Staff Report 2002-05 I am pleased to advise the Board that Phase I of the upgrade of core dial-up services, providing higher-speed modems and reliable connectivity, has been completed. We are seeing some problems with the Cisco 5100 that was originally donated by them as part of the Mitel extended access project. The problem manifests itself with modems going into a permanent "AutoSelect" status, appearing to be always in the process of answering a call. After careful analysis of various alternatives, I recommend the purchase of an additional USR Total Control terminal server, identical to the boxes recently purchased. The investment will be approximately $4000. Again, this is more than covered by the refund received from the 3com gear. The advantages of this purchase are three-fold: first, we would ensure reliable service, as the current Total Control boxes have proven to be very reliable; second, we would now present a common interface for all our modems, making it easier for members to develop scripts and making it easier for volunteers to develop the appropriate session management software; and third, we will only have to deal with one platform when we implement phase II of the plan later in the year. Work would begin immediately upon receipt of the box. The completion of the installation and configuration would be approximately 2 weeks after receipt of the box, including installation, configuration, testing and migration to production. There will be a minimal operational impact given System Administrator Andre Dalle's experience with the same model terminal server we recently put into place. We will need to adapt the modem sharing software that Jim Elder wrote to the new boxes. As before, we would publicize the upgrade internally via the NCF portal page, newsgroups, MOM messages, and in the online newsmagazine The Communicator. Additionally, once the new terminal servers have proven to be effective, we would publicize this fact externally through local news media. I have performed a careful risk analysis as part of this process. Among the things considered were the ability to fund the purchase, the future availability of broadband services in the region, and availability of the required equipment for Phase II and beyond. It is my judgment that the risk is minimal and therefore acceptable. Therefore I recommend this plan because it is the best option available to us to ensure reliable dial up access to our members.