High Lights of the discussion upon "TKMCE Networking " 

conducted in TKMCE on 5th & 6th August 2005

Moderator:- Mr.Syam S Pillai, Global IT Chief Habib Bank AG Zurich

Participants from TKM Management:-

(1) Janab.S.H.Musaliar, Chairman, TKM Trust

(2) Janab.Jalaludeedn Musaliar, Treasurer of  TKM Trust

Participants from College/Parent Chapter:-

(1) Dr.M.C.Philipose, Principal of TKMCE and Chairman of the Parent Chapter.

(2) Mr.Muhammed Kasim .S, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Electrical & Electronics

Participants from TAGA:-

(1) Mr.A.R.Satheesh, Chair Person

(2) Mr.Jameskutty Thomas, General Secretary

(3) Dr.K.K.Abdul Rasheed, Treasurer

(4) Mr.Suresh.E.S, Steering Committee Member & UAE TAGA representative.

(1) Internet Connectivity

A proposal from BSNL to provide 2M (1:4) connectivity was finalized. The following factors were considered when taking this decision.
(a) In addition to the 25% discount offered to educational institutions, it was possible to get another 25% discount. (I was told by Mr. Sadaruddin that he received the approval for a total of 50% discount later).
(b) Even though the line bandwidth sharing is 1:4, since there are no such takers in the Karikode region, we effectively get 1:1.
(c) BSNL had problem providing connectivity upto Karicode earlier, but this was resolved recently.
(d) Being BSNL a Govt organization, gave more confidence than other private providers (During the discussion, Chairman had pointed out that they had bad experience with even Tata).

Mr. Sadaruddin called Mr.Syam later to tell that BSNL is ready to install the line and once we purchase the Router and Digital Modem (Comment from Mr.Syam:- We use here the term 'digital modem' , though we know digital modem is not a modem! We could see that everyone including the provider uses this term!!), we can get the connection.

If they follow the normal purchasing procedure of the college of obtaining 3 quotations etc, it may take longer to get it. So, we suggested to get it from ebay at a cheaper rate. If any one of our members wants to contribute they can buy it and send it to the college (or can be carried to India since this is a small equipment) so that customs duty need not be paid. Any decent model from CISCO is enough.

Any router model (need not be the latest) with one WAN port (V35 interface) is OK. The Digital Modem must be bought in pairs because BSNL wants us to purchase it for both the ends.

Please note that obtaining these equipments is VERY URGENT.

Annual Charges for the Internet connection from BSNL.

It is having two components:

(i) Leased line charge - Rs 24,149/- (Annual)

(ii) Port Charge

BSNL have asked to intimate them the payment option (Quarterly or Monthly). 

(2) Network and Security Setup

Our suggestion was to use Linux machines whereever possible to make the environment more secure. (Comment from Mr.Syam:-Since I am a user of SuSE Linux Professional, I
suggested that I can keep sending them the latest versions if they use SuSE Linux. I have already sent the DVD of SuSE Prof 9.3 to Mr. Sadaruddin).

A Linux machine can act as the firewall (iptables) sitting just behind the router. This machine can be configured to control traffic too including proxy, prioritization of packets etc.

In order to decide on a more robust design of traffic, we needed all the departmental network details, their applications that access the outside world and their bandwidth requirements. This information is not yet received. (There are few applications currently exist in the library and other departments).

Suggestion from Mr.Syam is to run Squid as the proxy server.

(3) Applications

Apart from the general browsing, a mail and collaboration application is suggested. Mr.Syam's suggestion is to use desknow (http://www.desknow.com). An unlimited user version of this will cost around US$ 1,200/- (after deducting discount for educational institutions).

DeskNow Mail and Collaboration server is a full featured and easy to use server that can handle all the communication and collaboration needs. It can integrate mail server, webmail, secure instant messaging, online document sharing, group calendars, discussion forums, mobile access and much more. The basic version of DeskNow Mail and Collaboration server is completely free. The Professional version offers advanced features like secure instant messaging, wireless access from PocketPC, Palm and WAP, SSL encryption, advanced mail filters and webfolders at a very competitive price. The
optional Outlook Connector allows full integration with Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts, to bring you a complete groupware solution at a fraction of the cost of other similar products. DeskNow Mail and Collaboration server can be installed in minutes, on Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, etc. All full list of features of this application can be obtained from http://desknow.com/desknowmc /features.html

A full-fledged version can be downloaded and tested free of cost and Mr. Sadaruddin told that he will try it out himself. (Comment from Mr.Syam:- Even though, I promised him another visit to the college, I couldn't made it because of my personal issues).

(4) Hardware

Mr. Sadarrudin mentioned that he can free up machines needed for setting up the environment. He said he only had to upgrade the memory on a couple of machines.

The mail server can have RAID (Linux software RAID if BIOS level/hardware RAID is not available on the machine) configured for redundancy.

Mr.Syam also suggested to use MIMs (Multiple Inexpensive Machines) technology based
on LVS technology to scale up the environment when load increases. (Comment from Mr.Syam:- I can personally go there to set up this once the initial setup is ready).

(5) Other points

It was suggested that Hot Spots can be created at hostels because it is convenient and relatively inexpensive. However, access can be provided only via MAC address authentication. (WEP is not a good mechanism since users can leak out KEY to their friends outside).

A technical committee including the staff (and students?) may be formed to divide the responsibilities to maintain and administer the network.

Discuss, how we can support further for the TKMCE Netorking project. Forward your suggestions/contributions to network@tkmce.net in this noble cause.

regards

GS, TAGA