| OIT works to increase data storage, network capacity The holidays are always a busy time for the Office of Information Technology. As the demand for multimedia content and more sophisticated software continues to grow, so does the need for more data storage and network capacity. Video on demand, online gaming, and IP telephony services like Vonage and Skype all consume much more bandwidth than text Web sites and e-mail. Peer-to-peer file sharing among students consumes the most bandwidth, often using the full capacity of the university’s two 45 megabits per second (Mbps) Internet connections. OIT uses “bandwidth shaping” restrictions to ensure that these activities do not consume all of the university’s available Internet capacity, and proposals are being reviewed to double the university’s Internet capacity by the end of the spring semester. Parts of the local area network are also being upgraded. OIT recently installed new network electronics for the Career Center, and we will upgrade the network electronics for the Office of Campus Life, the Sports Center, and the Campus Store within the next few weeks. The wireless network has seen a number of upgrades and expansions since it was first implemented in 2001. Last summer, OIT upgraded all 170 wireless access points from the 11 Mbps 802.11b standard to the newer and faster 54 Mbps 802.11g standard. Before the start of the current semester, OIT also made changes that will allow more people to access the wireless network simultaneously in busy areas like the library and the Ward Circle Building. Additional antennae have also been installed in the Katzen Arts Center to improve in-building Sprint-Nextel wireless telephone signals. OIT has also increased networked data storage capacity to meet the needs of the university’s students, faculty, and staff. The storage area network (SAN) was upgraded to increase drive capacity and performance for many university servers, including those that provide e-mail and network drives. While the increase in storage capacity will help, OIT asks that everyone take the time to clean out their e-mail and home directories regularly. Much of the storage capacity is consumed by old e-mail and data files that could be deleted or archived onto CDs or DVDs. For more information on reducing the size of your mail file, visit http://help.american.edu and click on the “E-Mail” link at the top. |
