Note: Network support is a collaborative effort between the EITS Network Support Partnership (EITS NSP) and participating departments.
Service Environment
A complete inventory of the unit’s switching equipment covered will be provided.
In a reasonable time period after the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding, EITS NSP staff will provide the Customer Liaison with a document which includes:
- A needs assessment of the unit’s switching equipment including factors such as age, condition, adherence to standards, end of life date, end of support date, out-of-date firmware and software, etc.
- Any equipment that is out of date, unsupportable, does not provide for the network needs of the unit, etc.
- An assessment of the unit’s data closets addressing environmental conditions (power, HVAC), UPS status, general organization, physical security, etc., along with a recommended remediation plan for any issues found.
- The results of a security assessment of the switching equipment and a remediation plan if necessary.
Replacement of Switching Equipment
Upon the commencement of a Memorandum of Understanding, EITS NSP will evaluate the unit’s switching and routing equipment as described above.
Based upon this evaluation, EITS NSP will coordinate with the Customer Liaison to develop a recommendation for replacement of the equipment.
At the agreed-upon time frame for replacement of the equipment, EITS NSP will initiate the procurement process, coordinate with the Customer Liaison to develop an implementation plan and schedule for the installation and activation of the new equipment, and update the Customer Liaison on a regular basis during implementation. The Customer Liaison will have final approval over the implementation plan and schedule.
Restrictions
If the unit decreases their support level from Gold, the unit will be responsible for:
- Reimbursing EITS NSP for the lease payments for the remaining duration of the lease period.
- If the equipment is purchased – reimbursing EITS NSP for the cost of the equipment and maintenance contract not already covered through previous years' Gold support fees based on a five-year refresh cycle.
- EITS NSP is not responsible for providing funding for additional switch capacity for the unit. All capital expenses for additional switch capacity shall be funded by the unit.
Equipment Maintenance
As part of the Gold support level, all network equipment included in a Memorandum of Understanding will be placed under a maintenance plan immediately unless the equipment is scheduled to be replaced in the near future.
Any equipment purchased will be placed under a maintenance contract or warranty for the duration of the unit’s participation in the Gold support level.
EITS NSP will be responsible for any efforts required to replace malfunctioning hardware under the maintenance agreement or warranty with the equipment vendor.
EITS NSP maintains a stock of spare parts and equipment that may be utilized for immediate replacement and restoration of service in case of hardware failure. This is done on a best-effort basis as it is not financially feasible to maintain a completely redundant inventory of spare equipment.
Priority
Issues will be classified as follows:
- Severe: Loss of service or severely degraded network performance that affects an entire unit, an entire building, or a critical application.
- Moderate: Loss of service or severely degraded network performance that affects a building floor or an important application.
- Routine: Issues not significantly impacting production services.
Support Hours
- Onsite support is available between 7:30 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday on normal working days.
- Limited helpdesk support is available until 7:00 PM Monday through Thursday and from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM on weekends.
- Helpdesk support is not available on the day of home football games. Onsite support may be severely restricted on those days.
- Response time during normal business hours is:
- Severe: Upon receipt of call.
- Moderate: Within one hour of receipt of call.
- Routine: Within one business day of receipt of call or as scheduled with the unit.
- On call support after hours is available for all severe and moderate problems.
- After hours support is available by calling (706) 542-0320.
EITS NSP Access to Equipment
EITS NSP support personnel must have access to the covered switching equipment in the unit’s facilities for non-working hours maintenance windows and after hours support. This will require that EITS NSP either have keys to the building and data closet(s) or that personnel with access will meet EITS NSP on site as needed. If EITS NSP cannot gain access to the equipment, the issue will be addressed the next business day.
Prioritization of Support
- In case of multiple network issues on campus, units subscribing to the Gold support levels will be assisted before units subscribing to the Bronze support level.
- If multiple units subscribing to the Gold support levels are experiencing network problems and all technical resources within EITS have been exhausted, support will be prioritized based upon the number of users impacted.
Resolution of Problems Involving Unsupported Network Equipment
- If network problems exist involving unsupported network equipment (e.g. unit-owned firewalls), EITS NSP will assume ownership of the problem until it can be shown conclusively that the problem is due to the unsupported equipment.
- Once this determination has been made, EITS NSP staff will be available to the unit’s IT staff to ensure that any changes to the EITS NSP-supported network equipment can be made as necessary to resolve the issue.
Routine Maintenance
- Routine maintenance is performed outside of normal working hours.
- The unit’s Customer Liaison will be notified of any planned routine maintenance at least 48 hours in advance. If this routine maintenance will cause disruptions to any planned activities, the maintenance will be rescheduled.
Security and Best Practices
- All switch configurations will be evaluated for adherence to EITS best practices and UGA Information Security policies. Any issues will be corrected after consultation with the Customer Liaison.
- Firmware/software updates will be applied to the unit’s switches as released by the vendor as required for adherence to security policies and best practices.
Main Data Closet (MDF) Restrictions
- For security, support, and network integrity reasons access to the MDF must be strictly managed by EITS NSP.
- EITS NSP will work with units having equipment in the MDF to address these issues and develop solutions that will ensure the integrity and security of EITS equipment. If EITS NSP and the unit determines that moving non-EITS equipment is not practical, the unit will be responsible for funding security devices for the EITS equipment.
Unit Data Closet (IDF) Restrictions
- In order to maintain network integrity and provide support for the unit’s network equipment covered under a Memorandum of Understanding, access to the IDF(s) must be strictly managed by EITS NSP.
- EITS NSP will work with units having non-network equipment in the IDF to address these issues and develop solutions that will ensure the integrity and security of the equipment covered under this agreement. If EITS NSP and the unit determine that moving non-covered equipment is not practical, the unit will be responsible for funding security devices for the covered network equipment.
- Unit IT staff will not be allowed to login other than read-only access, configure, or modify in any manner the switches or other network equipment covered under this agreement.
- Unit IT staff will not be allowed to add, move, or remove patch cables in the IDF.
Change Management
- Change management will follow the standard EITS NSP change management process (available upon request).
- The Customer Liaison has access to all change management logs that pertain to this contract upon request.
- The Customer Liaison will be included in change management discussions that are not part of the standard EITS change management policy and will be informed prior to the change.
Metrics and Reporting
EITS NSP will report the following metrics to the unit’s Customer Liaison on a monthly basis if requested:
- Uptime
- Trouble tickets received and resolution time
- Performance of the network
Other metrics are available at the request of the Customer Liaison.
Device Information
- Active devices are calculated by the entries in the unit's IP space in Proteus.
- Units utilizing NAT (network address translation) must report the number of devices that have been NATTED in the six months prior to March each year.
- The number of devices used in the monthly fee calculation may be reevaluated if a significant number of devices are added to or subtracted from the network in a building; for example due to renovation or repurposing of rooms. Any fee changes will be discussed between EITS NSP and the unit.
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