UPDATE: Inter-island Microwave

Greetings Colleagues,

As you know, the inter-island microwave stopped working again about 10pm last night. As of this morning at 9am all data traffic to St. Croix was rerouted over the Internet. St. Croix can access Blackboard, Banner, and Exchange via the Outlook Web Access. The videoconference rooms are also able to connect. While the audio is reasonable – the picture quality (as we predicted) is quite poor. We are trying to meet with faculty members to provide their class via telephone if they choose. Access to all services is slow because of bandwidth issues on St. Thomas. Four digit dial and Audix are not available.

We believe that the reason the microwave is not working properly is that the main radio on the dish at crown mountain on St. Thomas is rejecting the signal coming from the alternate radio on St. Croix. We have a crew on the way to crown mountain to see if that can be remedied. We will know more in about an hour, at this time the microwave is operating –

While we are hoping for a best case scenario, we continue to plan for service interruptions. We are:
1) Working with Harris-Stratex to move the installation of the microwave to as soon as possible. We will know more about possible timelines soon.
2) In contact with CHOICE communications to immediately increase our bandwidth. We hope to hear something by the end of the day.
3) We are communicating with Student Affairs to reallocate bandwidth from the dorms (only if absolutely necessary) to provide more bandwidth for educational purposes. An announcement will be made if this becomes necessary. The decision will be made before 4pm.
4) Looking at the possibilities to improve quality of service to the VC rooms.

I will provide an update before evening classes begin.

THINK GOOD THOUGHTS – AT THIS POINT IT CANT HURT


Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer




UPDATE: Inter-island Microwave

Greetings UVI,


The interisland link between St. Thomas and St. Croix is now fully operational.


At approximately 9:30 this morning, the radio on the interisland microwave stopped working. This radio is what makes the connection possible – it is in essence the “heart of the microwave”. The microwave is equipped with an alternate radio. At approximately 1:30 this afternoon working with Harris-Stratex, we replaced several microwave parts in an effort to activate this alternate radio. While this restored connectivity, the connection remained intermittent. As of 5:00, we have been able to “lock” the connection on the alternate radio and the connection is now stable and all services are operational. Classes are proceeding.


However, the main radio cannot be replaced, so we must move forward operating on the alternate radio. This leaves us without a back up. We have exhausted all our reserve parts and cannot predict how long the alternate radio will provide a functioning microwave. The UVI networking staff have completed configuation of a data tunnel between the islands so that when the microwave fails again, all video and data services will be accessible via the commodity Internet. This option will provide us with continuity – although video over the Internet will require a great deal of bandwidth and will decrease the video quality. We currently have an RFP out to increase our bandwidth on St. Thomas that will make this option more usable.


This microwave system, installed in 1994 has served us well. The microwave is obviously at the end of its life and we are in the process of replacing it. Site surveys were complete last week and purchase orders are in process. Scheduled replacement was June 1, 2010. The new system will provide 300 mbps service between the islands (we currently have 12) and greatly enhance videoconferencing and Internet services. We have already begun the process to move as quickly as possible on the replacement to shorten the timeline. However this will require the switch over to occur during the semester, instead of after finals as we originally planned.


ITS will keep you informed on the status of the microwave and the timelines for the replacement project. We will need to work together closely to effectively serve our students as we navigate the transition.


Thank you for your patience and support.


Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer