K-20 Network Technical Steering Committee
Meeting Minutes – August 15, 2006
1:35 – 3:10 PM
Voting Members present:
 SBCTC - Michael Scroggins, Chair
 OSPI – Marty Daybell
 Council of Presidents – Steve Paulson (proxy for Terry Teale)
 HEC Board - David Mitchell
 ESD Representative - Jeff Andrews (proxy for Tim Merlino)
 Industry Representative - Frank Leeds
 DIS – Roland Rivera
Voting Members absent:
 None
Others Present:
 DIS – Tom Tucker
 WSL – Gary Bortel
 WSU – Ralph Hogan, Don Peters, Rick Wagner
 CIS – Kevin Parr, Ed Vervoort
 Seattle Pacific University – David Tindall
 Timberland Regional Library – Gwen Culp
 K-20 Staff - Tom Carroll, Susan Tenkhoff, Jennifer Van Orman, Patricia Thronson, Patty
Yates, Michael Evans
1. Introductory Remarks. Chair Michael Scroggins called the meeting to order at 1:35 PM.
2. New Member Introduction. Chair Michael Scroggins mentioned that there were some new
attendees at the NTSC Meeting, including Roland Rivera of DIS and Patty Yates at the Program
Office, so everyone at the local and remote sites introduced themselves to the group.
3. Approval of Minutes. It was moved and seconded that the minutes from the June 21, 2006
meeting be approved as amended. Approved unanimously.
4. Action Item Follow up: NCI Contract Status. Mike Scroggins mentioned that at the June
2006 NTSC meeting, the group voted to move the NCI contract to the K-20 Operations
Cooperative. The UW issued a purchase order agreement with NCI effective July 1, 2006, and
the contract staff have been operating under that agreement continuing their work in support of K20. Mike Scroggins remarked that for operational purposes, everything has been business as
usual, and Tom Carroll concurred.
5. Action Item Follow up: NTSC Review of all K-20 Support Functions. Mike Scroggins
reminded the group that the other action item the NTSC voted to support at the June 2006
meeting is a review of all K-20 support functions during the next year. Mike added that additional
information on this topic will be brought to the group at future meetings and members may be
asked to participate in one or more subcommittees as part of that effort.
6. K-20 Executive Director Report. Tom Carroll reported that Connie Michener was at the
Lariat Summit at Montana State University, and the event was focused on connecting minority
service providing educational institutions. In her absence, Tom provided the Director’s report.
Tom told the group that the K-20 office staff members continue to visit customers across the
state. Connie and Tom visited ESD171 in July to discuss the ESD’s experiences with fast
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Ethernet service over the past few years, as well as to discuss other K-20 issues. Connie and
Tom also joined Steve Paulson and Brad Jordan at a meeting with Lake Washington School
District engineering staff. Michael Evans visited WSU Pullman to meet with Academic Media
Services staff in August, and Connie and Tom had planned to travel to Walla Walla Community
College on August 10th, but their flight was canceled due to the increased terrorism alert level.
Instead, Connie and Tom joined the ITC Meeting via video conference from the K-20 Program
Office along with SPSCC President Gerald Pumphrey – who also experienced a flight
cancellation that day. K-20 staff also met with representatives from the Seattle Art Museum,
discussing the possibility of the UW sponsoring a K-20 connection for the museum. Tom
mentioned there are also strong ties between the Gates Foundation and the UfW that might add
synergy to this effort. Mike Scroggins remarked that Senator Kohl-Welles is very interested in the
ongoing discussions regarding the museum and K-20, and Tom added that the senator has been
involved in the recent dialogue. Tom mentioned that the web site design process has moved into
the content creation phase and that some elements of the new site will be shown at the next K-20
board meeting. He also mentioned that the Next Generation Network procurement process
continues to require a significant time commitment for those involved with the project. Tom
explained that because of recent challenges and technology considerations relating to initiatives
across K-20, staff met with representatives from Polycom recently to discuss ongoing technical
challenges as well as new technologies, such as high-definition image quality support and
example applications. Mike Scroggins asked if there are any new technologies coming out that
might tie in with the Qwest settlement funded video equipment acquisition. Tom replied that he
didn’t think so, and added that some of the technologies are pretty high-end and would probably
be best suited for niche applications, such as telemedicine. Tom also told the group that he and
Connie Michener briefed both Dr. Purce and OFM education budget staff after the June K-20
Board Meeting. Mike Scroggins asked about the possibility of viewing the new K-20 web content
before the next board meeting, and Tom said that was certainly a possibility. Marty Daybell
suggested that submitting the K-20 Strategic Plan might be timed to coincide with the K-20
Budget submission. Tom Carroll remarked that because of OFM’s involvement with the budget
development process, K-20 had to brief both the budget analyst and her boss on the entire
budget and how it fits into K-20’s strategy. Tom added that he will look into the possibility of
attaching the strategic plan to the budget request. He commented that a major focal point of the
discussion has been the integration of the Next Generation Network project into the process
without the need for a special appropriation. Steve Paulson mentioned that while accompanying
Connie and Tom on recent visits with K-20 customers, he has observed first-hand the value of
such visits to the end-users and the appreciation the user community has for being able to ask
detailed questions with K-20 representatives in person. Mike Scroggins remarked that sector
users are becoming more aware of K-20 now and how it relates to their customer needs.
7. Qwest Residual Fund Update. Tom Carroll reported that both the K-20 board and Qwest
settlement partners approved the list of proposed projects, the results were reported to all those
who submitted project proposals, interagency agreements were nogotiated and executed, and the
funds have been received by K-20. With all of those steps completed, Tom added that everything
is in place to move forward with the projects. Marty Daybell asked whether or not the projects
involve partnering among the educational sectors, and Tom replied that the video equipment,
Eastern Washington GigaPOP portal, and WAMI projects all meet this criteria. Marty asked if
additional coordination needs to take place among the sectors, and Tom replied that the video
equipment project probably requires the most coordination and that Dennis Small, as the project
manager for that effort, is providing much of that coordination. Mike Scroggins mentioned that he
will work with Terry and Marty to keep the process moving, and added that he wants to see the
funds put to use as soon as possible. In support of that goal, Mike added that he hopes the NTSC
will receive regular updates on the completion status of all of the projects associated with the
Qwest settlement money.
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8. NGN Project Update. Frank Leeds explained that the group is finalizing the RFQ for the Next
Generation Architecture (for the backbone) to be released on August 21st, and responses from
the vendors will be due on October 2nd. Frank added that the group is hoping to have all contracts
executed, after the Apparently Successful Vendors have been notified, by the end of November.
At that point, the group will begin placing orders so that the new network implementation and
transition can be completed by the end of June 2007. Roland Rivera commended Frank and the
group for doing such a great job on a very difficult and complex project. Mike Scroggins added
that the project is a good example of a truly collaborative effort. Frank added that the additional
procurements that need to be addressed by the group are the secondary transport and a refresh
of the Ethernet services.
9. IP Video Discussion. Mike Scroggins explained that the transition to IP video is changing the
way institutions handle video conferencing issues, and asked for a report on progress within the
NTSC Video Working Group regarding the development of documentation to support institutions
planning and conducting the ISDN to IP video transition process. Michael mentioned that an
executive summary of the working group’s documentation efforts has been sent to the NTSC
attendees along with a web link to the version 9 draft document. Michael added that Mike
Scroggins and the NTSC tasked the Video Working Group with pulling information from a variety
of sources together into a single document that would explain the transition process from a K-20
perspective. Michael explained that the size of the working group has recently been expanded,
helping to increase the collective knowledge of the group and providing a broader representation
of the K-20 community to the group efforts. Michael explained that the document takes the
reader through the different components of the ISDN to IP transition process, and also provides
supplemental detailed information in several appendices. Steve Paulson remarked that
completing the document required a lot of research and effort in order to create an end product
that is useable and useful. Steve added that K-20 faces a lot of future challenges with regard to
the ISDN to IP transition and observed that the lessons learned by early adopters don’t always
lend themselves to being easily absorbed and utilized by those who are still making or preparing
to make the transition. Steve explained that part of the purpose of the document is to support
users who encounter unexpected difficulties with their network infrastructure while implementing
IP video. He mentioned that the document will likely grow and change as new institutions begin
using IP video and share their experiences and new technologies can be expected to necessitate
additional documentation as well. Marty Daybell asked whether training will be included as part of
this process. Tom Carroll explained that the ISDN to IP transition white paper is one part of the
process, and training - such as the training being included in the project for acquiring endpoint
equipment through the use of Qwest settlement funds - is another component. Michael Evans
added that the document is as much about assessing existing network infrastructure, developing
communication among various departments, and determining end-user needs before buying new
video equipment, as it is about the actual transition process. Roland Rivera asked whether the
site’s connectivity to the K-20 backbone is considered as part of the transition process, and
Susan Tenkhoff explained that through working with the individual institutions on their bandwidth
and budgetary requirements, adjustments can be made as required. Susan also explained that
the transition to fast Ethernet connectivity at many K-20 institutions has helped to make the
process of meeting institutional needs more flexible and scalable. Tom mentioned that tools such
as the K-20 traffic graphs are helpful in assessing the status of each institution’s K-20
connectivity. Steve Paulson pointed out that the transition to IP brings with it the likelihood of
larger numbers of endpoints in more diverse locations and the resulting increased bandwidth
demands. Mike Scroggins asked if the document was ready to be distributed or instead required
additional work. Michael Evans explained that the general consensus of the working group is that
the document is ready for distribution now, with the expectation that it will probably need to
continue to be updated and revised on a regular basis. Mike Scroggins asked for the group’s
approval to distribute the document to K-20 users as a first version. Jeff Andrews mentioned that
the VITUs are meeting on August 24th and he hoped that their feedback would be incorporated as
well. Marty Daybell mentioned that the origin of the document creation process did not begin with
an official action item, and suggested that the working group be given authority to distribute the
document appropriately. The group agreed that sending out the draft version 9 to the sectors and
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then revising the document to a final first version after the August 24 th VITU meeting was a good
approach. David Tindall suggested breaking the document into sections and posting it on the web
to share the information in a very accessible manner. Mike Scroggins added that providing
introductory information that the document would be revised and managed by the K-20 Program
Office as well as contact information would be helpful as well. Tom Carroll mentioned that these
suggestions fit well with the format envisioned for the new K-20 website. Mike Scroggins asked
how the ISDN to IP transition has gone for WSU, and Ralph Hogan mentioned that the university
has been very active recently converting their video conferencing service to an IP environment,
and the team has faced challenges and learned a lot along the way. Ralph added that in January
of 2006, WSU was about 90% of the way through the IP transition process, and for the upcoming
semester they will be 100% transitioned to IP.
10. Fast Ethernet Implementation. Susan Tenkhoff told the group that of the 65 sites included
in the current fast Ethernet procurement, the vendor work has been completed at 46 of the sites.
38 of those sites have passed K-20 testing and 8 are in the queue for testing. Of the remaining 19
sites, there are eight that are expected to be completed during the month of August, and the
remaining 11 sites will require additional time and effort to be finished. Susan added that the K-20
office has been working with the sectors to determine any action that needs be taken to ensure
institutional bandwidth requirements are met while vendor work is completed at these locations.
Susan explained that the project is going very well as a whole and that the vendors have been
responsive to customer needs throughout the process.
11. Chair’s Report. No new items.
12. New Business. Mike Scroggins mentioned that a new T-1 request for the Community
Colleges of Spokane at The Hillyard Center will require NTSC approval. Roland Rivera asked if
all new K-20 circuits need to be approved by the NTSC, and Mike Scroggins explained that new
service addresses need to be approved not additional circuits for an existing service address.
Mike asked for a motion to approve the new ISDN video T-1 for the Community Colleges of
Spokane, and a motion was made by Steve Paulson and seconded by Marty Daybell. The group
voted unanimously to approve the new circuit service address.
12. Roundtable. David Tindall of Seattle Pacific University asked about the impact of CLEA on
K-20. Mike Scroggins mentioned that the NTSC has discussed CLEA before and both Mike and
Steve Paulson suggested that the topic be put on the agenda for the next NTSC Meeting. Mike
also noted that Jennifer Van Orman will be leaving the K-20 Program Office in September, and
thanked her for her efforts in support of the K-20 network.
Meeting adjourned at 3:10 PM.
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