Convergence
One unfrozen caveman’s thoughts
on what it might mean for UIUC
with apologies to Phil Hartman
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 1
Preview
The types of Convergence
What’s interesting to UIUC
What are the enabling technologies
What are our plans for those enablers
Wireless Alphabet Soup
The Next Steps
Questions - Discussion
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 2
Types of Convergence
Voice and data on same wire
Video, voice and data on the same wire
Voice and data on same wireless device
Voice mail available through email
A personal phone number that follows
you
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 3
Voice & Data on the same wire
Wired Voice over IP (VoIP)
Feature rich, enables new work flows
UIUC cable plant not ready yet
By end of 2007, the cabling in most
major buildings will be ready
CER power and space issues
Not addressed by Campus Upgrade
WTC analysis - more expensive
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 4
Voice & Data on the same wire - 2
Alumni Association is taking the Cisco
VoIP plunge on their dime
Does not use campus phone numbers
efficiently
Can’t scale to entire campus
Problems with call detail records from
the SBC phone switch
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 5
Video, Voice & Data on same wire
In the future, Video will simply be a high
bandwidth application on the network
Two separate types of IP Video
Video conferencing
Remote learning via IP Video
Live or asynchronous
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 6
Video, Voice & Data - 2
Video Conferencing
Large scale video conferences
CITES is looking at systems that
would parallel existing audio
conferencing services
Peer-to-peer - such as Apple’s iChat
Simple enough for faculty to set up
and use on their own
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 7
Video, Voice & Data - 3
Remote Learning
Campus Helix license
Moving streaming forward
Some units doing live and on-demand
IP video-based classes
Look for future direction in the
Campus IT Strategic Plan
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 8
Video, Voice & Data - 4
High Definition IP Video will require wires
for some time
18 Mb/s per HD IP Video stream
3 HD IP Video streams could saturate
any current or planned UIUCnet
Wireless Access Point
Continuing to build out UIUCnet with
ever-increasing backbone capacities
positions us well for IP Video and HD IP
Video
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 9
Voice & Data
on the same wireless device
Wireless Devices
Smart phones
WiFi/Cellular dual mode phones
Laptops with cellular cards & soft
phone software
This may be where campus converges
first
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 10
Smart Phones
Blackberry & Palm Treo
Useful, addictive - Crackberries
Rely on cellular service
Service is not available in all areas
of all campus buildings
Not financially scalable to the whole
campus community
UIUC does not control the cellular
frequencies in Champaign-Urbana
Must partner with cellular
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 11
Dual Mode Phones
802.11x (WiFi) and Cellular
Use WiFi when available
Reduce Cellular airtime costs
Better coverage in UIUC basements
Use Cellular network when no WiFi
network is available
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 12
Dual Mode Phones - 2
Coming very soon to a cellular vendor
near you
UIUC is not yet positioned to support this
technology, but could be by augmenting
the existing phone & data systems
How do we recover costs from cellular
vendors for originating & terminating
cellular calls on UIUCnet?
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 13
Laptops, Cell Cards & Soft Phones
Cellular data cards
Provide an almost ubiquitous wireless
IP network
Soft phone software
Uses your laptop’s microphone &
speakers to emulate a phone
Portable, but not really mobile
Hard to hang on your belt
Same cellular coverage holes
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 14
Voice Mail via Email
Voice mail is saved as a digital audio file -
WAV, MP3, or X
Sent or streamed on demand to your
email account
You select the listening order
You can forward and archive - just like
email
Speech-to-text could allow you to read
your voice mail in meetings
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 15
Voice Mail via Email - 2
Available anywhere you can get email
Often comes with VoIP, but UIUC can
also augment the current phone system
to provide this service
An optional service enhancement for an
additional fee?
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 16
Follow-Me Phone Numbers
You have a single virtual phone number
You control with a web or telephone
interface
Can ring on your cell phone, or on your
office phone, or on your home phone,
or on your computer, or on all of the
above at the same time, or go directly
to your unified voice mail account
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 17
Follow-Me Phone Numbers - 2
They shorten the electronic tether
Often come with VoIP, but UIUC can also
augment the current phone system to
provide this service
We currently lack enough phone
numbers for a full campus-wide
deployment
An optional service enhancement for an
additional fee?
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 18
Quick Summary
What I see as the most interesting
convergence areas for UIUC
Dual Mode Phones
Unified Voice & Email
Follow-Me Phone Numbers
These technologies all depend on the
wired data network
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 19
Quick Summary - 2
These technologies are all tied to our
next phone system
The next phone system could look a lot
like our current phone system, or it
could be very different
These technologies all have wireless
components
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 20
The Enablers
The UIUCnet wired data network
The Network Upgrade is moving right
along
Our SBC CENTREX contract expires in
July of 2007
Lots of options for what follows
UIUCnet Wireless will play a key role
Wireless Alpha-Numeric Soup
New UIUCnet Wireless Meru hardware
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 21
Campus Network Upgrade
Gaining speed
22 buildings completed, 17 buildings
are in progress
Most major buildings will be upgraded by
the end of 2007
Campus backbone was upgraded this
Spring to 10 Gb/s
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 22
Campus Network Upgrade - 2
Network Upgrade connectivity goals
1 Gb/s to each campus building
100 Mb/s to each desktop
Some units are paying for faster
connections
10 Gb/s building connections
1Gb/s desktop & server connections
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 23
Campus Network Upgrade - 3
Illinois Campus Communications
Network
Will connect 3 U of I campuses to each
other and to national research
networks at 10 Gb/s or better
The BOT has approved both the dark
fiber and the electronics purchases
Test light on the ICCN fiber in 2006,
production services in 2007
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 24
Campus Network Upgrade - 4
The bottom line on the network
For the last several years, CITES has
been planning for the future connectivity
needs of campus
CITES is executing those plans
Those plans are working
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 25
Next Phone System Options
Stay the course - CENTREX
Maybe for a short time longer
Can be augmented to get advanced
services
Buy and operate our own phone switch
Supports analog and VoIP
Many peer institutions have done this
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 26
Next Phone System Options - 2
Jump into wired VoIP
Cost/benefit analysis is weak
27,000 new handsets and end user
training?
Unresolved issues with Alumni
Association’s VoIP deployment
CITES is exploring all three of these
options
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 27
Next Phone System Options - 3
We will be issuing an RFP this Fall for
phone services past July 1, 2007
Even if we chose to buy a switch or to
migrate to VoIP - July 1, 2007 is not that
far away....
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 28
Next Phone System Options - 4
We may need to continue CENTREX
service for another year or two past
7/1/2007
Gives VoIP technology more time to
mature
Gives us time to get the data cabling in
more buildings ready for VoIP
Gives the campus more time to plan
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 29
UIUCnet Wireless
The key to voice-data convergence at
UIUC
UIUCnet wireless will have at least some
coverage in more than 110 buildings by
the end of 2006
The BOT recently approved funding for
new “smart controller” wireless hardware
from Meru
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 30
UIUCnet Wireless - 2
As dual-mode handsets mature, so will
the UIUCnet Wireless network
Each month, additional buildings have
UIUCnet Wireless coverage added to their
public areas
Limited dual-mode trials?
Cisco and Nortel are pitching plans
IlliniBerries?
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 31
The Wireless Alpha-Numeric Soup
WiFi - 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g
CITES deploys all three today
The “A’s” will inherit the bandwidth
“A” works in the 5 GHz frequency
bands
More discrete channels available
Better high density solutions
But “A” penetrates objects less well
than “B” or “G”
Reduced range
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 32
Wireless Soup - 2
Coffee shops favor “B” & “G”
Work in the 2.4 GHz frequency bands
Fewer discrete channels available
More interference
Cordless phones, microwaves
Penetrate objects better than “A”
Built into most new laptops
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 33
Wireless Soup - 3
802.11n - MIMO
Coming in 2007
Final stages of becoming a standard
Uses multiple antennas to take
advantage of multi-path reflections
Faster speeds
Better distances
Will CITES deploy it?
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 34
Wireless Soup - 4
802.16 - WiMax
Two flavors - fixed and mobile
Fixed - 802.16a is available today
“Last Mile” for wireless ISP’s
Building-to-building technology
No laptop cards
Backbone for wireless mesh?
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 35
Wireless Soup - 5
802.16 - WiMax
Mobile - 802.16e is a work in progress
Promises 30 Mb/s at 60 MPH
Useful for UIUC green space
coverage?
Quads, South Farms, Sports
Stadiums
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 36
Meru
New controller-managed wireless system
Smart controllers - dumb/thin access
points
Cheaper to add new wireless
technologies such as 802.11n or 802.16
The controllers don’t care
Only need new radios & antennas
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 37
Meru - 2
Best density solution available
Solution for Foellinger Auditorium &
large classrooms
Helps with handoffs between AP’s
Similar to cellular handoffs
CITES is eating its own Meru dog food in
DCL
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 38
Meru - 3
Capable of supporting multiple wireless
networks from a single Access Point
UIUC Visitor access SSID?
New service in the works
Dual Mode Phone access SSID?
Could handle authentication issues
Exploring dual services in Beckman,
NCSA and Siebel
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 39
Meru - 4
Remote tunneling back to campus
BYO mini Meru AP when you travel for
UIUCnet Wireless access from
anywhere you have Internet access
Meru was founded by former UIUC ECE
professor
Performed very well in our bake-off
So far, tastes good in DCL
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 40
What’s Next?
Deploy Meru hardware and continue to
build out the UIUCnet wireless network
Students want wireless everywhere
Continue the Campus Network Upgrade
For now, wireless networks run on
wires
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 41
What’s Next? - 2
Connectivity goals are moving targets
Wireless keeps getting faster
Campus requirements keep growing
100 Mb/s to the desktop today
1Gb/s to the desktop tomorrow?
Campus will require a robust wired
infrastructure for the foreseeable
future
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 42
What’s Next? - 3
RFP’s for new or continued voice service
past 7/1/2007
Dual-mode handset trial projects
Cisco, Nortel and ???
Explore Unified Messaging
Resolve issues with the Alumni
Association’s Cisco VoIP deployment
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 43
Questions and Discussion
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 44
Mike Smeltzer May 16 | Slide 45