2008 Woodie Awards
'Ring' network to bring faster Internet to PSU
Doug Graham
Issue date: 7/12/07 Section: News
Access to a new "ring" network will soon significantly increase Pittsburg State University's Internet bandwidth, a PSU official says.
"It should really have a major impact on the speed that people get a return when they use the Internet," said Jerry Smith, director of office and information systems.
Smith says that access to the new network will raise the cap on PSU bandwidth access from 30 megabits to 100, bringing at least a threefold increase in Internet speed.
For reference, a basic cable Internet connection from Cox Cable provides around three to six megabits of download speed to a single home user.
Smith says he hopes to have the new system up and running by the time fall classes commence.
All of PSU, including the residence halls, will benefit from the speed increase, but one area in particular that Smith says he wants to improve is the wireless network.
"The wireless will probably have the biggest single increase in speed that people will notice," Smith said, noting that the bandwidth allocated to the wireless network will increase from one megabit to 10.
The extra speed will also help with many web-based applications, including video conferencing, streaming media and even gaming.
The ring network, a joint venture between all Kansas Regents universities, will pool two gigabits of bandwidth into a network "ring" that will link all of the universities together.
The ring structure will also provide more stability, as a break in one link will simply route traffic back through another.
Smith says this statewide approach to networking makes possible much higher bandwidth capacity than any of the universities could access on their own.
"By going together and sharing this infrastructure, it's going to make it good for everybody," Smith said.
Access to the ring was made possible by Kan-ed, a program created by the Kansas Legislature to expand the collaboration capabilities of state institutions, and KanREN, the nonprofit organization that will administer the network.
In creating the network, KanREN worked with Cox Cable and AT&T to lay down the fiberoptic foundation for the network. In addition, they made arrangements with companies like Google to have more direct access to their services.
Smith says that another important innovation for teachers and researchers is access to Internet2, an advanced computer network meant for heavy-duty research.
Without the help from KanREN and Kan-ed, Smith says, PSU would have had to raise tuition for such a leap in networking technology and bandwidth access.
"Because of the help from Kan-ed, it's just going to cost us a little bit more (than PSU already pays) and almost quadruple our capacity," Smith said.
"It should really have a major impact on the speed that people get a return when they use the Internet," said Jerry Smith, director of office and information systems.
Smith says that access to the new network will raise the cap on PSU bandwidth access from 30 megabits to 100, bringing at least a threefold increase in Internet speed.
For reference, a basic cable Internet connection from Cox Cable provides around three to six megabits of download speed to a single home user.
Smith says he hopes to have the new system up and running by the time fall classes commence.
All of PSU, including the residence halls, will benefit from the speed increase, but one area in particular that Smith says he wants to improve is the wireless network.
"The wireless will probably have the biggest single increase in speed that people will notice," Smith said, noting that the bandwidth allocated to the wireless network will increase from one megabit to 10.
The extra speed will also help with many web-based applications, including video conferencing, streaming media and even gaming.
The ring network, a joint venture between all Kansas Regents universities, will pool two gigabits of bandwidth into a network "ring" that will link all of the universities together.
The ring structure will also provide more stability, as a break in one link will simply route traffic back through another.
Smith says this statewide approach to networking makes possible much higher bandwidth capacity than any of the universities could access on their own.
"By going together and sharing this infrastructure, it's going to make it good for everybody," Smith said.
Access to the ring was made possible by Kan-ed, a program created by the Kansas Legislature to expand the collaboration capabilities of state institutions, and KanREN, the nonprofit organization that will administer the network.
In creating the network, KanREN worked with Cox Cable and AT&T to lay down the fiberoptic foundation for the network. In addition, they made arrangements with companies like Google to have more direct access to their services.
Smith says that another important innovation for teachers and researchers is access to Internet2, an advanced computer network meant for heavy-duty research.
Without the help from KanREN and Kan-ed, Smith says, PSU would have had to raise tuition for such a leap in networking technology and bandwidth access.
"Because of the help from Kan-ed, it's just going to cost us a little bit more (than PSU already pays) and almost quadruple our capacity," Smith said.
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