There are a number of areas where UNB has chosen performance and features over reliability and availability. We have established a level of backup and redundancy that has suited the needs of the University to this point. As the network has become more and more critical to the operation of the University it is time to address the reliability issue. CSD has done a preliminary design to introduce some redundancy and protection in its network architecture. Clearly if building power is off there is no need to be running the network equipment, but the main purpose of the UPS is to provide clean power to the electronics.
Equipment is expensive to replace and poor power is one of the largest causes of equipment failure.
In addition some equipment which is capable of having dual power supplies will have a second power supply installed. Some redundant links will be added between backbone network equipment allowing for the failure of one or more components before network connectivity is affected. This will require installation of additional fibre optic cable and electronics in the main wiring closets an hubs. We have not chosen at this time to address the heating problem in the wiring closets. Many wiring closets have temperatures which are close to or exceeding the recommended operating temperatures for the network electronics.