OIT has developed a long term plan for refreshing the university’s network infrastructure. The purpose of this initiative is to make the infrastructure current and modern, so that OIT can deliver more state-of-the-art technology services to the university community. The network refresh plan has been reviewed and approved by the university’s Information Technology Council, the Facilities Council, and the President’s Cabinet. The plan is also subject to annual review and revision.

In preparation for the network refresh initiative, the campus network backbone was recently upgraded to provide enhanced functionality. As the data network is refreshed, the university community will be able to take advantage of more advanced technologies such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which allows voice communications to travel over the data network along with data and video traffic.

The Network Refresh Advisory Committee (NRAC), a university-wide committee, recommends the priorities for the upgrades. The NRAC is facilitated by OIT and includes members from colleges, schools, and divisions at the university. The committee has recommended that fiscal year 2008 NRAC funding be used to upgrade the network infrastructure in the following buildings:

• Benjamin Building
• Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
• Energy Research Facility
• Kappa Alpha Fraternity (1 Fraternity Row)
• Kappa Alpha Sorority (10 Fraternity Row)
• Talbot Hall
• Worcester Hall

The university wireless network and some underground duct banks will also be updated with this round of funding. “This is the first time such a large-scale network infrastructure refresh initiative has been undertaken since the university’s data network was first put into place in 1989,” said Tripti Sinha, OIT’s Director of Networking and Telecommunications and NRAC’s chairwoman. “We are excited about being able to provide enhanced services to the university community over the upgraded network,” Sinha said. To learn more about the NRAC, visit www.oit.umd.edu/NRAC.