The new Gigabit Ethernet network installation over the summer was tested, but like any highly complex system, certain problems only reveal themselves when the system is put under heavy load. Many of the top Unisys and Nortel personnel worked on and off campus to resolve the hardware problems. The hardware problem was a manufacturing problem and has now been resolved, so our hopes for improvements in reliability for the long-term remain intact. It should be noted that increased network reliability is the ultimate goal of this new network. The Nortel 8600 is actually three identical systems for triple redundancy to provide great reliability in the future.
Some buildings have multiple wiring closets.
The new Nortel switches in all 61 wiring closets on campus had a version of software from Nortel that had a flaw, causing the sporadic outages. Some network services worked in one room and not another, some worked 5 minutes but not the next, etc. Obviously, trying to track down such sporadic, floating problems was maddening. Once the root problem was discovered, Nortel wrote and released a program fix which seems to have eliminated, or at least drastically reduced the problem. Again, this flaw only surfaced when the network was subjected to a full load of traffic.