Brian, Each school has existing strength that you might not want to outsource. (existing commodity internet access, help desk, cable plant, Firewalls, …) When you mention Wired and Wireless, will this be completely independent from main campus or will it be connected to your existing core network?
A few item to consider: -Ownership of cable plant (wireless lasts 5 years, cables last 20 years or more) -QoS -SLA (response time, help desk options, incident handling) -Data Privacy (authentications and traffic) -Policies -Cost of changes (you want an extra SSID) -Access to system ( a user has problems on campus but never in Residence, you want to compare) -Access to building for contractor, access to bedrooms (at UTK we had to have an opposite gender escort to access residence) Outsourcing is a loaded word ;-) Why don’t you do an RFI or RFQ first then based on responses do an RFP. Philippe Philippe Hanset www.eduroam.us <http://www.eduroam.us/> www.anyroam.net <http://www.anyroam.net/> > On Nov 14, 2016, at 10:41 AM, Thomas Carter <[email protected]> wrote: > > While we haven’t outsourced operations, as a small school we have often > leaned on the expertise of vendors in RFPs. For example, “here are the floor > plans, how would you put wireless here and why would you do it that way?” It > also gives additional viewpoints you might not have considered. On one > project we even took the best ideas from multiple vendors and created a v2 of > the RFP (this possibility was stated in the original RFP). They’ve > (hopefully) done this other places and may be able to tell you what works and > what doesn’t. > > You might need to think through the non-technical things that could be big > issues. As a small campus, most of our policies are built around an > assumption that no major functions like this are outsourced, so policies > would probably have to change (e.g. outside vendors have to be escorted in > residential buildings by an employee). Another thing to consider is access - > if the vendor has access to residential buildings, should their employees go > through background checks? Can you essentially say “we don’t want that > employee on campus”? What about number of employees – for example, our > internal policy is individual employees can go in public spaces of > residential halls (within certain hours of the day), but at least 2 must be > together for private spaces (rooms, apartments, etc). > > I’m sure you realize this, but don’t forget your own employees in all of > this. Even just a feasibility study can affect moral in your department ( > outsourcing = layoffs to many ). I went through this on an almost annual > basis in the corporate world to justify our existence; lots of communication > helps. > Thomas Carter > Network & Operations Manager / IT > Austin College > 900 North Grand Avenue > Sherman, TX 75090 > Phone: 903-813-2564 > www.austincollege.edu <http://www.austincollege.edu/> > <image001.gif> > > From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv > [mailto:[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Lee H Badman > Sent: Monday, November 14, 2016 9:16 AM > To: [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Outsourcing ResNet wireless and wired networks > > Brian- > > If you’re outsourcing the entire operation, it sounds like much of what > you’re trying to specify is best left to the vendors that would bid. Many of > them are far from new to this and would come with their own proposed > approaches. I can see specifying: > > · basic density/coverage requirements including ISP links and minimum > .11 tech to use > · a list of “these are not allowed” kinda constraints (hallway > designs. External antennas, etc) > · elements of campus policy that have to be met > · basic SLA for monitoring and response > > and then let them propose to you what they have to offer. Otherwise the level > of detail you are trying to hit sounds more like you are making up policy as > you go in the RFP, telling them not just what you need but explicitly how to > do it, and more looking for someone to be your contract workers than to be an > autonomous third party that owns the responsibility and system. > > Just my two cents. I don’t envy you on this. > > -Lee > > Lee Badman | CWNE #200 | Network Architect > > Information Technology Services > 206 Machinery Hall > 120 Smith Drive > Syracuse, New York 13244 > > t 315.443.3003 f 315.443.4325 e [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> w its.syr.edu <http://its.syr.edu/> > SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY > syr.edu <http://syr.edu/> > > From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv > [mailto:[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Brian Helman > Sent: Monday, November 14, 2016 9:54 AM > To: [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Outsourcing ResNet wireless and wired networks > > We are in the process of issuing an RFP to investigate the feasibility of > outsourcing our ResNet services (both wired and wireless). The RFP is in > its first draft. I need to sit down this week and make edit suggestions – > identify omissions and additions, as well as verify technology and > requirements. I haven’t read the draft yet. My thought processes was to > identify what was important, in my opinion, first and then read the draft to > make sure they are there and/or clearly defined. > > There are a few items I’m not sure about. I’m trying to wrap my head around > how it would work. The following is a list of thoughts (in no particular > order other than how they popped into my head). I’ve commented briefly on a > couple items, to clarify my reasoning. If I could get comments (offline is > fine, if you’d prefer), it would be most appreciated. > > · Lease-to-own option – if we do outsource, I want to make sure we > don’t have to install wireless in every dorm simultaneously if we don’t renew > the contract. > · Stipulate the RFP may not necessarily result in a contract – if the > bids are insufficient or too expensive > · Verify an “out” clause in contract; what terms would define this? > · SLA’s? What metrics? > o Someone on site every day (weekends/nights?) for support (note: we are > not a 24-hour shop, but we do monitor for major outages that would be dealt > with if an off-hour outage occurred). > o Specify minimum accepted signal strength (using what device .. mobile > phone, tablet, PC?) > · Require cabling support MGBase-T standards – note: at least one > vendor has said their standard is 1Gbs over Cat5 at 150’ or less. As far as > I know, no such standard exists. Comments? > · Wave-2 – not sure I would install less than most recent technology > right now > · SSID’s – same as institution, or new? 1x or not? Interface to our > RADIUS or hand off account files? > · Should NAC be required – not for necessarily for policy, but for > consistency as they go from res halls to classrooms. Do I care (how is this > different than going from home to classrooms)? > · Placement of access points – require to be mounted? Require where > to be mounted (e.g ceiling vs walls)? Means and methods need to be specified > in RFP. How are non-SLA outages (e.g broken/stolen devices) dealt with? > · Who’s Internet pipe is used? – is the wireless/wired service > outsourced and then routed over our network to the ‘net? > · How do we co-manage IDF’s that support both residents and staff – > we have offices (e.g ResLife) in some res halls as well as meeting facilities > · How do we co-manage wireless to provide it to staff, guests (guests > of students; guests of the university) – see previous question > · Are there PCI, FERPA, other regulatory issues to be concerned with? > · Other? > > Thanks, > Brian > > ____________________________________ > Brian Helman, M.Ed | Director, ITS/Networking Services | (: 978.542.7272 > Salem State University, 352 Lafayette St., Salem Massachusetts 01970 > GPS: 42.502129, -70.894779 > > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE > Constituent Group discussion list can be found > athttp://www.educause.edu/groups/ <http://www.educause.edu/groups/>. > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE > Constituent Group discussion list can be found > athttp://www.educause.edu/groups/ <http://www.educause.edu/groups/>. > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE > Constituent Group discussion list can be found at > http://www.educause.edu/groups/ <http://www.educause.edu/groups/>. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
