Brad Noblet, Dartmouth's director of technical services and interim chief information officer, initiated the project, which began in April 2001 and finished in late August of this year. The project anticipates the need to integrate communication systems in the future due to increased use and need. "In other words, you're saying voice and video and text and graphics will all be part of applications that we use on a daily basis now. In order to effectively deliver that information we're going to have to converge [those systems into one network]," Noblet told The Student.
Economics provided a second reason for the project. "It's very expensive today to run disparate networks for each of these networks," said Noblet. According to Noblet, capital costs were cut by about 66 percent by converging networks instead of building three separate systems in addition to 40 percent saved on operating costs.
Noblet said the network's biggest advantage is the convenience provided in terms of accessibility. "It allows people to gain access to any information irrespective of where they are on campus," he said. This ease of access was made possible by the addition of 1,400 wireless access locations and 24,000 wired ports on Dartmouth's campus.
With the convergence project complete, all phones are on a Voice over IP (VoIP) system, and all cable television channels are on the IP system as well. According to Noblet, about 62 channels are those normally available from a cable television provider, and about 13 channels will be available for learning and teaching such as for foreign languages. "Our cable television system and phone PBX will remain for a bit longer just as back-ups, but the IP phone system has been running for about two years now and we have had no major issues with that at all," added Noblet.
Security concerns could arise due to this kind of interconnected network. However, Noblet said that the use of a common infrastructure does not necessarily allow public access. For example, Noblet said that the VoIP system has its own operating space so there are no other opportunities for people outside the network to gain access into the VoIP system. Noblet also mentioned the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), which have the ability to support individual groups of people. "It's a lot easier to protect those things you care about versus keeping the entire infrastructure locked down," he said.
Although Amherst is not yet at the same technological stage as Dartmouth, students and faculty will see a number of changes occurring on campus under the direction of new director of Information Technology Peter Schilling. At the College, wireless is now available in all residence halls. According to the IT department, wireless access is also available in Keefe Campus Center, Robert Frost Library, Seeley Mudd and the gym complex, but there are no plans yet to install wireless access in all academic buildings.
"The equipment has been installed in all of the residence halls, and we expect the wireless network to be available to everybody by the time classes start," said Maura Fennelly, desktop computing specialist.
Erika Tietjen '07 said that she looked forward to wireless access. "My Ethernet port is in such a place that I can't access the Internet from my computer at my desk," she said.
President Anthony Marx said that the College is working to use technology to its advantage. "I am sure that students can expect to see changes and improvements, not only in terms of wireless access, but you will see changes in the home page and the Intranet page," he said. "We are also thinking of ways to make information technology more useful in our curriculums and in every regard."
At Dartmouth, reactions from faculty and students have been positive. "So far, people have been very excited, particularly about the video [television access]. The fact that you can sit in the middle of the Green [Dartmouth's quad] with your wireless laptop and watch CNN or MTV is a really exciting proposition to a lot of folks," said Noblet. In addition to entertainment opportunities, students can complete language labs or view assigned movies on their own time. "It's bringing advantages to how people are living their daily lives at Dartmouth," said Noblet.
Noblet said that with the use of VPNs, the network and its features can be extended to anywhere in the world so that even students studying abroad can access the Dartmouth network as if they were on campus. "There are certainly some challenges to that depending on where you are and the need for a certain amount of bandwidth but it is extremely possible," said Noblet. At the moment, the possibilities seem endless. "Convergence is really changing the way people work, think and play at Dartmouth," said Noblet.