II. Access to Network Resources

Recommendation 2: The University should provide students, faculty and staff with reliable access to computing and network services, on the campuses and off. (In the language of today's technology,"No busy signals!") Action 5. The University should provide students, faculty, and staff with reliable access to computing, data storage, information and network services, on the campuses and off.

Off-Campus Access

Remote access to IU's networks and information resources has for many years been dogged by inadequate modem capacity on both campuses. The modem pools were heavily over-subscribed and congested, and users were extremely frustrated by constant busy signals. This long-standing problem was effectively solved in 1999. Busy signals should now be encountered rarely and modem access is normally rapid and straightforward.

In March, UITS increased the number of modems in IUB's 856-5200 modem pool by more than 10%. New lines were added to the 856-5200 (two-hour) modem pool, for a total of 667 lines and the total for the 6-5200 and 6-5202 pools to 736. In June, a further major increase in the size of the modem pools at IUB and IUPUI was approved. Better pricing rates for primary rate interfaces (PRIs) were negotiated for the core campuses, which involved a subsequent migration of most PRI services at IUPUI from Ameritech to Time Warner. By the beginning of the new academic year, UITS had effected a 73% net increase (368) in the number of modems at IUPUI and 40% (391) at IUB. Adding 385 more modems during fall, the total at IUB was brought to 1,472 modems – double the March '99 number. In September a Fair Usage Policy was issued for UITS modem pool access.

Guidelines call for making one connection at a time and dialing in only when a connection is needed. The Policy posits four hours as an average fair limit for cumulative daily connect time. If an individual's modem use seems disproportionately high, the appropriate UITS Support Center will investigate and resolve the problem, involving the Information Technology Policy Office (ITPO), if necessary.

However, basic modem access will not serve the needs of IU faculty, staff, and students much longer as their needs for broadband access from off-campus grows. In anticipation of this, UITS issued a major RFI in 1999 to obtain options and pricing for higher-speed connectivity – including traditional Internet Service Provider offerings, and more advanced alternatives such as ISDN, ADSL, and cable modems. Pilots in this initiative may be ready to implement by Summer 2000.

On-Campus Access

At IUB some 2,500 data jacks were installed or upgraded in locations across campus; 10 buildings were upgraded from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps backbone connections. The campus backbone was redesigned to accommodate moving 90 additional buildings from 10Mbps to 100Mbps connections. At IUB there are more than 28,703 unique connected hosts.

At IUPUI 2,139 new connections were activated in 1999, bringing the total to 13,120. Of these, 4,981 are capable of 100 Mbps. To date, 19 on-campus buildings have been upgraded to 100 Mbps. In addition, there are also 452 student walk-up (laptop) stations in locations across campus, including the University Library, Law School, Medical School Library, and University College.