College of Medicine Research Building (COMRB) Completes Comprehensive Network Equipment Upgrade
The College of Medicine Research Building (COMRB) recently undertook a significant network infrastructure update that had been long overdue. After numerous iterations of planning and adapting to industry changes, funding was finally secured to initiate the upgrade process. However, an initial assessment revealed a lack of sufficient power capacity in the network closets to accommodate the new equipment. To address this, the Forward Initiative "FDF Electrical Upgrade" funding was utilized to double the power capacity for each network closet across all eight floors, ensuring seamless integration of the new equipment.
The Technology Solutions Network Engineering and Telecommunications teams diligently engaged with COMRB IT personnel, and together developed a well-coordinated plan and proposed timeline to upgrade one floor per week, highlighting the importance of collaboration and teamwork throughout the project.
Over the course of May to July 2023, a total of 4,500 data jacks were successfully upgraded, with approximately 600 data jacks being improved on each floor. This enhancement involved a significant advancement in performance, as all wired connections were upgraded from 100Mb to 1G, providing clients with an impressive tenfold increase in data packet transfer speed at each data jack. Additionally, the uplink to each closet from the main building connection to the data center received a considerable boost from 1G to 10G.
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The COMRB network equipment refresh marks an important milestone in enhancing network performance that enables our users to meet their research and instructional demands.
| Director of Network Engineering and Infrastructure
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The successful completion of this ambitious project would not have been possible without the invaluable support and contributions of the COMRB IT community. Gratitude is extended to Charity Caldwell, Charles Snider, Jacqueline Berger, and Nicholas Kane for their indispensable role in ensuring a well-organized and efficient implementation.
The collaborative efforts between different teams and the unwavering dedication of the IT community have played a pivotal role in its successful execution. This upgraded network infrastructure sets a solid foundation for future research and data-driven endeavors within the College of Medicine Research Building.
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The COMRB network equipment refresh is part of the Forward Initiative and supports efforts to modernize and update campus networks.