored until the scheduled time frame for your area has
passed.

2. Is this the final version of the schedule, or can it be changed?

Answer: Yes, this is the final version of the schedule. AT&T (the integration contractor) has
ordered the new Cisco equipment, and the equipment is being staged, configured, and shipped to
CSUSB according to the weeks of the project.

3. How will my email be affected during the scheduled interruptions?

Answer: Email messages addressed to your CSUSB address will still be received and stored by
the CSUSB email server. However, during the scheduled interruption, you will not be able to
access your email from your office computer, until your network connection is restored.

4. How will my voice-mail be affected during the scheduled interruptions?

Answer: The CSUSB voicemail system will continue to receive and store new voicemail
messages directed to your telephone number. During the scheduled interruption, you will not be
able to access your new voice messages from your office telephone until the network connection
for your phone is restored. However, you can continue to access your voice messages from any
working telephone on campus, and from any telephone outside campus.

5. If there is an emergency in the building during the scheduled interruption, how do

we contact the University Police Department?
Answer: During the scheduled interruptions on business days (Monday-Thursday), the
University Police Department (UPD) will station Community Service Officers (CSOs) in each
building. The CSOs will maintain direct radio contact with the UPD dispatcher, to relay any
requests for emergency services.

6. Will the fire alarms work during the scheduled interruptions?

Answer: In many buildings, the automatic phone dialers on fire-alarm panels are
connected to analog phone lines originating in the IRT Data Center (PL-024). Those alarm
dialers will continue to work during the scheduled interruptions in the remote buildings. In other
buildings, the automatic dialers will be interrupted when work occurs in the main telecom facility
for each of those buildings. However, those whole-building interruptions (marked “ALL” on the
schedule) are generally scheduled on Fridays, when the campus is closed. In those cases,
Community Service Officers from the University Police Department will monitor each building
during the scheduled interruption.

ITRP2_Schedule_FAQs_v2-1.doc Page1 of 3
7. Will the scheduled interruptions affect other phones besides the VoIP phones?
Answer: Yes, analog phones lines will be interrupted, according to the schedule for each
building and floor. Analog phones include elevator phones, FAX lines, modems, and security
alarms. All of those devices use analog phone lines, which are connected to the VoIP network
through special gateways in each telecom facility. When the voice/data switches are replaced in
a certain telecom room, according to the schedule, the analog lines connected through that
telecom room will also be interrupted.

8. Can the schedule be adjusted to avoid interruption to a specific room or office, on

a specific day?
Answer: No. The installation of the new switches is organized by telecom closet, not by
individual room numbers. Adjusting the schedule for a specific room would mean that all
connections (sometimes hundreds!) in the telecom closet that connects that specific room would
be delayed or re-scheduled. Sometimes, switches actually connect users on 2 or more floors, so
adjusting for a specific room on a particular floor can affect the schedule for an entire building.

9. Can you tell me exactly when connections in a specific classroom or office will be
interrupted?
Answer: No, because there are usually several data switches in each telecom closet. The
typical installation procedure is to shut down all the switches in a telecom closet, disconnect all
existing phone and data ports, and remove all of the old switches. Then, the new switches are
installed and configured, and re-connecting the phone and data ports begins. It is not possible to
give any finer estimate of interruption time than the scheduled window for a particular area of a
building.

10. The schedule shows that my floor of my building will be interrupted on two
different days. Why will my connections be interrupted more than one time?
Answer: Users in large buildings (typically multi-storied) will probably be interrupted two different
times. All network connections in a larger building will be interrupted when work occurs in the
main telecom facility for that building. However, those whole-building interruptions (marked “ALL”
on the schedule) are generally scheduled on Fridays, when the campus is closed. If individual
floors in a building are also listed in the schedule, it means that secondary telecom facilities (on
each floor) will have interruptions at the times shown.

11. Why are certain rooms in certain buildings listed individually in the schedule?
Answer: The rooms listed individually are generally computer labs and research areas
which have specific data switches serving connections in those rooms. These are the only
specific areas that can be identified for interruptions during a specific time frame.

12. Will the scheduled interruptions affect network connections in the smart
classrooms?
Answer: Yes, smart classrooms will be interrupted according to the scheduled outage for
the respective floors of each building. TNS is working with the ACM department to insure that
faculty can log in locally to the teaching computers in each smart classroom, during the
interruption time frames.

13. How will we know when the scheduled interruption for our floor/building is over?
Answer: The TNS department will establish a special information line on our main
departmental extension (75133), to announce the progress of the installation schedule. Daily
status reports will be posted on the TNS website. For the most immediate information, TNS will
keep the Data Center and Helpdesk Services (DCHS) staff appraised of the project’s daily
progress, and TNS will contact the technical support staff of various departments who request
updates.

ITRP2_Schedule_FAQs_v2-1.doc Page2 of 3
14. Why can’t this upgrade and replacement work all be done at night, or on the
weekends?
Answer: The budget for the CSUSB sections of the ITRP2 project was allocated by the
CSU Chancellor’s Office. The allocated budget does not contain enough funding to pay the
integration contractor (AT&T) for after-hours or weekend work. The additional costs for over-time
work would have to be born by the CSUSB campus, and the money ($150,000 -$200,000) is
simply not available.

15. What should I do if my network connection or my phone connection doesn’t work

after the scheduled installation window is over?
Answer: The TNS department will establish a special information line on our main
departmental extension (75133), to announce the progress of the installation schedule and to
take reports of data and phone problems with data or phones in a particular area after the
installation window for that area has been completed. The Data Center and Helpdesk Services
staff will be kept appraised of the project’s daily progress, and TNS will contact the technical
support staff of various departments, if arrangements are made in advance.

16. Who is responsible for testing network connections to departmental servers after
the scheduled installation window is over?
Answer: The technical support staff of each department is responsible for testing all
connections and network services related to departmental servers. Network connections for
departmental servers in various buildings will be interrupted when work occurs in the main
telecom facility for each of those buildings, and when switch replacement occurs in the telecom
room that connects each server. Even if switch replacements are scheduled on a Friday, when
the campus is closed, the departmental technical staff will still be responsible for testing all
connections and network services related to departmental servers.

ITRP2_Schedule_FAQs_v2-1.doc Page3 of 3