Backbone Interconnect Network
STANDARD Service Agreement (SA)
University of Michigan
Information Technology
July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002
1.0 Overview
This Service Agreement (SA) is between ITCom and its Customers.
Under this SA, ITCom agrees to provide, at the rates and for the duration
specified, a Backbone Interconnect Network (UMBIN) for data services for
Network Backbones on the Ann Arbor campus.
This SA also covers performance, reliability, and other topics pertinent
to this agreement; in particular, it lists key responsibilities of IT
and its Customers.
2.0 Purpose
The purpose of this SA is to establish a cooperative partnership between
Customers and ITCom by clarifying roles, setting rates and expectations,
and providing mechanisms for resolving problems.
3.0 Funding of Services
Service charges are detailed in Appendix A. These will
be reviewed annually. The billing will occur annually.
4.0 Terms of Agreement
This SA is for one (1) year, starting July 1st to June 30th of the
next calendar year. At the end of this term, it may be renewed on an annual
basis by agreement of both the Customer and ITCom.
In the rare case that a department has needs not covered in this SA,
a custom SA can be negotiated between IT Communications Services and the customer.
The customer SA will need to be signed by both parties 90 days before
it is put into effect.
5.0 IT Communications Services Responsibilities
IT Communications Services shall:
- 5.1
- Comply with service standards as described in the "Service
Delivery Standards" document.
- 5.2
- Will support the following protocols on the backbone: IP, IPX, AppleTalk,
VINES IP.
- 5.3
- Attach the UMBIN to the Internet via a connection to MichNet, Michigan's
regional network, and connected as drawn in Appendix B.
- 5.4
- Evaluate, engineer, purchase, install, and maintain the UMBIN as covered
by this agreement, or as deemed appropriate by ITCom if not covered. In addition,
programming and network administration support necessary to install and
maintain the UMBIN infrastructure hardware and software, as covered by
this agreement.
- 5.5
- Evaluate, engineer, purchase, install, and maintain a connection to
other Internet service providers and other appropriate networks such as
the vBNS and Internet2.
- 5.6
- Provide necessary supplies for the operation of the UMBIN.
- 5.7
- Route IP, AppleTalk, VINES IP and IPX between IT's Backbone and the
connected networks. A Customer may choose not to route any of the following
protocols: AppleTalk, VINES IP and IPX.
- 5.8
- Provide the Network Administrator with direct access to NOC staff 24
hours per day, 365 days per year (24 x 365).
- 5.9
- Keep Network Administrators informed of changes in the UMBIN status.
This will be done via email if there is a change, and this notification
will be done within two hours of any change.
- 5.10
- Provide performance measurements as detailed in section 7.1 and 7.2.
This information will be available via the web at http://www-nettools.ns.itd.umich.edu/.
- 5.11
- Provide the Network Administrator with at least 48 hour advance notice
of scheduled outages due to maintenance.
- 5.12
- Provide 24 x 365 monitoring of the network status, router interfaces,
and supported protocols.
- 5.13
- Provide a 24 x 365 method for users of the connected networks to determine
if there is a problem with connectivity to the UMBIN, and if so, where.
Users will be able to check the web server, http://www-nettools.ns.itd.umich.edu/,
for real-time status of the Backbone.
- 5.14
- Provide a 24 x 365 method for Network Administrators of the connected
networks to determine if there is a problem with connectivity to the UMBIN,
and if so, where.
- 5.15
- Maintain the UMBIN as specified in Section 7.
6.0 Customer Responsibilities
Customers shall:
- 6.1
- Submit a Service Order to IT Communications Services with an authorized signature.
Provide the name of the person who will be the contact for the installation
and name of the Network Administrator who will be the contact for ongoing
maintenance. Also fill out and submit a Network Information Change Request
(NICR) form which can be found on the web at: http://www.itcom.itd.umich.edu/backbone/umnet/nicr.html.
- 6.2
- Maintain their Network Backbone such that it does not compromise the
integrity of ITCom's UMBIN.
- 6.3
- Purchase, install and maintain a router, with one OC3c or OC12c ATM interface
for the UMBIN connection and a second interface for the Customer's Network Backbone.
The router may be located at any Customer site provided that a suitable fiber path
to the UMnet ATM core can be built from that site.
- The router must support the following:
- RIP, RIP2, OSPF, BGP IP routing protocols
- RTMP AppleTalk routing protocols
- RIP, NLSP IPX routing protocols
- VINES IP routing protocols
- SNMP support for standard RFC MIBs
- 6.4
- Provide support to the users of this service. Including, but not limited
to, the following:
- All levels of support for users of Customer backbone network.
- Documentation covering security and the proper use of this service.
- 6.5
- In consultation with others, as necessary, handle violations of Proper
Use Policy and all other applicable policies, by service users. Handle
violations of system security and take appropriate security measures, including
user education
- 6.6
- Notify the Network Operation Center (NOC) at least six (6) hours in
advance of a change in the backbone configuration that could potentially
change the state of connectivity to the UMBIN. The Customer is responsible
for any charges which result from the Customer's failure to notify IT.
- 6.7
- Notify IT Communications Services of any change in the Network Administrator at
least one week before the change occurs, and include the name of the temporary
Network Administrator. The Customer will inform IT Communications Services who the
new, permanent Network Administrator is not later than one week after the
new person is hired. Notification is required via the NICR form.
- 6.8
- Provide to ITCom the email, pager, and phone contact information for
the Network Administrator and a backup administrator. There will be an
indication of which of these methods shall be 24 x 365, so that ITCom will
be able keep the network administrator informed of the status of their
backbone connection. Any changes to these contact/notification methods
must be communicated to IT Communications Services via the NICR form.
- 6.9
- Ensure their Network Administrator(s) meet certification requirements
set by the ITSECURE and Information Technology Policy Committee (ITPC).
- 6.10
- Make arrangements for appropriate IP address space. IP space cannot
be a subset of an IP network already being routed on the UMBIN.
- 6.11
- Not divulge privileged contact information, such as the phone number
of the NOC, to anyone not acting in the Network Administrator role.
- 6.12
- Provide ITCom with a user level password for diagnostics purposes.
- 6.13
- Ensure the Network Administrator attends monthly meetings to discuss
and resolve issues relevant to the UMBIN.
- 6.14
- Install all necessary upgrades, both hardware and software, to maintain
the interoperability of all devices on the UMBIN.
7.0 Performance Measures
7.1 UMBIN Technical Performance
ITCom does not completely control the connections to the Internet but
will exert every effort to ensure reliable service from the selected providers.
Through the appropriate upgrades, ITCom will work to ensure neither the
UMBIN nor the connection(s) to the Internet are bottlenecks for Customer
applications. Note, however, that substantial upgrades will be reflected
in the product price.
ITCom will make baseline throughput measurements available on the web.
These measurements will be updated on a 24 hour basis. This information
will be available via the web at http://www-nettools.ns.itd.umich.edu/.
If a Customer's Network Backbone compromises the performance of ITCom's
UMBIN, then ITCom will take appropriate action to restore performance (if
possible), or take other action, up to and including disconnecting service
to the Network Backbone, if necessary, to maintain the UMBIN.
7.2 UMBIN Maintenance
In general, and except as noted in Section 7.1, (above),
availability will only be changed by negotiation between the Customer and
IT Communications Services. In the rare circumstance that ITCom must alter system availability,
the Customer will be notified five (5) working days in advance of the change.
UMBIN maintenance, when required, will occur on Tuesday, Friday, and
Sunday mornings between 5:00 AM and 8:00 AM. Maintenance which may result
in complete lack of connectivity for all Customers will be restricted to
the Sunday morning time.
If a customer experiences a problem with their UMBIN attachment, the
network administrator will contact IT Communications Services, via email at umbin@umich.edu,
or 936-3282. The NOC will notify the on-call technician, and the technician
will communicate with the user within 15 minutes of notification. If on-site
support is required during normal business hours (i.e., 7:30 AM to 4:00
PM Monday through Friday, and excluding holidays), IT Communications Services will
have a technician on-site with the routers within 30 minutes of notification
from the NOC. During non-business hours, a technician will be on-site with
the routers within two (2) hours.
In the event that there is problem with more than one customer’s connection,
the customer will be notified of these problems via mail to the email group
umnet-inform@umich.edu, and
the customer will not be contacted directly.
Unscheduled downtime for any segment of the Backbone due to "typical
problems" (e.g., misconfiguration and hardware failures) will not
exceed 1.0% of scheduled availability during a year period. This excludes
outages due to services not provided by ITCom, such as ISP maintenance.
Atypical problems and emergencies (e.g., vandalism or fire) will be
handled to the best of IT Communications Services’s ability.
To gauge such performance, ITCom will make uptime/downtime measurements
available on the web. These measurements will be updated every 24 hours.
This information will be available via the web at http://www-nettools.ns.itd.umich.edu/.
7.3 User Perceptions of UMBIN Performance
IT Communications Services and Customers acknowledge that performance and performance
measures are affected by many factors which may be difficult to define
and/or anticipate due to the nature and uses of the underlying systems
and clients. Further, we recognize that "perceived response time"
by users is a critical performance measurement. Therefore, in cases where
the "perceived response time" by users becomes an issue, problems
will be resolved by the procedures outlined in Section 8.0,
"Problem Resolution."
8.0 Problem Resolution
To help determine the existence and scope of a possible problem, the
Network Administrator may call 936-3282 or send email to umbin@umich.edu.
Similarly, IT Communications Services staff will contact the Network Administrator
by phone or pager to address any UMBIN problem being caused by the Customer's
Network Backbone.
When UMBIN performance measures do not meet the standards, the Customer
and IT Communications Services will jointly work to:
- Identify the cause of the problem.
- Resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
If resolution is not achieved within four (4) business hours, then the
Customer and/or IT Communications Services may escalate the problem to the appropriate Customer Relations Manager
(CRM).
If a resolution is not achieved within eight (8) hours, then the signers
of the Service Order will be notified.
9.0 Upgrades
Hardware and software upgrades to the UMBIN are made at the discretion
of IT Communications Services and will be made with a minimum disruption of service
(See Section 7).
Each organization connecting to the UMBIN is responsible for software
and hardware upgrades to their routers and other Network Backbone components.
These upgrades also will be made so as to ensure a minimum disruption of
service (See Section 7).
10.0 Security
ITCom will take appropriate steps to provide physically secure access
to the routers and connecting cables. Routers are placed in secure locations.
The best authentication mechanisms available on the routers will be used.
There are no filters set on the router ports. Therefore, all packets are
passed through.
At times, ITCom will use a network "sniffer" to look at packets
on the backbone to troubleshoot problems. These packets will be used for
no other purpose.
11.0 Accountability
IT Communications Services warrants that all reasonable measures within its resources
shall be taken to maintain operation of the Interconnecting Backbone. IT
assumes responsibility for the hardware and software that it provides to
execute this SA, as well as for the actions of ITCom staff. IT’s liability
for damages is limited to hardware replacement or repair, software fixes,
and corrections to staff errors.
Customers agree not to operate their Network Backbones in a manner that
compromises the performance or integrity of the UMBIN or violates security
or other applicable policies. Customers also assume responsibility for
any misuse of their networks by users, will remedy any such situations,
and will be responsible for any financial expenses related to user misuse.
APPENDIX A
Service Rates
Attachments to UMBIN will be made on a time and materials basis.
The ongoing price of UMBIN utilization is determined on an annual basis.
See: Backbone and Circuit Rates
APPENDIX B
Network Drawing

itcom.web@umich.edu
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