ICT Services has apparently received funding to replace network switches that have been preventing us from utilising the full capacity of our network. The next issue is their installation and configuration: while each network port will only be out of operation for around five minutes during the changeover, there have been some concerns expressed about service interruption and the impact this might have. ICT Services has apparently responded to these concerns by deciding to limit the time set aside for installations to one hour each morning. At this rate it may be many months before the switches are deployed.
With prior notification, a five minute interruption should not unduly interfere with work, so it is proposed that Executive request ICT Services, in consultation with the comedu helpdesk, to install the switches in Buildings 1, 9 and 20 (Building 5 is done) on a known schedule, regardless of the time of day. The comedu helpdesk would then make sure users were informed of the proposed outages and seek expressions of any concerns from users before the switches were swapped over.
