Goals & Benefits to Campus
Berkeley IT has embarked on a wide-ranging program to improve the overall experience of network users on campus. The goal of this project is to offer a broader and clearer range of connectivity options and to modernize and improve the capacity of various network services where necessary. This IT Top Priority consists of multiple projects as described below.
User Experience Improvement Projects
Wi-Fi Upgrades: Infrastructure Expansion & Modernization
The majority of locations on campus enjoy modern 802.11ac Wi-Fi service. However, as of Oct. 2021, there currently remain over 800 obsolete access points that will not support modern services. We will be replacing these obsolete access points and upgrading coverage according to the Wi-Fi Upgrade Project map
Berkeley IT offers several Wi-Fi network services, some of which provide identical features. The user experience for configuring access to the primary campus Wi-Fi service (eduroam) is not intuitive and has poor accessibility. Our existing services do not adequately support Internet of Things (IoT) devices or the needs of students in our residence halls. We are addressing all of these issues during this project.
Campus Firewall & VPN Capacity Improvements
During the pandemic, the bSecure GlobalProtect VPN became an important tool for our students, faculty, and staff and use of this service increased dramatically. More and more campus departments rely on the bSecure firewall service to ensure they are able to meet policy and privacy requirements. Berkeley IT would like to expand the service to most campus connections as the default to reduce risks for our user community. We will be implementing additional hardware capacity to ensure the ongoing stability and scalability of VPN. We will also implement additional capacity to expand firewall services on campus.
Improved Connectivity for Students in International Locations
Today, students who are studying remotely in locations outside the US can experience poor access to course materials and resources as a result of restrictions imposed on local internet access. Berkeley IT will be implementing a service to address these issues for locations where these issues have been a concern. This service will take the form of a VPN which improves performance and ensures educational resources are available without restriction. Project details are being developed, more information coming soon.
Milestones & Timeline
Important dates and major milestones for this program. See individual project pages for more detailed information. All dates are estimated and information may shift as this program and the suite of projects within it progresses.
Date |
Milestone |
Benefit to Campus |
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Phase 1: Oct. 2017 - June 2020 |
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Oct. 2017 |
Begin Wi-Fi infrastructure upgrades |
Ensure ubiquitous, high performance Wi-Fi throughout campus. |
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June 2019 |
Begin Wi-Fi upgrades and coverage in student housing |
Provide Wi-Fi coverage throughout campus residence halls to ensure equitable access to educational resources. |
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July 2019 - June 2020 |
Campus Wi-Fi infrastructure upgrades continue |
Continued progress to goal of ubiquitous high performance Wi-Fi. |
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Phase 2: July 2020 - June 2021 |
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July 2020 - June 2021 |
Continued progress with Campus Wi-Fi Infrastructure restricted. |
Continued progress with work on the campus Wi-Fi infrastructure restricted due to the pandemic and lack of funding. |
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June 2021 |
Completed residence hall Wi-Fi upgrades |
Provide Wi-Fi coverage throughout campus residence halls to ensure equitable access to educational resources. |
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Phase 3: July 2021 - Jan. 2022 |
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July 2021 |
Network User Experience Program begins |
Wide-ranging program to improve the availability, accessibility, security and performance of campus network services with a focus on the user perspective. |
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Nov. 2021 |
Deprecate Airbears2, SSID broadcast turned off on Nov. 16 |
Reduce user complexity and confusion, simplify service offerings, prepare for enhanced services, improve user connectivity experience. |
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Jan. 2022 |
Implement additional campus firewall and VPN capability, PAN Refresh (new hardware & CPU cycles) on Jan. 12 |
Ensure access to campus resources, improve data security and availability. |
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Phase 4: Feb. - July 2022 → We are here! |
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March 2022 |
Completely abate Airbears2, network will be retired on March 23 |
Reduce user complexity and confusion, simplify service offerings, prepare for enhanced services, improve user connectivity experience. |
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April 2022 |
Enhance Wi-Fi user experience monitoring; integrate sensors into WI-Fi operations/support on April 26 |
Faster detection, reporting, and resolution of issues resulting in less disruption for users. |
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July 2022 |
Enhanced connectivity for international students; Remote connectivity for international students in China on June 9 |
Ensure access to course materials for international students. |
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July 2022 |
Pilot new Wi-Fi service for residential and IoT devices; review Wi-Fi keys user experience, PSK network development and launch on July 15 |
Improve network security. Improve connectivity options for campus and resident communities. |
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Phase 5: Aug. - Dec. 2022 |
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Aug. 2022 |
Implement new Wi-Fi keys portal |
Improved accessibility and usability for all campus users. |
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Sept. 2022 |
Launch residential/IoT Wi-Fi services; CalVisitor network improvements in place Sept. 1, CISCO WAP abatement and Aruba WAP installed Sept. 22 |
Improve network security. Improve connectivity options for campus and resident communities. |
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Dec. 2022 |
Replace CalVisitor with improved guest access service |
Improve user connectivity. Reduce confusion, simplify services. Improve campus network security. |
Team Members & Roles
Primary Contact:
David Rieger, Project Manager
Sally Baker, Service Desk Manager
Clark Bilorusky, Technical Services Supervisor, Student Helpdesk
Dave Browne, Executive Director of Campus IT Infrastructure
Martin Garcia, Network Project Manager
Casey Hennig, Information Security Outreach and Engagement Coordinator
John Ives, Security Analyst
Andrew Lau,Network Engineering Supervisor
Cristóbal Olivares, Director, Student Technologies
Isaac Orr, Manager Network Operations & Services
Rita Rosenthal, Communications Manager
Sean Schluntz, Principal Network Engineer
Jenn Stringer, AVC for IT & CIO
Gary Thomas, Principal Wireless Engineer, Process Owner
Steering Committee Members
Bill Allison, Chief Technology Officer
Dave Browne, Executive Director of Campus IT Infrastructure
Erfan Mojaddam, Director DevOps & Learning Spaces
Cristóbal Olivares, Director, Student Technologies
Isaac Orr, Manager Network Operations & Services (Steering Committee Liaison)
Faye Snowden - TPO Manager
Jenn Stringer, AVC for IT & CIO
Jerry Yerardi, Associate CIO ITCS