No matter where you are on Texas State University’s 3,988 acres, if you tap a smartphone, move a mouse, or type on a keyboard, the internet appears. At Texas State, connectivity is as omnipresent as air. Wireless connection, though, takes wires. Lots of wires. Bundles of wires the diameter of small tree trunks. In fact, wireless access for just the San Marcos and Round Rock campuses, the Freeman Center outside San Marcos, and the Texas State University System offices in Austin, relies on the installation and maintenance of over 30 million feet of cable, a length about twice the width of the United States.
Reliability
The Network Operations department, part of Technology Resources in the Division of Information Technology, is a small but mighty group of 28 dedicated professionals who maintain the telecommunications, networks, and systems needed to keep Texas State’s campuses communicating, connected, and secure. The department has three teams: Telecommunications, Network Administration, and Systems Administration. Together, these units serve as the launchpad for all things digital. This means without Network Operations, we would lose conveniences such as internet access, office phones, card reader access, building security cameras, servers, data storage, high-performance computing, and redundant databases. Network Operations is a tight-knit group of individuals and teams whose unified mission is to keep Texas State connected.
Efficiency
Let’s say an independent vendor causes a break somewhere along Texas State’s 30 million feet of cables, making wireless access unavailable. One of the three cabling experts on the Telecommunications team answers the call to diagnose the problem, track down the physical wiring issue, and repair it. To put this ratio in perspective, think of it this way: For every 10,000 technology-users on Texas State’s campuses, there is one Network Operations cabling specialist. This ratio bears repeating: 10,000 to 1. These professionals brave murky utility holes, climb through dusty ceilings, and pull cables through walls to create, support, and service connectivity. What Network Operations lacks in number, they more than make up for in collaboration. Members from each team train and cross train with other teams to offer unfailing reciprocal support and backup.
Teamwork
Network Operations’ Telecommunications unit is tasked with ensuring our telephones, card readers, and security cameras—anything with wires—work and can be found quickly for servicing. The Network Administration team, a unit of six, oversees networking equipment like switches, routers, and Wi-Fi. This team supports internet connections and makes sure buildings and remote sites can communicate with each other. The Systems Administration team’s 10-person unit oversees servers found in three data centers across Texas State. This team handles file storage, database servers, web servers, and all servers running university email. The Systems Administration team also sets up servers for each new application or system acquired by the university, applies patches and software upgrades, runs backups on every system, and restores data from backups when needed.
Dedication
The Network Operations department manages a trio of data centers. These data centers combine to house approximately 1,100 servers. Network Operations keeps these data centers running, and if a shutdown is needed, secure. During the now infamous Winter Storm Uri of 2021, impassable roads and drained fuel stores resulted in power failures at two of the three data centers. When it became apparent power for the remaining data center would soon deplete, Network Operations refused to risk data loss or corruption. To avoid catastrophic data failures, a Network Operations technician volunteered to endure freezing temperatures, wind, and ice, walking to campus to execute the data center’s complex power-down sequence. Few students, faculty, or staff ever knew of these events. By the time temperatures rose and the campus community returned, data had been restored, servers were back online, and the business of education resumed seamlessly. This unheralded act of service exemplifies the quiet and steadfast dedication of the entire Network Operations department.
Commitment
The stated mission of Network Operations is to “provide accessible, reliable, and sustainable voice and data communications services to enable the Texas State community to meet their business, teaching, learning, and research goals.” For Network Operations professionals, this mission is a calling. Every member of this department takes deep pride in their collective ability to support Texas State’s students, faculty, and staff. Each time you connect to the internet, save data, or make a call from an office phone anywhere on our nearly 4,000 acres, a team of communications professionals not only laid the foundations for your connections, but stand by, day and night, year-round, committed to supporting your success.
Kimberly Conner is a copy editor in the IT Marketing and Communications office.
