[Tech-l] Important - Apple iOS Release Tomorrow

[Thor Sage]

Good Morning,
Apple will be releasing its new iOS 8 download on Wednesday, September 17th.  We fully expect a corresponding and dramatic increase in Internet traffic at the time of the release, just as we experienced last September with the release of iOS 7.  The MVECA network operations team will be monitoring traffic spikes closely as thousands of Apple devices begin downloading the update.  Here is a brief list of considerations and contingencies associated with this event.

1.       We believe that software updates for personal devices should not take priority over legitimate uses of our private network and overall network health.  Therefore, should it become necessary, MVECA will restrict access to the iOS download between the hours of 8:00 a.m and 3:00 p.m.  Access to the download will be fully available during the evening hours.  MVECA acknowledges that client organizations do have legitimate need of the iOS update, but we ask that you consider delaying the installation of the update until the initial rush is over.  Daytime access restrictions will only be in place for as long as is needed.  Bandwidth monitoring, and any subsequent decision to block access to the download, will occur daily.

2.       Client organizations are requested to inform their users that downloading of the iOS update on personal devices while at work or school should be avoided.  Personal devices should be updated at home whenever possible.

3.       Client organizations are also urged to block access to the update strategically.  Here are a few steps organizations can take:

a.       Blocking Apple IOS updates on guest networks: Apple iOS devices check for updates from mesu.apple.com; We are recommending that all organizations block this site on any content filtering appliance policy that applies to open Guest / BYOD networks. On MVECA's Trustwave Web Filter, this can be done using the Exception URL list under each policy.  You also may choose to block swcdn.apple.com, which is the URL for the update itself. The swcdn url is also involved in deploying applications thru iTunes, so proceed with caution if you are an IOS heavy district.

b.      Blocking Apple IOS updates on other networks:  If you do not use a central IOS update server or MDM for your district owned devices, consider blocking mesu.apple.com until traffic dies down. You can also add mesu.apple.com in a local host file for your MDM server to ensure that only your MDM system processes the update.  Not only will this protect your network connection, it will dramatically reduce the load on your Wifi Networks, preserving that capacity for instructional activities.Please notify NOC at mveca.org if you are completing online assessments using MAP, Pearson, or AIR. This will help us prioritize our network management to provide the best possible service for the most critical network activities.

c.       If you have a large number of IOS devices, consider deploying the Apple Caching Server on OSx. https://www.apple.com/support/osxserver/cachingservice/

If you have any questions about this upcoming network event or MVECA's approach to safeguarding network health in the most cost-effective way possible, please contact me directly (sage at mveca.org<mailto:sage at mveca.org>).
Thank you,
Thor

Thor Sage
Executive Director
Miami Valley Educational Computer Association
937-767-1468  x3101

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Not-for-profit Technology Services for Education and Local Governments


Subject: [UPDATE] Advisory regarding Apple iOS update

Apple has confirmed that iOS 8 will be made available for public download on Wednesday September 17th, 2014. There has been no information identifying specifically which content delivery network Apple will be using for this download, but it appears that Akamai may still be involved for this release. As was seen last year when Apple released iOS 7, clients experienced a much higher level of intra-Ohio traffic than normal, as Akamai has a server cache located on the OARnet network, and it is classified as intra-Ohio traffic. If Apple again uses Akamai for this update, clients can expect to see intra-Ohio traffic increase, and possibly reach their bandwidth caps. If Apple provides this download via its own content delivery network, then the increase in traffic will be in clients' commodity traffic.

OARnet will be monitoring our backbone traffic, and actively working to minimize impact to the network as a whole. However, the bottleneck for this traffic will again be at the client connection. Due to the distributed nature of these downloads, it is not possible for OARnet to block, or redirect, any of the Apple iOS upgrade traffic. We will be available to assist clients in whatever way we can to address issues, but be aware that utilization will likely be at or near 100% for some clients.

This is an informational advisory to make you aware of a potential bandwidth impact event. If you have questions or concerns about this, or any other issue, please contact us at support at oar.net<mailto:support at oar.net> or call 1-800-627-6420.

OARnet Service Desk
1224 Kinnear Road
Columbus, OH 43212
Phone: (800) 627-6420
Fax: (614) 292-9390
Email: support at oar.net<mailto:support at oar.net>

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