Transcript UoM+QUESTNET+and+AARNET+Billing+Presentation+v4x

UoM Data Billing Environment
Legacy and Refresh Systems
Cameron Shepherdley
[email protected]
Information Technology Services
Data Billing Business Case
• To on-charge internet data (off-net) usage charges (AARNET) in an
equitable form to associated organisations
– This includes “faculties”, non-academic departments and also
educationally affiliated organisations (external organisations)
• Equitable
– Equal fee charging is unfair, Student number basis is unfair, Volume
basis is best
• Service Model
– Part of an IT service-based model whereby services are charged on
a per-usage basis where possible
• Associated Services
– “Billing” ties in with quotoring, monitoring, traffic control etc
UoM Current Policy Environment
• Off-Net Subscription Fee subject to direct recovery from
Organisations
– On-net to be kept free to encourage research
– Not all organisations are billed
• Students are not charged for internet access
– Quotas are applied however
• Organisations are free to on-charge to sub departments
• Best to charge billed organisations for their proportional usage
– ie their ‘slice’ of the AARNET charge pie
Legacy Internet Access Environment
• Billing:
– AARNET Netflow logs sourced from AARNET border routers
– Custom UoM script based system to accumulate usage by sub-nets
– Integrates with IP Address Management System for subnet data
– Integrates with existing proxy in order to identify source IPs
– High maintenance and high risk. Unsupported.
– Invoicing process is highly manual
– Can’t do real time monitoring / analysis
Legacy Internet Access Environment
• Quotoring (students)
– Uses a proxy (squid)
– Proxy requires re-authentication of users when accessing the
internet
– Users must be forced through proxy via computer settings or network
controls
– Proxy creates problems for a wide variety of client software
– Proxy complicates the connection of user-owned devices i.e on the
wireless network
Removal of the proxy is a wider program goal
Legacy Internet Access Environment
Legacy Border Environment
AARNet
Fusion
Billing System Context
System Replacement Requirements
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Operate transparently for users and applications
Monitor usage from all source IPs
Identify individuals as well as owners of IPs
Calculate or assist in calculating proportionate bills
Manage quotoring including self-service information access for
individuals
Dynamically absorb changes in IPs and users
Be changeable as AARNET->UoM and UoM->Faculty charging models
change
Be close to real-time
Provide information to customer organisations as well as IT
Ability to integrate with finance systems
Produce a range of reports
System Replacement
• Procera PacketLogic devices in new internet gateway
– Log all traffic flows
– Can dynamically control traffic flows in real-time
• Obsidian JET billing software
– Software totally manages the Procera devices
– Integrates with authentication systems and identity stores
– Flexible
– Can implement traffic control via the Procera – ie quotoring, shaping
and bandwidth management. The new system will shape users who
expend their quota
• Same technology also used by Griffith. Implementation will be different
however.
System Replacement
AARNet
Replacement Border
Environment
Rebuild is incorporating
numerous new services in
addition to billing
failover
State
State
Enterprise
Border Direct
Enterprise
Fusion
Border Direct
Replacement System Project
• 3 Stages of implementation scheduled
– 1. Replace functionality of current system (IP billing only)
– 2. Implement quotoring for students (and remove network proxy)
– 3. Review all policies in light of new environment capabilities and the
information it is capturing
• Stage 1 & 2 to be delivered this year
• Production is dependant on build of new internet border
– Part of a wider program of work
Business Decisions / Problems
• Differences between AARNET -> UoM and UoM -> Faculty charging
– ie faculties prefer quarterly charging, post pay etc
• Differences between UoM -> Faculty charging and student
quotoring
– IT would like to quota 24/7 (ignore peak/off peak) to encourage
‘educational’ network use
• Many existing policies have developed as a result of limitations in
the legacy system
– Policies can now be reviewed (project phase 3)
Business Decisions / Problems
• Customer organisations want increasingly detailed information
– To potentially on-charge sub departments, projects or even
individuals
• Research groups want to bypass as much network equipment as
possible
– Procera PacketLogic will not see research traffic
– Jet to incorporate internal netflow analysis for specific subnets
Technical Decisions / Problems
• Exploitation of technological capability
– Depends on quality of IP address ownership data & identity
information.
– ie charging for guest and conference usage
– ie billing wireless network usage via ‘home’ organisations or central
cost centre (“Melbourne Model”)
• Future: charging cloud users (VMs)
– Linking temporary assignment of IPs to a virtual machine to the VM’s
owner (who may not exist in identity systems)
– Example: National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources
– Also single VIPs from Load Balancers
Summary
• Billing service is affected by
several factors
• For this reason each
University is likely to be
different
• Data available is a major
factor
• There are challenges to
solve that are probably
applicable to all universities
Q&A
• Thank you for listening
• Questions are welcome
© Copyright The University of Melbourne 2011