Management Information Sheet
Updata Main Contract Rollout - June 2016 Update
Wide Area Network Migration
Since Updata was awarded the Voice and Data contract by NCC in December 2015 they have been building a new, managed, wide area network (WAN) specifically for Norfolk.
The WAN MPLS (Multi-protocol Label Switching) infrastructure comprises the new resilient Norfolk service, resiliency of the core network into County Hall, and the connection of each end site. It also includes the cessation of legacy BT circuits and their nodes across the NCC network.
Updata's WAN connectivity has been designed to meet specified tight standards for service availability, latency, packet loss and jitter. This means that the network is reliable and is suitable for all the uses to which it will be put - including not just email and web browsing but voice and video. Significantly, the service ensures that schools are within a private network (i.e. not sharing bandwidth with other domestic customers in the school's neighbourhood, as is normally the case).
Sites will connect to the WAN using a mixture of fibre, fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), Ethernet-first-mile (EFM), asymmetric-digital-subscriber-line (ADSL) and wireless solutions. All sites will hook up to a local exchange (a node) on the Norfolk network.
Each school has a direct contract with Updata for the WAN service, including 'core' services, such as: Internet filtering and antivirus, and optional services such as remote access solution (RAS). Each school will be contacted directly in relation to their new connection.
The number of circuits that will ultimately connect to the new Norfolk network exceeds 500. Some connect large organisations; others small, remote sites. The planning involved in migrating each and every site to the new Updata network is a significant undertaking.
What steps can a school on the new WAN expect to take place?
The basic process is as follows:
NCC project staff have already provided information to Updata about existing connections (location of comms cabinets, access and contact information, etc.) and Updata project staff have placed all school circuit orders.
Updata's third party suppliers (including BT, Virgin Media Business, Talk Talk and WiSpire) provide Updata with appointment slots when they need to visit the end site. An exception is for fibre orders, where BT contacts the site directly (alas, that's the way BT handles fibre orders). Some sites will require a survey to be conducted.
Updata will contact schools via email with the suggested appointment date. Acceptance of the appointment will be assumed unless schools contact the Updata provisioning team by email 24 hours before the appointment date.
At the time of writing, new circuits have been installed at over one hundred sites. However, having the circuit installed does not mean that you are on the Updata network yet!
In most cases, there will be a second visit to site by an Updata engineer. During this visit the engineer will install a new router, connect it to the new circuit, and migrate the site to the new WAN.
The exchange infrastructure will be in place by this point, and the Updata engineer will test performance of the new network before leaving site.
The legacy router used to run your old service will be decommissioned and removed.
A Site Acceptance Form will be completed during this visit. Sites will not be considered as completed until five working days after the installation. After those five days, unless notified otherwise, the site migration will be deemed accepted. Should issues arise with a migrated site post migration, the end site must notify Updata within the five working day period to enable Updata to assess whether the site needs to be moved back onto the legacy circuit or the fault can be fixed.
NCC network engineers continually monitor network performance using the latest, new technology supplied by Updata. Real time data allows us to react quickly to problems, and even anticipate them before they occur.
So where are we now - when will my site migrate to the Updata contract?
By the end of May 81% of the main core infrastructure and 55% of the circuits connecting the nodes together were built: approximately 65% of the WAN. The final pieces of the 'core' jigsaw are due before the end of October.
Plans are in place to undertake migrations of test sites in mid-June. Core resilience will also be thoroughly checked in June. Once these tests prove successful, Updata plans to commence migrating end sites at the end of June.
Across the rest of the summer NCC and Updata will populate a plan with expected migration dates for all remaining sites. This will be communicated to you as soon as more information is available.