Tuesday, October 2, 2001

Internet2 Project Plans Major Upgrades for Its Network Backbone By SCOTT CARLSON Officials at the Internet2 project plan to announce today that Abilene, the project's high-speed network backbone, will get improvements over the next two years, making it able to carry more data and support more users. Only about 30 percent of Abilene's capacity is used right now, but officials at Internet2 say that the upgrades will prepare the network for heavier traffic in the future, as the network serves more institutions and more bandwidth-hogging devices. Among the improvements, new optical technologies will help upgrade Abilene's backbone capacity from 2.4 gigabits per second to 10 gigabits per second. And the network will use a new Internet protocol -- called Internet Protocol Version 6, or IPv6 -- that will allow it to support more users. Internet2 has also extended its agreement with Qwest Communications, which provides the 13,000 miles of network cable on which Abilene runs. Qwest has already supported the project financially through its first five years, and, under the agreement, will continue to provide service through October 2006. The news follows the decision by Internet2 members to open Abilene up for use by thousands of colleges and universities, community colleges, libraries, museums, and elementary and secondary schools. The network was previously available only to research universities that belonged to the Internet2 consortium. (See an article from The Chronicle, October 1.) "As more universities are connected to Abilene, the network will maintain its capability for experimentation with new kinds of network applications," says Greg Wood, a spokesman for Internet2. "Abilene's primary mission is to enable the development of advanced network applications, so we really believe that to stay ahead of the demand for capacity, we need to be proactive about upgrading the backbone capacity." Abilene will provide an experimental environment for some of the new technologies, such as the new Internet protocol, before they are widely deployed. "It's sort of a step between the lab and the commercial Internet," Mr. Wood says. He says that costs for these improvements have not yet been worked out, but he adds that Qwest will probably carry the majority of the financial burden. In 1998, he says, Qwest estimated its support of the program at $500-million for the first five years. The announcement is set to be made during a virtual conference for Internet2 members that begins today and runs through Friday. (See an article from The Chronicle, September 28.) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to U. of Mississippi's ban on flags at games Provost at U. of New Mexico ends law school's ban on military recruiting Michigan president said to be top candidate to head Columbia U. College president is called to active duty in Coast Guard Student union in Montreal is accused of distributing "call for violent revolution" National U. of Singapore to open campuses in U.S., China, and India Education Department announces awards to help colleges prevent high-risk drinking Internet2 project plans major upgrades for its network backbone Defying the government, South Africa's largest distance provider names a new head