How To Upgrade The Council'S Network Infrastructure

Transcription

1 Report Asset Management 21 October 2004 I1 ICT INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE PROGRAMME 1. Purpose of Report To propose a programme of investment necessary to update our ICT infrastructure, making it fit for purpose based on current knowledge of corporate, directorate and service needs. The programme will use funding from the Capital Programme s Corporate Block which has been allocated to ICT. 2. Background 2.1 At the Budget Development Sub-committee of 8 April 2004 it was agreed in respect of the Capital Corporate Infrastructure Block to refer bids for Corporate Infrastructure to an officers ICT Working Group with the remit to establish and implement the most effective 3-year investment programme initially limited to f478k each year and taking into account prior commitments and to report. 2.2 On 29 June 2004 Corporate Policy Committee agreed the recommendations of the Budget Development Sub-committee that in advance of the ICT plan f 1 OOk be allocated from the Corporate Infrastructure Block to replace the Councils cash receipting system. 2.3 The balance of Capital Funding available in the current financial year to commence ICT investment programme, after allowing for prior years commitments, is f373k. 2.4 While it was fully intended to bring forward a report recommending a 3 year ICT investment strategy the lack of resources to develop such a strategy together with the pending ICT review has resulted in this interim report being brought forward for Members approval. 2.5 A further report on a longer term investment strategy, which will be informed by the current ICT review, will be presented to Members at a future meeting of this Committee. 2.6 The remainder of this report presents an investment strategy for 2004/05, which is based on the highest priority issues identified by the Council s ICT technical officers and is supported by the Council s Officers ICT Board. 3. Discussion 3.1 The Council s business is heavily dependent on availability of computing services. Put differently, the business is very vulnerable to disruptions in service. It follows that we need to ensure that the needs of the business are matched by the capacity of the infrastructure and we must also ensure that the infrastructure is robust, reliable and capable of being repaired/supported in the event of faults. 3.2 There has been a lack of capital investment in the infrastructure over the years. Consequently we have many servers that are over five years old and it is becoming increasingly difficult to source spare parts for them, leading to prolonged

2 Asset Management 21 October 2004 I I Report downtime when a fault occurs. There are critical servers on our network that are considered by suppliers to be no longer maintainable. 3.3 Network upgrades have been held in abeyance awaiting the outcome of the broadband project and we have unacceptably slow links to some outlying offices. Users in these locations experience problems accessing applications. It is increasingly difficult to keep their desktops virus-free as the service packs and patches that Microsoft issue to combat the ever increasing number of viruses need to be deployed to these locations. The limited bandwidth slows down the deployment and in some cases necessitates a visit from a technician to load the software manually. 3.4 Any upgrades to our WAN (Wide Area Network) involve not only capital costs but also an increase in revenue budget. I have therefore not made any recommendations to significantly increase the bandwidth of our WAN other than to Stranraer, but must highlight to Members that it is a problem we will need to revisit if Broadband is not available in the near future (- April 2006). 3.5 The recommendations below are all required to maintain our service and to cater for developments in demand that we currently know about. 3.6 Proposals for 2005/2006 are incomplete because we are seriously underresourced and are hard pressed to undertake even current projects, let alone detailed design work for the future. This problem is being addressed through other routes including the forthcoming ICT Review. A further report will be brought forward in due course. In some instances, the means of upgrading services will depend upon the likely timescales for delivering Broadband. 4. ServerlHardware Replacements & Upgrades Server Optimisation and Replacement Program The technology for data storage has changed significantly in recent years. Servers capable of storing and processing large volumes of files and data have been replaced by servers with fast processing capability, while data is stored on Storage Area Networks (SANS). As part of The Core project a small, but expandable SAN was implemented and IBM blade server technology was introduced. Over the past 12 months, we have also started to consolidate our file and print-sharing servers, centralising them wherever possible for ease of maintenance and to take advantage of the SAN. As servers on the local area network reach end of life, they will be replaced by blade servers and any data will be stored on the SAN. Future plans to optimise application and database servers will also take advantage of the SAN. We estimate that about 1200GB of extra capacity will be required over the next two years, based on current usage information. The cost of increasing the SAN by 1460GB to provide the extra storage capacity is f 54,000. The cost of server replacement and consolidation, including cabinets, the IBM Blade Centre with dual switching and 10 blade servers with operating software is f 84, upgrade has become a standard means of communication both internally and externally and is seen by many as business-critical. The existing mail servers are reaching the end of life and by December 2004 Microsoft will no-longer support the 2

3 Report Asset Management 21 October 2004 version of Exchange that we are running. It is proposed that a new mail server running Exchange 2003 replace the existing corporate mail servers and the P&E mail server. Integration of the servers will facilitate administration, while upgrading to Exchange 2003 will allow access to via the internet for those users not connected directly to the council's network (including those working from home). I1 The cost of implementing Exchange 2003 is 65,000. The cost of not implementing could be loss of for a considerable time. 4.3 Data backup and restoration In August this year we implemented the first phase of an improved data backup and restoration system. The new system is capable of backing up servers at remote locations rather than relying on users at the location to manage their own backups (which does not happen consistently). With more investment this system has the potential to allow 24 hours worth of data to remain backed up on site allowing instant restores of data. It could also provide restoration of individual mailboxes. The additional hardware requirement of one additional IBM tape library and tapes will cost 32, Summary of server/hardware infrastructure upgrade costs : Priority Order (highest priority first) Server replacement and consolidation 84,000 Upgrade to Exchange ,000 Increase backup and restore capacity and speed 32,000 Increasing the SAN by 1460GB f54,000 Total cost of server infrastructure upgrades far f235, Network Infrastructure Replacement and Upgrade Programme I Network Management and Monitoring Replacement of the existing network management server and upgrade to the latest version of the monitoring software. This server monitors the network and raises alerts for any failures. Due to the age of the server, it has not been as'robust as is required for such a critical role. It has become increasingly difficult to obtain replacement parts. The current version of the software that we are using is unsupported, but we cannot upgrade on the existing server, which adds to the need to upgrade. The cost of a new server and the software upgrade would be in the region of 1 5, Stranraer Link Upgrade Upgrade the network link to Stranraer. Due to the increased volume of traffic on this part of the network and the intention to implement Voice Over IP telephony (VOIP) in an increasing number of locations, the link to Stranraer needs to be upgraded. There is a revenue cost attached to this in the form of increased line charges. VOlP provides the means of running both voice and data links over a single line, thereby reducing revenue costs. The upgrade to this link is dependent on the outcome of the Broad band project.

4 1 1 Report Asset Management 21 October 2004 The interim recommendation for is to upgrade to a 4Mb link at a capital cost of f 15,000 and an annual revenue cost of approximately f 15,000. If Broadband is not available by 2006 then it may be necessary to upgrade further at a capital cost of f 100,000 and annual revenue of f 120, Hot Spares for network Keeping hot spares for all common routers, switches, hubs and DSL boxes is the most cost effective and efficient way of maintaining the network. It reduces downtime for users and keeps maintenance contracts with suppliers to a minimum. The cost of carrying adequate spares is f35,ooo. This would need to be reviewed annually as equipment is upgraded. 5.4 Replacement of Central Router Replacement and upgrading of the 3Com Netbuilder Router at the central site in Dumfries with a Cisco router. This router serves many outlying offices and it s replacement is critical to maintaining voice connectivity at these locations. The existing equipment is no longer supported and it is becoming increasingly difficult to source spares. It is not capable of providing Voice Over IP (VOIP) telephony. The cost of replacing and upgrading this router is approximately f 10, Summary of network infrastructure upgrade costs : Priority Order (highest priority first) Network Management server f 15,000 Interim upgrade to Stranraer Link f 15,000 capital I f 15,000 revenue p.a. Hot spares for network f 35,000 Central Router at Dumfries f 10,000 Total cost of network infrastructure upgrades for f75,000 capital l f15,000 revenue The revenue implications of f 15,000 will be contained within existing resources. 6. Security In order to implement a strategy that secures the Council s client PC s and server based resources, the Security Officer has been evaluating vendor specific antivirus software products and patch management solutions. It has been established that a three-tier approach to virus protection will be adopted using different products on the servers, client desktops and . Upgrades to the existing desktop software have no capital funding implications, but require resources to implement. Additional protection for and vulnerable servers is expected to cost in the region of f 10,000. Until the evaluation of the patch management software is completed, it is difficult to establish the exact capital costs of software procurement and implementation, however indicative costs provided by a consultancy service that have been involved with the evaluation are f35, Links to Customer Service Centres Members may be aware that from the limited resources available to the Customer Services Ad-Hoc Sub-committee a sum of f40,000 was allocated to install VOlP in the 11 Customer Services centres that are not connected to the internal phone system. The actual cost of the project has risen to f45,000 and it is recommended that the balance required of f 5,000 is funded from the Corporate Infrastructure

5 Report Asset Management 21 October 2004 Block. The revenue implications of this project have been identified at f7,500 and these will be contained within existing resources. I1 8. ICT Capital Investment Strategy 2005 and Beyond 8.1 The work described in this report covers only the most pressing items in a much longer list of jobs that are essential to provide a robust, reliable infrastructure to meet the needs of the business. We do not have the capacity to plan and undertake any more than this during even if the money were available. 8.2 The identified direct revenue implications arsing from the capital expenditure proposals recommended in this report will be contained within existing resources. Members should note however that it is difficult to quantify at this stage what, if any, additional revenue costs may be required for maintenance support and licensing for the server infrastructure hardware and software. This will only be determined through future negotiations of maintenance and licensing agreements and the outcome of the ICT review. 8.3 A further report, which will be informed by the ICT review, will be presented to Members in due course on the proposed ICT capital investment strategy for and beyond. 9. Financial Consequences The work outlined for which totals f360k can be contained within the remaining Capital allocation of f373k leaving a balance of f 13k. IO. Consultation The report has been consulted with all Directorates. 11. Recommendations Members are asked to: 11.I note that a further report will be presented to a future meeting of this Committee covering the future ICT Capital Investment Strategy required to maintain and develop the Council s ICT Infrastructure and; 11.2 approve the ICT Capital Investment Strategy totalling f360,oo as follows: Server replacement and consolidation Upgrade to Exchange 2003 Increase backup and restore capacity and speed Increasing the SAN by 1460GB Network Management server Interim upgrade to Stranraer Link Hot spares for network Central Router at Dumfries Security Customer Service Centres VOlP f 84,000 f 65,000 f 32,000 E 54,000 f 15,000 f 15,000 f 35,000 f 10,000 f45,000 f 5,000

6 1 1 Report Asset Management 21 October 2004 John S Pearson Operations Manager Information Services Tel: Date of Report: 5 October 2004 Gordon Lawson Group Manager - Policy & Improvement Council Offices English Street Dumfries File Ref: corn mrephnfrastructu re u pg rade\jt