Conference 7.286::digital

3682.0. "Corp. Backbone Upgrade - Feb. 18th" by GRANPA::BBRADBURY (Bob Bradbury, DTN 328-3407) Wed Feb 08 1995 16:14

    The attached message has been previously distributed throughout Digital.
    It is posted here as a reminder that on Feb. 18th, 1995 from
    7:30am - 12:30pm EST the Corporate Data Network Backbone will be 
    undergoing an upgrade and will be unavailable.  Network traffic will NOT 
    be supported on the Backbone during this timeframe.
    
    Thanks for your cooperation!
    
    Bob Bradbury
    NGR Program Manager
    
    
    
    
    
                        Corporate Backbone Network Event
                  Next Generation Routing (NGR) Program Message

Corporate Backbone Upgrade Changed to Feb. 18th

The date and time for the Corporate Backbone upgrade has changed from 
February 5th to February 18th to accommodate critical business processing.  
Outsourcing Management Services (OMS) has recognized the need for flexibility 
in arriving at a scheduled date acceptable to all Digital businesses.  
Critical business applications have requirements that impact different time 
periods in the fiscal calendar.  Through the cooperation of OMS and the 
respective Digital business representatives, we have agreed upon the February 
18th date.

What and When

On Saturday, February 18th, 7:30AM-12:30PM EST, the Corporate Data Networks 
Backbone will be upgraded to a new routing protocol: Integrated 
Intermediate-System to Intermediate-System (Integrated IS-IS).  The backbone 
routers located at AKO, LKG, MKO,  MRO, and PKO, will be unavailable during 
this timeframe.  This will affect both DECnet and IP network traffic.  
Communications between geography portions of the network including 
communications within the Americas will be impacted.  Communications within 
regional distribution networks will not be affected.

Why

The transition to Integrated IS-IS routing protocol is the most significant 
milestone for the NGR Program. Integrated IS-IS is a modern link state 
protocol which will provide greater routing efficiencies improving 
reliability across the network.  Saturday, February 18th was selected because 
it is in Week 7 in the middle of the fiscal quarter and should not adversely 
affect business operations.

This action is in continuance of the NGR Program goal of providing a single 
robust multiprotocol routing environment.  To date, the NGR Program has 
driven the implementation of DECNIS routers and consolidated Digital's 
primary protocols (DECnet, LAT, TCP/IP) onto a single set of routers and 
circuits across the EASYnet.  Additionally, TCP/IP routing services have been 
expanded to the point where, by the end of Q3FY95, TCP/IP routing services 
will be on par with DECnet routing services worldwide.

This activity is being planned using the experience gained with the migration 
of the Scandinavian part of EASYnet to Integrated IS-IS.  The team has 
completed contingency and risk planning in the case of unforeseen problems.  
After the transition, the network will be monitored by the implementation 
team for 24 hours before it is handed over to the network operations staff.

Who

This effort is driven by the NGR Worldwide Implementation Team involving  
associated local site data network teams, the Enterprise Service Center, the 
Asia/Pacific Operations Center, and the European Operations Service Center.

If you have any further questions, please contact one of the following:
- Bob Bradbury, NGR Program Manager and Americas Implementation Manager
  at [email protected], GRANPA::BBRADBURY, or DTN 328-3407,
- Al Doucet, Global Communications Data Networks Service Manager
  at [email protected], CTHQ::DOUCET or DTN 276-9042
- Ian Cowburn, European Implementation Manager,
  at [email protected], ULYSSE::COWBURN, or DTN 828-5872,
- Al Lund, Asia/Pacific Implementation Manager,
  at [email protected], STOWOA::ALUND, or DTN 276-8985.

    Cool.
    
    -- Guy