GISD documents
- Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 14:51:40 -0500
Here are drafts of three areas in the GISD document. My apologies for
not making them available sooner. I hope that by putting them out
this week it will give the group some time to review them and have
some discussion ready for the meeting on Monday.
klong
4.2. Operational Contacts
What
Operational contacts are data which identify the affiliates of a
particular internet service provider. Operational contacts include
all aspects of the network that are utilized by a particular customer.
Why
In the course of trouble shooting problems, maintenance or security
issues it becomes necessary to have a method of contacting the
authoratative party in a particular area of network administration.
Options
It is probable that most service providers would have some sort of
listing or database for the members of their network. The options will
identify the level of detail and the amount of integration that the
contact information can contain.
- Operational contacts include the following information.
These contacts may be used in resolving network related
problems.
Technical Contact
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
Secondary Technical Contact
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
Hours of operation for the site
Any site specific special procedures to be followed
- Contacts for specific services or site specific offerings.
These contacts may be necessary in the course of resolving
specific issues or implementation of services.
Security Contact
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
MBone or similar service
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
Telecommunications Contact
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
User Services Contact
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
Administrative Contact
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
Network News Administrator
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
Network Information Center
Name, address, phone, fax, pager, email
- Identification of services that are offered by the customer
of the Service Provider for which the NOC operates.
Downstream NNTP
Downstream MBone
Listserv distribution
Archie, Gopher, WWW or other information service
Internet access provider (dial-up, leased line, etc.)
- Operational contacts of other Network
Service Providers, NAP (or similar service) operators, for
use in trouble shooting connectivity problems between service
providers or connection points.
SOAP BOX
It is thought that the scale of operation would influence the degree of
detail that is kept by the service provider. One which has a smaller
amount of affiliates probably cannot afford the staff and level of
management that is required by a service provider with a large number of
sites. Large operations require a high level of documentation and
frequent verification due to the number of staff members accessing the data.
Ideally, a service provider will know all the aspects of their
affiliates in order to be responsive to their particular needs.
4.5 Maintenance
What
There are several facets to Maintenance on a network. A Service Provider
performs router, csu/dsu, circuit and/or system maintenance.
Maintenance can also be equated with system or hardware upgrades.
Why
Service machines such as archie, NNTP and NTP servers must be maintained
in working order with secure code and sufficient disk and spool space.
Systems upgrades or emergency replacement should be accomplished with
minimum time off-line.
Routers require hardware and software upgrades and connectivity is affected
during the time when the router is unavailable.
Circuit maintenance/equipment upgrades can sometimes be done without disruption of service. However, certain procedures should be in place for circuit
maintenance in order to achieve maximum levels of service.
Options
There are various options to consider when implementing a maintenance
plan for a network.
- Identify off peak hours of connectivity and set aside
blocks of time for scheduled maintenance of service
machines, routers and circuits.
- Identify a sparing policy for all aspects of the network.
- Create a schedule for upgrades of all network equipment
and service machines in order to ensure current revision
levels of all hardware and software.
- Create a schedule or checklist of all software on service
machines to ensure that current software revisions are
in place for security reasons and to provide optimal
operation.
- Acquire maintenance agreements on all router and service
machine hardware to facilitate repair.
- Require advance notice of all circuit maintenance and
reason for maintenance.
Soap Box
5.1 NOC Information
What
NOC information includes but is not limited to customer contacts, network
statistics and problem reports.
Why
During the course of operating a network, Service Providers accumulate
data which is of interest to their customers and other Service Providers
and contributes to the health of the network in general. Customer
contacts enable a service provider to disseminate information in a
timely fashion. Statistics enable a Service Provider to inform their
customers of protential problems with their specific leased line or
trends on the network, in general. Problem reports keep the customers
of a network informed and can also identify network trends.
Options
NOC information is used in a number of different ways to resolve
problems and identify resources.
- A NOC distributes information to selected individuals and
determines what type of information it publishes.
Gathered statistical information for
the specific customer of the particular service.
Distributing outage information to
specific network members or those affected
by the outage.
Providing outage reports to a specific audience
to be determined by the NOC and its customers.
- The NOC distributes known information which
might be useful to the customers of the Service Provider
for which it operates.
Providing gathered statistical information
affecting connectivity as a whole.
Distributing advisory notices which are received
from established and accepted authorities.
Distribution of network status reports which
affect major intra-connection points.
- The NOC has access to tools and enhancements to code
that have been developed by itself and other network entities
and are available for distribution without restriction.
Providing an ftp repository for tools and
code enhancements.
Provide notification of availability to established
mailing lists.
Soap Box