Columbia College Chicago Builds E-Learning Network
Columbia College Chicago has revamped its network to support e-learning. The liberal arts institution turned to IT services provider Netrix to deploy the ADVA FSP 3000 optical transport solution from AVDA Optical Networking in a 100Gbit/s optical transport network.
"Building and owning our own network will bring significant cost savings over time. But what's most exciting are the new opportunities we'll be able to give to our 9,500 students," explained Mark Las, director of infrastructure services at Columbia College Chicago, in a statement. "Now we have the flexibility to add capacity in an instant, so if a department requires more bandwidth then it's immediately at their fingertips. Reliable, high-speed data transmission is also essential for the exciting program of online e-learning courses that we're starting to offer. It provides our students with access to research and educational resources from any of the 10 sites on campus with great flexibility and reliability. Now they can easily download video, music and other media-rich content and collaborate with each other in real-time."
According to a press release, the installation comprises 40 channel filters with two active data centers linked by a protected 100Gbit/s core. The network is built with ADVA FSP 3000 DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) 100Gbit/s channel modules. One fiber pair connects the campus sites in a 10-node ring topology. A ring network at Layer 1 provides low-latency traffic protection and diverse routing, protecting the system in the event of a primary link failure. ADVA Optical Networking's network operating center will provide network surveillance and support.
"Today's arts and media students increasingly need to use high-bandwidth applications so it's essential that the college has fast, reliable connectivity and the agility to provision new channels," noted Thomas R. Browne, senior director of sales, North America, ADVA Optical Networking, in a statement. "With our 100G optical transport technology, Columbia College Chicago can guarantee access to the services their learners need. And, with the long-term support we're giving them, they'll be able to keep pace with bandwidth demand and empower the next generation of media professionals and artists."
For more information, visit the ADVA Optical Networking site.
About the Author
Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].