UI, Cisco Systems Plan Major Computer Upgrade Access To Education Technology Will Improve For Students, Faculty
In a deal complete with embroidered polo shirts, the University of Idaho and Cisco Systems announced a strategic alliance Wednesday that starts with a major computer network upgrade this summer.
“It is the only network with this capacity that we know in the Northwest, probably even the West,” Glenn Wilde, UI information officer, said Wednesday.
The faster network (approximately 50 times faster to the desktop) is analogous to the trip from Boise to Moscow being sped up from taking five hours to just 7.5 minutes, said Antony Opheim of UI Information Technology Services.
The upgrade will improve education technology campuswide for students and faculty, who are increasingly demanding high-speed connections for research purposes.
“This is more than just bragging rights. This has to do with retention and recruiting, too,” Opheim said.
Once completed in mid-August, the upgrade should reduce bottlenecks, improve reliability and better accommodate high speed computing and multimedia services necessary for programs such as geographic information systems, Opheim said.
Some system disruptions are expected over the summer as new technology is set up and tested.
California-based Cisco Systems, which is paying for half of the $800,000 project, hopes its investment will pay off with future Internet-related research opportunities at the UI, which has been drawing attention for being among the most wired universities nationwide, along with Washington State University.
“Clearly one of the things we are interested in is a long-term relationship,” said Doug Gann, director of Cisco Systems’ Northwest operations.
The UI and WSU both recently connected to Internet2, a high-performance communications network that is a collective effort of more than 150 universities, the federal government and private industry.
Cisco Systems also is hoping its alliance with the UI will dovetail with a large vocational training network project Cisco is working on through the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation.
Interested parties can monitor the status of the project on the World Wide Web at www.uidaho.edu/ upgrade99.