Moving Off Campus Checklist
Now that you've decided to move to an off-campus location, contact 6-TECH Technical Support at 336-256-TECH (8324) or 6-tech@uncg.edu. You will be assigned an Information Technology Services (ITS) consultant who will walk through the process with you and answer any questions you might have. If you read through the following information, you will see what is required to set up off-campus network and phone connections. You may not understand everything listed, but your ITS consultant will. Please read through the following information, and consider your off-campus location. Current infrastructure will determine the amount of time required for full connectivity.
Current Network Use
The current UNCG network infrastructure allows for the transfer of large amounts of data very quickly. Moving off campus can prohibit your applications from running or slow them down. This can include simply logging in or copying files to your shared drive. Some of the questions to consider to help determine your off-campus needs are:
- What applications/software/programs do I frequently run?
- Do I expect my applications to run at the same performance level as they do on campus?
- Am I willing to take a performance hit if I move off campus?
- Do I normally transfer large files over the network?
Wiring Infrastructure
In order to make your off-campus location meet your performance needs, a specific infrastructure must exist. The following questions address the current infrastructure of the offsite location and help determine what is needed for optimal performance.
- Are there data ports run to each room?
- Is the wiring Cat 5e?
- What type of wiring infrastructure is run to the building?
- Is there a switch with open ports available if new data ports have to be installed?
- Is telephone wiring run to each room?
- Will the building owner (you) pay to install the required infrastructure for Metro-Ethernet?
Computing Considerations
Ask yourself the following questions about your daily personal computing and security, and if you are unsure of the answers, your ITS consultant can help you.
- Do you know how much bandwidth you use on a daily basis?
- Who handles your state auditing?
- Do you know what type of firewall will be put in place in the offsite location?
- What type of Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) will be put in place at the offsite location?
- Are you planning on implementing wireless technology?
- Who is your dedicated technical support personnel who can handle the administration of the above technologies?
Infrastructure Considerations for the Offsite Location
The following items might be necessary to ensure the proper infrastructure for your off-campus office. Your ITS consultant will understand what is required for your specific situation, but feel free to read the list below to familiarize yourself with the necessary information.
- Required equipment:
- A rack (wall or floor) to mount switch and panels
- A switch (if your site requires an uncommon switch not normally used by ITS, allow four to six weeks for delivery)
- UPS (requires a 110-volt or 208-volt electrical circuit depending on the size of the UPS)
- G-BICs
- Patch cables
- Patch panels
- Fiber patch
- Minimum Cat 5e to each location
- Pathway from Telecom room to the location of the switch, if the two are not in the same immediate location
- Conduit from BellSouth pole to the building's Telecom room, if an aerial connection is not possible. Underground pathways are also available.
- BellSouth requires up to 90 days to survey for Metro-Ethernet. All pathways must be in place before ordering equipment and fiber.
- Existing data cabling must be tested before installation of any new equipment.