Alcatel Moves University of Southern Colorado to Gigabit Speeds; Increased Network Bandwidth Eliminates Bottlenecks for Students and Faculty.Business Editors CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2001 Alcatel (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : ALA) today announced that the University of Southern Colorado has selected Alcatel's Omni family of switches to increase network bandwidth and manageability. The switches are placed throughout the 275-acre campus located in south-central Colorado South-Central Colorado is a region of the U.S. state of Colorado. It can be roughly defined by Chaffee County in the northwest, El Paso County in the northeast, Las Animas County in the southeast, and Conejos County in the southwest. . With more than 4,300 students and approximately 500 full-time faculty and staff, effective network communication throughout the campus became a major focal point focal point n. See focus. for the University. The University of Southern Colorado chose Alcatel's OmniCore 5010 and 5052, and OmniStack 6024, to upgrade from a combination FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) Often pronounced "fiddy," it was a LAN and MAN access method that had its heyday in the mid-1990s. FDDI was an ANSI standard token passing network that transmitted 100 Mbps over optical fiber up to 10 kilometers. and 10/100 Ethernet network to Gigabit Ethernet An Ethernet standard that transmits at 1 Gbps. Used mostly to connect high-end workstations and servers as well as for network backbones, Gigabit Ethernet transmits full duplex from point to point using switches and half duplex in a shared environment (CSMA/CD) using a hub. . The network upgrade removes the bottlenecks caused by increased usage and applications, such as performing Internet research This article is about using the Internet for research; for the field of research about the Internet, see Internet studies. Internet research is the practice of using the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, for research. , sending e-mails, accessing student records, and using e-Learning software tools. Additionally, the University was looking to enhance network security and decrease broadcast traffic with Alcatel's Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN See virtual LAN. VLAN - Virtual Local Area Network ) technology. Through the use of VLANs, the University is able to separate and limit access to secured information such as student grades, administrative records and finances. The use of VLANs allows the University to secure and manage the network from a logical, instead of a physical standpoint. "Since all dorm rooms are now wired for Internet access and the University is increasingly using high bandwidth applications such as multimedia and video streaming, it was necessary to upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet speeds," said Shawn Ahlers, manager of technology support at the University of Southern Colorado. "Migrating the network to Gigabit Ethernet and establishing VLANs has eliminated the bottlenecks caused by increased usage that the University previously experienced." The University of Southern Colorado is also taking advantage of Alcatel's newly released OmniVista network management solution to manage all of Alcatel's data switches from a holistic, network-wide point of view. Management of the entire network is now more centralized, so pinpointing specific network outages is less labor intensive Labor Intensive A process or industry that requires large amounts of human effort to produce goods. Notes: A good example is the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, etc), they are considered to be very people-oriented. See also: Capital Intensive, Trading Dollars and easier to manage. "With the network upgrade, the University of Southern Colorado's faculty and students benefit from greater network reliability and speed, while the IT staff benefits from enhanced security and management," said Greg Kovich, Alcatel's director of education sales and marketing. "Alcatel's networking equipment has been especially effective in the education realm as universities must keep pace with technology in order to remain competitive." About the University of Southern Colorado The University of Southern Colorado is located in Pueblo, Colo., along the south-central portion of the state. The University is a member of the Colorado State University Colorado State University, at Fort Collins; land-grant with state and federal support; chartered 1870, opened 1879 as an agricultural college, assumed present name in 1957. There is a veterinary teaching hospital, an agricultural campus, and a research campus. System and is a national model for qualitative change and academic excellence, and has demonstrated commitment to K-16 education and partnerships with the community and the region. The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) is one of six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and Council for Higher Education Accreditation. accredits the University of Southern Colorado at the bachelor and master level. About Alcatel Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data networking solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With sales of $29 billion (EURO 31 billion) in 2000 and 110,000 employees, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com. |
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