Thomas Völl and Mirko Bollenberg during interview
Source: Own illustration
Mirko Bollenberg and Thomas Völl work as a team in the IT Center’s technical field service. For almost four years, the two have been traveling to university-wide assignments and, together with their colleagues, maintaining and expanding the RWTH’s communications infrastructure. In this interview, they tell us what their day-to-day work looks like, what tasks the “Networks” department is responsible for, and how the pandemic is affecting field support.
Janin: Which department of the IT Center do you work in? What is it responsible for? Which group do you belong to and what are your daily tasks?
Thomas and Mirko: We belong to the Networks department, specifically the Support group. The Networks department runs the communication infrastructure of RWTH Aachen University and consists of 5 groups:
Communication & Mobility takes care of the telephone system, the WLAN infrastructure, VPN and certificates to verify people.
Planning & Infrastructure is responsible for the planning of the network structure, the building infrastructure of the IT Center, for access security and alarm systems as well as for the documentation of the data and power network.
NOC Network Operations ensures the operation and management of the network technology (fault, configuration, statistics, performance and security management), the operation of X-Win, i.e. the connection of the RWTH to the German Research Network, and operates the Datacenter Network, which connects all servers operated in the IT Center to the network.
Project Control & Organization is responsible for project control, quality management, information security, hardware logistics, committee and user information.
We belong to the Support group and are responsible for the technical field service, the physical data network infrastructure and the telephony infrastructure. We take care of telephone, data technology and data line fault clearance, commissioning of new equipment and general installation work. In addition, we implement the network renewal at RWTH. This will ensure a future-proof central network infrastructure, support mobile working in research and teaching, and migrate the entire telecommunications system to Voice over IP. The individual buildings of the university are thus receiving new network technology piece by piece.
We coordinate the tasks that arise in our group every morning in a team meeting. Over time, the individual teams have developed a focus on specific tasks, which is why the tasks are divided between the different teams of two. One team is more concerned with fault clearance, the others more with the old telephone system, the other with the new telephone system and one or two teams are usually busy with the network renewal. However, this can also vary depending on how much day-to-day business is involved and which tasks have to be completed in the course of the network renewal.
Janin: How does the Networks department ensure the function of the RWTH communication network? How does the cooperation of the individual groups work?
Thomas and Mirko: The function is ensured by redundancy concepts. This means, for example, that buildings are not only connected to the network via one line route and connection point. In addition, we keep detailed documentation of the networks, the structure of which is subject to regular reviews. In the course of this, we consider what can be optimized, for example, with regard to the state of the art or because of possible safety risks that may arise.
In addition, our active network monitoring helps us to react promptly in the event of a network failure.
The system is additionally supported by our on-call service. Thus, we are available 24/7 and are notified by alerting systems via email or SMS.
The cooperation of the groups is quite diverse. During the pandemic, unfortunately, personal contact has become very little, we talk on the phone a lot, but of course this does not replace personal contact. However, what has really worked very well during this time is chatting with each other.
We often need help from a certain group of people. For example, if a change needs to be made to the switch configuration, we can let the whole group know quickly and efficiently via chat, and the person who has a moment to spare will implement the change. In general, however, we work with a ticket system. The orders and faults come to us via tickets and can thus also be forwarded to other people or groups. The short exchange via chat has proven itself for short-term things that need to be done quickly, though.
Janin: Why do you usually go on missions in two teams?
Thomas and Mirko: For disruptions or new installations, it is often the case that we have to take action at both ends of the line. Alone, that would be very time-consuming, as one person would then have to constantly drive back and forth. It also often happens that we have to trace cables inside network cabinets or rows of cabinets; these are often very full, so this would be very difficult on our own. Then there is the installation of equipment. Switches can weigh up to 80 kg and are often bulky and heavy. Therefore, setting them up alone is very difficult. That’s why the 2-team system has proven itself over many years.
Janin: On average, how many customers do you drive to in a day?
Thomas and Mirko: That’s really very hard to say and also depends on what we have planned for the day. For example, if we’re taking care of network renewal, we’ll be at an institution for several days. But even with day-to-day operations, we often don’t have direct contact with customers. We are often only in the server or LAN rooms. However, if we are dealing, for example, with fault clearance/relocations or new installations, we naturally also have contact with the “end customer”. However, there is no general answer to this question.
Janin: What challenges and hurdles does customer support present, especially when many work from home offices? Are you sometimes faced with closed doors?
Thomas and Mirko: Yes, we actually have this problem more often. Usually we have a direct contact person, such as a staff member/an institute administrator or a janitor, who can open the rooms for us. But that is not always the case. Sometimes there is no one on site and we have to make another appointment. However, the current situation also has some advantages for us. Particularly in the course of the network renewal, it is very practical if we can move freely around the building. This means we can move from office to office without disturbing anyone and install the new technology.
In addition, the institutes’ demand for VPN technology was very high last year, so that as many employees as possible can work from their home offices. Through this technology, employees can then access drives and resources as if they were sitting in the office.
Another challenge is the procurement of hardware. We often order large quantities, and because of the pandemic, there are frequent delivery problems or production stoppages.
Janin: What changes/measures have you taken to respond to the current situation?
Thomas and Mirko: We have stayed in the office as little as possible and have minimized face-to-face contact with other teams. We stayed strictly in our team of 2 and didn’t mix teams. On larger projects, it actually happens from time to time that we are on site with several teams at the same time. But we kept that to an absolute minimum to reduce the risk of a breakdown. When customers have been encountered on site, the rooms have been ventilated before and after, and of course we have complied with the applicable protection ordinance.
We would like to thank Thomas and Mirko for the interview and the impressions into the net world of the RWTH.
Responsible for the content of this article are Thomas Völl, Mirko Bollenberg and Janin Vreydal.
