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Watt app j &e Oanaaaa <br />MAYOR <br />Bill niesener <br />COUNCIL, <br />Rick Montour <br />Barbara Allan <br />John !Sets <br />Michael McGraw <br />515 Little Canada Roacl, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 ADMINISTRATOR <br />(651) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766 -4048 Joel R. Hanson <br />www. ci.little- canada. mn.us <br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Mayor Blesener and Members of the City Council <br />FROM: Vanessa Van Alstine, Cable Television Producer <br />DATE: July 3, 2008 <br />RE: Approve Purchase of Upgraded Network Switch <br />Staff, working with Roseville IT and CTV North Suburbs, have determined that the <br />network switch should be upgraded. This equipment takes the fiber optic signal from <br />Roseville and provides multiple connections for the Ethernet ports throughout the City <br />Center. <br />Reasons for upgrading: <br />1. Need for additional capacity. The current switch has 24 ports, the replacement will <br />have 48 ports. All 24 ports are currently in use, leaving no room for expansion. <br />The Cable Room currently requires 3 additional ports to properly support the video <br />equipment and computers. CTV plans to upgrade the transmission equipment <br />between the Little Canada Control Room and CTV Master Control from the current <br />aging analog modulator to new digital VBrick appliances. The VBricks will provide a <br />higher- quality signal for resident cable subscribers, permit remote support by CTV <br />staff, and replace very out -dated equipment. The digital equipment is owned by <br />NSAC (CTV) but installed at the City. Little Canada is next in line on CTV's list of <br />cities for this upgrade, and they have already purchased the equipment. The VBricks <br />do require a dedicated Ethernet port. If we do not replace the switch, we effectively <br />lose our place in line for the upgrade, and CTV's equipment will go to another city. <br />With an additional port, the editing Mac in the Cable Room can be assigned to <br />NSAC's network. This would allow greater network security because CTV is more <br />experienced with supporting Apple operating system computers than Roseville IT, <br />and it would make the Little Canada network PC -only which makes network support <br />simpler. Connecting the Mac to NSAC will provide better compatibility with CTV's <br />systems and access to their resources for editing video programs. <br />Beyond these immediate needs, additional port capacity will allow for future <br />computer connections throughout City Center, provide flexibility in routing, and <br />