IT Interface Newsletter Spring 2010

Second Internet Path To Be Added On Campus

A second connection to the internet is soon going to be added to the UMass Lowell campus. Currently, there is only one path to the internet run out of North Campus to which all of North, South, and East Campus are connected. Having just one connection, however, can be problematic because if that connection is disrupted, the entire university would be without internet access. In the event that one internet connection is down, having a second connection minimizes downtime without internet and allows the whole campus to access the internet while any issue with the other connection is being addressed.

The second internet connection also gives UMass Lowell the capability to offer a unique layer 2 research network, which allows researchers to experiment across the internet, and subsequently often find ways to enhance the internet in years to come. The university will be using this research network to take part in what is known as the GENI  Project, which is a national scale network test bed that enables advanced networking research and experiments. Joining this project will make UMass Lowell one of leading edge universities in the country to be participating in the GENI Project such as Stanford, Georgia Tech, Duke and others.

The process of adding this second connection to the internet is currently underway. The goal is to fully complete its implementation this summer.  When it is complete, the second internet connection will be run out of south campus in addition to the connection on north campus.  Where the internet is used for so many things, and its use is critical to the university’s operation, having a second connection will help ensure that there will always be access to the internet on campus whenever it is needed.

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