WiscNet Employs VisualRoute in Efforts to Improve Service and Lower Costs From surfing the web and exchanging e-mail to video conferencing and
inter-school networking, WiscNet provides Internet services and technology for
the State of Wisconsin. WiscNet is a membership cooperative that caters to
regional education, research and government entities, providing service to over
500 member organizations. WiscNet's mission is to provide high quality, high
value, network technology and services to the members of the cooperative.
Services offered by WiscNet include Web hosting, e-mail, Internet video
conferencing, Internet2, and inter-school networking - services that link
classrooms and public agencies across Wisconsin to one another and the world
beyond. The WiscNet network consists of interconnected POPs (point-of-presence
locations) at geographically and demographically distributed locations across
the state, serving institutions such as the University of Wisconsin and its 26
campuses, as well as private colleges, the Wisconsin Technical College System,
and K-12 schools. In addition, libraries, hospitals, and state and local
government agencies rely on WiscNet for Internet access and critical information
services.WiscNet operates an ATM-based OC-3/OC-12 data network. Internet access is made available through the interconnection of WiscNet's statewide network to many Tier 1, 2 and 3 Internet service providers. Information services such as Web hosting, e-mail list management services and video conferencing are supplied through partnerships with other institutions and service providers. The Problem WiscNet's goal was to provide more technical support more efficiently. The difficulty is that the Internet is a very big, often misunderstood space: a resource request originates at an individual's workstation, and extends through the WiscNet members Local Area Network (LAN), the WiscNet network, and then often through four or more other Internet service providers on the commodity Internet before the target resource is located. Many individuals are unable to visualize the distinction between these "hops" of the Internet path. What they would see is the Internet as "working" or "broken", and in either case they would see WiscNet as responsible. Explaining difficulties associated with the Internet (such as slow performance or inability to reach a particular web site) was often a time consuming task for both members and WiscNet technicians. With any Internet connection, the root of a slowdown or access problem could be at the end-user location, in the intermediary Internet routing or with the end-point destination-and determining where the problem lies is the first step of problem resolution. When a member contacted WiscNet with a problem report, WiscNet technicians would often request that a member run a variety of tests using standard command line utilities that were unfamiliar to the end-user and often resulted in diagnostic information that was difficult to read and communicate. This process frequently ended in lengthy support calls that could leave both parties frustrated. Craig Stephenson, WiscNet's manager of new services, began to look for a means to provide technical support more efficiently. Optimally, the tools would demystify and illustrate the Internet and Internet issues and enable self-directed network troubleshooting. When a problem was reported, a standard set of diagnostic information could then be easily communicated to WiscNet support staff for evaluation. The Solution After researching many available options, the WiscNet ToolBox was born. The ToolBox, offered at no charge to WiscNet members, enables self-directed network troubleshooting of common online problems by WiscNet member technical contacts, enhances communication between WiscNet member technical contacts and WiscNet support staff, and promotes mutual aid among member technical contacts. Members can easily download the ToolBox from the WiscNet site, and then install it in one easy step. One of the most popular tools in the ToolBox is VisualRoute, a graphical traceroute tool developed by Turlock, Calif.-based Visualware, which automatically determines precisely when and how data is flowing between two points on the Internet. Using VisualRoute, WiscNet members can view results of traceroute, ping and whois utilities in an easy-to-read table. VisualRoute also has the unique ability to identify the geographical location of routers, servers and other IP devices, and plot the path on a World map. The map helps users to follow the actual path of a connection, and is often used to help identify network intruders and determine security risks. "Since WiscNet began offering the ToolBox in early 2002, the response among the membership has been tremendous", says Stephenson. "Members like VisualRoute so much because it's fast, easy to use and provides a visual picture of the path of an Internet connection and where data packets are being lost. Instead of looking at lines of complicated text and command output to determine the source of a problem, users are able to quickly see a graphical view of where the problem is occurring. In addition, WiscNet members are using VisualRoute to detect problems within their own networks and to trace suspicious online activity." Kika Barr, WiscNet's technical support staff manager, says VisualRoute is reducing the amount of time her technical team spends on service-related telephone calls, because members' technical representatives can often use the information to solve problems on their own. But if members can't interpret a problem, VisualRoute allows them to run traceroutes, save the results as a .jpg or .html file, which can be easily e-mailed to WiscNet for further analysis. "The ToolBox and VisualRoute has enabled WiscNet to provide more technical support more efficiently. That is, more good information communicated in less time", says Barr. "The beauty of the VisualRoute utility is that it's easy to use and understand-it actually shows you the Internet. Previously, our staff would spend a considerable amount of time on a call and often find the problem was local to the member's site or with another provider on the commodity Internet. Being able to pinpoint and communicate that information right away saves considerable time and allows us to notify the appropriate support service quickly." Stephenson says VisualRoute and the WiscNet ToolBox are turning out to be a great educational tool for WiscNet member organizations. Not only can members determine on their own where a bottleneck is occurring along the Internet backbone, but they're able to get a better idea about how the Internet and the Web works, as it provides a graphical representation of how packets of information travel along the Internet. Tom Nykl, Technical Coordinator for the Tomorrow River School District, displays the ToolBox applications including VisualRoute on a large monitor while teaching users (faculty and students) about the Internet or networking concepts. "It really helps students and teachers understand the Internet when they can see the traffic move from one place to another", he notes. "I recall when a class was studying this past Winter Olympics and we lost connectivity to the official web site one of the days. By using Visual Route I could show the students why we could not access the site -- the connection in Rome was down for a few hours." |