UKERNA Strategic Drivers & Implications for RNOs

1. UKERNA Strategic Drivers & Implications for RNOs Robin Arak Chief Executive, UKERNA R.Arak@ukerna.ac.uk

2. Agenda • Strategic Drivers • Change to UKERNA’s corporate structure • Issues for RNOs

3. Drivers – JANET stakeholders • Higher Education • Further Education • Research + Partners and collaborators • Funding bodies

4. Funding Flow (UK) Taxes Customers Government Institutions IS/IT support Funding Bodies Network support JISC Regional Networks UKERNA & JANET Customers Customers Regional/National

5. Strategy Flow Government objectives Institutional strategies IS/IT strategy HE & FE Funding Councils missions and strategies Network strategy JISC strategy Regional Network strategies UKERNA corporate plan & strategy Research Councils’ Strategies Regional strategies

6. Drivers – JISC Funding HEFCE 48% TOTAL HE 59% LSC 35% TOTAL FE 41% SHEFC 7% SFEFC 3% ELWa HE 3% ELWa FE 2% DELNI HE 1% DELNI FE 1%

7. Common Themes • Widening & increasing participation • Lifelong Learning • More options for learning and modes • Partnerships and increased collaboration • High quality education • Increased use of ICT • Improving the “wealth” of the UK

8. Drivers – DfES Priorities • Improving primary education • Transforming secondary education • Increasing and broadening participation in HE • Developing the skills of the workforce – particularly the basic skills of some adults. • Opening up learning- eLearning, • UK online centres • Digital TV

9. Drivers – funding bodiesHEFCE • Promote and support productive interaction between HE and business and the community • Encourage institutions to increase access to support lifelong learning

10. Drivers – funding bodiesLSC • Extend participation in education, learning and training (80% 16-18 year olds in structured learning by 2004) • By the end of the decade 2010 half of 18-30 year olds should be capable of accessing higher education

11. Drivers – funding bodiesSHEFC • Look for other opportunities for increased integration with other public sector networks • Promote the increase of effective collaborations and strategic alliances among higher education institutions, with other parts of the education sector, and with other users of HE.

12. Drivers – funding bodiesSFEFC • Create a sustainable funding platform to deliver lifelong learning and wider access • Improvestudents’ learning experience, by developing an integrated quality improvement framework, supporting learning innovation, and investing in information technology

13. Drivers – funding bodiesELWa • Promote collaboration between the further and higher education sectors • Reduce number of working age adults who don’t have qualifications from 1 in 4 to 1 in 8 by 2004

14. Drivers – funding bodiesDELNI • Develop a piloted approach to enhanced linkages between the further education sector and SMEs. • Introduce an FE/HE MAN (develop e-learning)

15. Drivers – funding bodiesResearch Councils • Advancement & dissemination of knowledge • Promotion and support of high quality basic, strategic and applied research • Promoting the transfer of knowledge from scientific research into practice to benefit the UK • World class collaborative research • E-Science

16. JISC Strategy • High quality network • Managed IP bandwidth • Flexible automatically bookable network resources between 384Kbs and 20Mbps for teaching • Interoperability (GEANT, Internet 2) • High bandwidth for research (GRID) • “Last mile” technologies for student learner and researcher access

17. JISC Strategy • SuperJANET 5 (100’s of Gbps) • Upgrades to MANS • (In place by 2005) • 750 primary connected sites @ 200Mbps = 150Gbps • 750 primary connected sites @ 1Gbps = 750Gbps

19. JISC Strategy – content delivery • Network Management • Traffic management • Caching • Mirroring • Security & Authentication • Access to content • Access to network resources

20. UKERNA Strategy Drivers • Increased collaboration • For learning and teaching • For research • Lifelong Learning support • Widening participation • Support for research- E-Science

21. Collaboration • Between HE, FE, research communities and other organisations requires • Peering arrangements • Connections to other networks - connection policies - acceptable use policies • Support for network applications for collaboration e.g. multi-cast video

22. Lifelong Learning • Providing services “off Net” • Home • Workplace • Peering arrangements • Last mile outreach services (e.g. ADSL) • Support implications • Working with partners

23. Widening Participation • Delivery of “broadband” JANET services to learners at home and at work • Links to other networks used by learners e.g. NHSNet, schools, SMEs • Outreach centre connections e.g. adult education and community centres • Links to entertainment networks e.g. Cable TV. • Authentication and security “issues”

24. E-Science - definition “Science increasingly done through distributed global collaborations enabled by the Internet, using: • very large data collections, • tera-scale computing resources, • and high performance visualisation.”

25. E-Science support • IP Multicast- “Access GRID” • Support for QoS • Videoconferencing • Remote visualisation and control • Shipment of large volumes of data (requires timely delivery without affecting other production services) • Distributed processing via the network (databases)

26. E-Science implications • Interoperation with other NRENS • Interoperation with regional networks • Move towards automatically setting up network resources to support authorised applications • Authentication • DEN • Middleware

27. Common Requirements • Reliability • Resilience, redundancy, topology • Easy to manage, use and support! • Interoperability • Guaranteed Application Delivery • Ability to deliver new applications as they are required • Scalability (more bandwidth)

28. Conclusion • UKERNA is indirectly driven by government policies • As policies have changed UKERNA has provided network services to support government policy and strategy implementation

29. Summary • To ensure that services are aligned to stakeholder needs stakeholders need to be represented: • Membership • Board

30. Why a review? • UKERNA’s adoption of a wider remit to deliver services to education and research • FE, Lifelong learning communities, schools? • JISC review conducted by Sir Brian Follett • UKERNA to remain the network service provider • Review UKERNA’s role, governance, management

31. The review • Funding Councils commissioned the UKERNA Review • Chaired by Fred McCrindle • Review panels met over Summer 2001 • Report issued January 2002

32. Corporate Restructuring • Articles of association of UKERNA were altered to create classes of membership. • Built in flexibility for the future to allow new stakeholders to be represented • Membership of the Board restructured in order to reflect all current stakeholder communities.

33. Classes of Membership • HE and Research institutions • FE institutions • Individuals interested in networking issues Nominate an elect 3 board members for period of 3 years (RNOs?)

34. Classes of Membership 4. Education, learning & research institutions not eligible as HE, Research or FE institutions 5. Public Body Members (UK HE, FE funding councils and OST) • Representative organisations representing education, learning & research in the UK Nominate board members, change M&A, vote on AGM and General meeting business

35. Chair (non executive) Executive directors UKERNA Chief Executive UKERNA Finance Director Appointed by members in classes 4 –6 Appointed by the Board New Board

36. Non executive directors Nominated by members in classes 4 – 6 Elected by the members in classes 1 -3 HEFCE LSC SFC ELWa OST and research councils DEL(NI) Three community members New Board (cont)

37. Issues affecting JANET and the Regional Networks

38. Some Issues affecting JANET • Supplier Stability & Performance • JANET was designed to a price • Bandwidth vs Resilience • Regional Networks • Resilience to regional networks? • Resilience to end institutions?

39. Network Reliability

42. Top 10 availability issues Broken lines/line faults 24% (T) Circuit faults 21% (T) Telco equipment faults 12% (T) Power failures 8% (U) Telco Exchange problems 6% (T) Router problems 6% (U) Security maintenance 5% (U) Switching equipment 4% (U) Virus problems 3% (U) Data service unit problems 3% (U) (Issues causing monthly site availability to drop <99%)

43. RNO issues • Long term regional network funding • Merger of capital & recurrent funding • More flexibility and stability in funding • Alignment of funding with procurement cycles • Funding tied to agreed plans/outcomes • Remove funding “micro-management”

44. RNO Management • Corporate governance of MANs • Board structure • Management structure • Risk Management • Legal obligations • Company law, Tax, VAT, PAYE, regulation, etc.

45. RNO Management • Operational Management • Technical Management • Financial Management (Billing, Invoicing) • Auditing • Monitoring the SLA

46. Regional Networks • Aligning regional network agendas with national and regional agendas? • Regional Network Corporate Strategies • What does an individual regional network wish to deliver if UKERNA’s remit widens? • What regional strategies does a regional network wish to support?

47. Challenges for RNOs • Managing complexity • Multiple interoperating domains • Relationships with UKERNA, RSCs, etc. • Relationship with “customers” • Account management • Supplier “management” – telcos • Business Continuity Plans • Move to 24 X 7 support • User expectation

48. Challenges for RNOs? • Value added services? • Caching?, Web hosting? • E-mail, Managed router service? • Offsite backup? • Video services? • eLearning services? • Other application services, MIS? • Campus network monitoring and support? • Security services? • Helpdesk? Consultancy?

49. Challenges for RNOs • How can RNOs help support the strategies of: • Institutions? • Funding councils? • Research councils? • Regional organisations? Collaboration with other organisations

50. Who can connect to regional networks? (1) • HE, FE & publicly funded research  • Non commercial organisations involved with lifelong learning funded by HE & FE  • Broader educational organisations including private colleges? • Local education authorities ?  • State schools  • Private schools ?