Good morning Fairfield University,

I hope all are staying warm on this terribly frigid day.

Information Technology Services is upgrading Fairfield University’s ‘network core’. Our network core is the equipment that connects the network across all buildings.

On Saturday, January 10^th at 10:00amEST we will be re-routing our internet traffic to the new hardware. This change is almost instantaneous, and we do not expect any actual downtime to occur. However, as with any major network change, there is always a slight chance that a service interruption will result. Our staff will be on-site and responsive should any service interruption occur.

That is the short story. The long story follows (if interested).

As discussed throughout the Fairfield 2020 initiative and backed by 2015 forecast articles, now more than ever we are reliant on mobility, connectivity and wi-fi to help attain mission goals and reach optimum efficiency. Your ITS department is actively engaged with the University community, including FUSA, Staff and Faculty, in dialogue pertaining to campus wireless, we have received an assessment on our environment and we are ramping up for a comprehensive overhaul of our infrastructure to best support our students, classrooms, teaching and business. The scheduled core upgrade is our most significant leap in that direction to date.

The core upgrade will:

1) Allow for future expansion of bandwidth throughout the campus

2) Retire outdated equipment whose age threatens network stability

3) Simplify the central networking of Fairfield University by reducing to two redundant systems

What will you as a user experience after this move? Aside from greater network stability, nothing yet. However this move does facilitate aggressive improvements in the future; improvements that our current hardware could neither accommodate nor deliver.

Your Network Team has been meticulously testing this upgrade for the past several months. We are in exceptionally capable hands.

Should you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me personally. If they are technical questions, I will be sure to forward them to the appropriate individual.

Look for a follow-up announcement next week. That reminder will also supply contact information and a communication plan in the event of any difficulties. Thank you for your patience as we improve technology for Fairfield University.

Have a wonderful Thursday and Happy New Year!

Paige

Articles for those interested:

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2840907/forecast-2015-it-spending-on-an-upswing.html

http://www.educationdive.com/news/what-do-higher-ed-cios-predict-for-campus-tech-in-2015/348364/

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