2008 Woodie Awards
Possible boost for campus internet
Elizabeth Stahl
Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: News
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Director of Network and Service Systems Mark Young is currently reviewing options for an expansion of campus Internet connections. Immediate and more long-term strategies are being discussed for improvement of Internet speed, applications and disaster readiness.
Campus community Internet use has been increasing relative to last year, and an average of 75 percent of an available 24 megabites of bandwidth are utilized over a given 24 hour period. This high demand for access has noticeably slowed Internet connection and navigating speeds.
In addition, periods such as the one-and-a-half day downtime due to the windstorm at the end of last semester have highlighted the need for a network disaster-recovery plan.
The university currently purchases all of its internet bandwidth from Internet service provider (ISP) Integra Telecom.
One of the components of the proposal involves purchasing ten or eleven additional megabites of bandwidth from Integra or another ISP that would meet the escalating needs of campus Internet users.
Young plans to increase bandwidth before the end of the semester, to reflect what is available within the OIS budget.
"We'll see a change this term," Young said, referring to the higher navigating speed that is expected to accompany the increase in bandwidth before the end of the semester.
Yet increasing bandwidth alone may not be an effective long-term solution. "To make [campus Internet use] as reliable as possible and survive a disaster of any magnitude, we need to invest in a second Internet connection," Young said.
Part of Young's proposal involves adding a second Internet connection to the existing network and redirecting Internet traffic to create a more efficient system.
Possible configurations include using one connection for ResNet and the second connection for administrative and educational use.
The inclusion of an additional connection has not been finalized, and OIS is faced with several choices as far as ISPs are concerned.
Campus community Internet use has been increasing relative to last year, and an average of 75 percent of an available 24 megabites of bandwidth are utilized over a given 24 hour period. This high demand for access has noticeably slowed Internet connection and navigating speeds.
In addition, periods such as the one-and-a-half day downtime due to the windstorm at the end of last semester have highlighted the need for a network disaster-recovery plan.
The university currently purchases all of its internet bandwidth from Internet service provider (ISP) Integra Telecom.
One of the components of the proposal involves purchasing ten or eleven additional megabites of bandwidth from Integra or another ISP that would meet the escalating needs of campus Internet users.
Young plans to increase bandwidth before the end of the semester, to reflect what is available within the OIS budget.
"We'll see a change this term," Young said, referring to the higher navigating speed that is expected to accompany the increase in bandwidth before the end of the semester.
Yet increasing bandwidth alone may not be an effective long-term solution. "To make [campus Internet use] as reliable as possible and survive a disaster of any magnitude, we need to invest in a second Internet connection," Young said.
Part of Young's proposal involves adding a second Internet connection to the existing network and redirecting Internet traffic to create a more efficient system.
Possible configurations include using one connection for ResNet and the second connection for administrative and educational use.
The inclusion of an additional connection has not been finalized, and OIS is faced with several choices as far as ISPs are concerned.
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