Readers Respond

CAUSE/EFFECT

Copyright 1997 CAUSE. From CAUSE/EFFECT Volume 20, Number 3, Fall 1997, pp. 62-64. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, the CAUSE copyright and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To disseminate otherwise, or to republish, requires written permission. For further information, contact Jim Roche at CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301 USA; 303-939-0308; e-mail: jroche@cause.org

Readers Respond

Question:
How is your institution addressing the issues related to universal network access (as framed in "A Framework for Universal Access," by William H. Graves, CAUSE/EFFECT Summer 1997, pages 48-52), i.e., providing all faculty and students convenient and affordable access to your campus network?

According to the William Graves article, there are five ingredients of universal access. Southeastern Louisiana University has addressed all five.

Connections between campus buildings -- Due to a massive campus cabling effort, each building on campus has multiple strands of multi-mode fiber optic cable connecting the building to all network services.

Connections from the campus network to off-campus programs -- We have three off-campus programs, and are in the process of addressing each of these with a WAN, giving excellent telephone, LAN, and video services.

Connections within buildings -- The focus of this year's infrastructure effort is to improve the building wiring by updating each building with Category 5 and RG-6 coax cable. These upgrades will be complete by May, 1998.

Mobile connections to the campus network by individuals-An RFP is being released to vendors this month requesting dial-up access to Internet and the campus network from anywhere in the United States. If successful, this service will be offered to the faculty, students, staff, and alumni. The goal is to reduce the cost for this service to about half of what is currently available from vendors.

Personal and convenient access to a computer-- Faculty and staff have personal and convenient access, students have access in all of the open labs (and some of the restricted ones). Initiatives are planned to have students purchase their own laptops. A student technology fee is planned for the fall; this will update all open labs and add student support on a large scale.

Mike Asoodeh
Assistant Vice President for Technology
asoodeh@selu.edu

Lindsay Reed
Senior Director
Administrative Computing
lindsay@selu.edu

Memorial University of Newfoundland completed a $4 million upgrade to its campus network in 1996, implementing an ATM connection to all 27 buildings on campus. A new 11,000 drop Category 5 wiring plant provides free network access to all offices, labs, etc. The network is rapidly becoming the university's foremost communications medium.

Off-campus service is provided through our own modem pool, which we choose to manage to a better than P.05 service level (i.e., first-ring answer) rather than charge or outsource this critical service at this time. This objective is accomplished through the use of an innovative quota system (see http://www.mun.ca).

We are working on the issue of student access and have been considering the "ThinkPad U" model. However, the academic community appears reluctant to consider such rigid standardization and the associated increased costs to the students. We rely heavily on TCP and believe that a free connection to the network gets the job done best. More aggressive promotion of student computer ownership is supported through customized financing arrangements, and on-campus sales, service, and support. Discipline-based computing courses are likely in the future.

Wilf Bussey
Director
Computing and Communications
wilf.bussey@mun.ca

At the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) we are implementing a strategic infrastructure initiative that will result in high-speed network service to all components of the campus.

In December of 1996 we completed the installation of switched Ethernet service to every location in our residence halls. All rooms (port per pillow) were connected using level-five twisted pair, and every location was activated. We completed 3,768 installations between June and December of 1996.

We are in the process of implementing level-five twisted pair to other campus buildings, including RIT-owned apartment complexes. This summer we are wiring five buildings, approximately 2,500 connections. We are in the process of doing the remainder of the academic and administrative areas, another 10,000 connections. We expect to complete these connections by December of 1997, and all connections will be switched Ethernet. Currently we are deploying 100-Mbps connections to servers and 10-Mbps connections to client machines.

The core of our network is currently switched FDDI using Digital Giga switches. Our Cisco routers form the second tier of our network, and the Cisco switched hubs form the third tier. We are limiting user counts to approximately 100 users per router port to ensure responsive service. Routers are located in controlled areas and will have UPS power systems to insure reliable operation.

RIT provides "dialip" access (dial service that supports IP protocol) through 168 56 kb modems and 80 28.8 modems. Access from the public telephone network is delivered directly to our computer room on fiber. We also have a campus contract to provide dialip service. We do not plan to increase our modem pool size. Instead we are encouraging our customers to aquire service through an ISP.

Ron Stappenbeck
Director
Information Systems and Computing
stappenbeckr@a1.isc.rit.edu

Wheaton College, in Norton, MA, has taken advantage of its moderate size, New England location, residential nature, and central control of technology decisions to provide its students, faculty, and staff with access to network resources that support its liberal arts mission.

Public labs, to guarantee a minimum level of access for all members of the college community. (Demand continues to grow even as personal ownership increases.)
A network outlet at every residence hall desk, in every office, every lab, and every teaching space-all college-owned computers connected to network.
Dial-in access through an ISP for non-resident students, faculty, and staff anywhere in New England, funded by the college. (Still need to address national coverage.)
Computer resale at minimal markup to encourage personal ownership, which is now greater than 85 percent, among entering students.
Standardization on Internet protocols for all services-every resource must be available through telnet, ftp, or WWW; every device must speak TCP/IP.
Central purchasing of all college-owned computers with a minimal number of configurations and a regular replacement cycle.

The above represents only the infrastructure: extensive education and support are necessary to turn mere availability of technology into true access to resources. That is where we are concentrating our energy.

David T. Caldwell
Director
Information Technologies & Services
david_caldwell@wheatonma.edu

NUSNET-III is the campuswide network of the National University of Singapore, supporting a user population of 27,000 including academic and administrative staff users and students. There are more than 6,000 network nodes interconnected by a high-speed ATM backbone with 100/10 Base-T switching to the host and desktop computers. It has been a long-term goal for the university to provide instant, convenient, affordable, and seamless access to a myriad of network services to every individual desktop computer, ranging from Web-based, multimedia and client-server applications to the most basic, but crucial, file and print services.

Free network and Internet access -- There are no usage or time-based charges at this moment for Internet and intranet access. Computer clusters with Pentium-based multimedia PCs and high-quality laser printers are available in the Computer Centre, faculties, libraries, and halls of residence for student use. Every academic staff is allocated a desktop PC with full multimedia capabilities.

Student systems on the Web -- Examination Result System allows Web access to the most sought information as a complement to the touch-tone telephone system implemented in 1995. Student Feedback System is an effective mechanism in collecting feedback via the Web on such things as course contents, presentation skills, and rating of the lecturers.

Lecture-on-demand -- Lectures from prominent visiting scholars and professors are recorded in a video-on-demand server to enable students to have convenient access at their own leisure. The system provides 30 frames per second and is able to support 100 sessions simultaneously.

E-mail and voice integration -- Currently, voice mail and e-mail reside on different systems, and users find it inconvenient to access them. It is an upcoming task to integrate the systems so that voice mail is retrievable via the e-mail system and notification through voice mail can be made once a new e-mail arrives. Telephone directory is online, and with the TAPI integration, a computer initiated call can be easily made.

Round-the-clock smart card access -- Selective computer clusters are accessible via smart card control without compromising the physical security in order to provide round-the-clock network services on the campus for students.

Network wiring to the residence halls -- Extending the network UTP wiring to every room of the residence halls provides an affordable and convenient access to the network at the comfort of the hostels.

Plug-and-play network access -- Live network outlets are made available in designated areas of the campus for students and faculty staff's convenient and easy access to the network with their own laptop or notebook computers. There is no specific software required as authentication is made via the Web with all the detailed procedures performed at the background transparently to the students.

High-speed remote access -- High-speed remote access is the critical success factor for distance learning. In order to provide the most cost-effective solution to suit individual needs, a wide variety of technologies are supported, including ADSL, cable modem, ISDN BRI, and the most affordable analog dial-up.

Bulk rate for Internet access -- Internet access for students can be made even more affordable by negotiating for a bulk rate with the Internet services providers by taking advantage of the economic scale for a huge student population of the university.

Detailed information is available at http://www.nus.edu.sg

Tommy Hor
Network Manager
cethor@nus.edu.sg

Duquesne University provides network access in three major ways:

All administrative offices, faculty offices, and rooms in the student living centers are connected to the campus network. The individual (or department) is responsible for providing the NIC in their computer and the cable (available at the campus computer store). Installations can be scheduled through the help desk for NICs purchased by departments or through the campus computer store.
A single brand is supported for the Intel-based platforms and another for the Apple platforms. Specific requirements for hardware brand for Intel machines (we will support Dell, IBM, and Compaq only), local RAM (min 16 MB, preferred 32), and disk (need 100 MB free) are enforced for administrative and faculty users. Student users must have the specified Ethernet NIC or adapter (3Com, Apple, or Asante) See our Web page for more information: http://www.duq.edu/Technology/ccit/hardware.html. We produce and resell a CD with the supported versions of network applications.
Off-campus access is available through high speed dial-up. PPP is the supported protocol. We produce a local version of the PPP software and installers and require participation in a one-hour seminar on installation and use before providing the access. FAQs are dealt with in the class. (http://www.duq.edu/Technology/ppp.html)
Minimum hardware standards for home use are identified. All classrooms and public labs are connected to the campus LAN and to the internet. Any one holding a valid Duquesne ID can use these facilities.
Basic service includes e-mail, WWW, and Internet access. Computer use is free, and disk quotas are enabled on all accounts. Printing is free in the public labs (for now), and offices provide their own printers and consumable supplies.
We provide the print queue set-up where required. We do not provide an 800 number for dial-up but do permit access through local ISPs.

Lynda Barner West
Executive Director, Center for Communications and Information Technology
west@duq.edu

Winter 1997 Readers Respond Question

How does your campus handle computer policy violations? Does your institution have a special procedure for technology-related incidents, or does it rely on its existing campuswide judicial process?

Please send your response, along with your name, title, e-mail address, and phone and fax numbers by electronic mail to Elizabeth Harris, CAUSE/EFFECT Managing Editor, at eharris@cause.org.

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