Swinburne University of Technology has begun installing an IP network that will provide voice, video and data services to its 45,000 students and 4500 staff through more than 11,000 connection points. The network will be installed by Netstar at six campuses in and around Melbourne and, when complete, is expected to be one of the largest end-to-end IP telephony networks outside of Cisco's headquarters in the US.
Professor Iain Wallace, vice chancellor of the university, said Swinburne had needed a flexible, reliable and robust network. "With the approach we have taken, Swinburne will get an intelligent network infrastructure that will take advantage of new technologies and applications, such as video for learning purposes and campus communications, IP telephony, wireless networking and many others," he explained. "We will also develop a student/client resource management application which will enhance the student experience from a technological and customer service point of view."
The network will be based on Cisco's Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (AVVID), which will provide a single IP-based infrastructure for all services. In the first phase of the implementation Swinburne will upgrade an existing ATM backbone to gigabit Ethernet on every campus, delivering 10/100M-bits/sec across the network.
"The network infrastructure ensures that globally services are available at all times to our staff and students," noted Richard Constantine, director of IT services at the university. "Swinburne has a large number of students accessing teaching and learning content remotely from various global locations. The key message is anywhere, any time and from any place."