The Infrastructure and Network Team is proposing a change to how VLAN 103 is populated and is seeking feedback from all ITS stakeholders. Here is the background for this proposal.
This VLAN currently contains a wide variety of devices related to labs and classrooms that total well over than 500 at this time and spans across multiple buildings. These devices include teaching stations, lab workstations, smartboards, lab printers and others. Having this many devices in one VLAN increases the probability that a single malfunctioning device could produce widespread disruption to multiple classrooms at the same time, possibly interrupting ongoing lectures, classwork or exams.
The proposal is to break up VLAN 103 into separate VLANs that align better with strategic plan for networking on this campus. Basically, this means that the new VLANs would not span buildings, and common devices would be grouped into their own VLANs, such as lab printers in one, and individual computer lab PCs in another. This strategy significantly reduces the risk of wide-spread impact due to a rogue device.
We think there may be some adjustments that might need to be made to existing processes for maintaining lab and teaching station PCs, but that the impact would be minimal. However, we are committed to ensuring that management of these devices would not require more time and effort than it does today and could require less. There would also be some behind-the-scenes network management benefits gained by implementing this change.
Please comment to this post to share your thoughts on this proposal.
Thanks!
Curtis