UND is developing a campus network plan. Students, faculty, staff and the campus community have identified existing and future application requirements to meet expectations and desires for education, research and service. This plan will offer information for providers and users to coordinate the direction for evolving technologies, such as wireless, multicast and expanded remote access solutions. Video conferencing, video streaming and ease of access to online information and services are some of the applications considered. Leading-edge technologies that will develop and change during the next three to five years will be included in the plan.
| 1. | Network applications committee members from many areas of campus shared ideas and information representing their many constituents in identifying their networking needs and desires. This committee worked during Spring semester and is providing valuable information to guide the development of technical specifications for the network plan. | ||
| The areas identified to be of most concern include: | |||
| • | Redundant and reliable network access | ||
| • | Bandwidth to meet more than immediate needs | ||
| • | Security from hackers to protect the network and for privacy of information | ||
| • | Remote network access | ||
| • | Storage for large amounts of data with related network requirements | ||
| • | Online payment and digital signatures (authentication) | ||
| • | Ease of use (technology transparent to users) | ||
| • | Maintainable with reasonable number of networking experts | ||
| • | Expandable and upgradeable | ||
| • | Wireless networking for anywhere and anytime network access | ||
| • | Laptop/notebook/PDA computing | ||
| • | Other related issues | ||
| a. | |||
| b. | Online access to information and services | ||
| c. | Online testing | ||
| 2. | A technical planning working group, made up of staff members throughout campus with networking knowledge and expertise, is developing the ongoing network plan. The network plan will address the directly related network issues and concerns of the campus. It will include policy recommendations, technical specifications, related costs for hardware and support, and timelines for possible implementation of new and changing technologies and solutions. Collectively, this group has an awareness of many IT initiatives throughout campus and continues to expand on the work of the Network Planning Applications Committee. | ||
| Sub working groups have been formed to address the following areas requiring more extensive research and in-depth discussion: | |||
| • | Security | ||
| • | Wireless | ||
| • | Remote access | ||
| • | Voice-over-IP | ||
| • | Video conferencing and video-streaming | ||
| • | Personal digital assistants | ||
| 3. | The implementation and review phase of the network plan will be guided by: | ||
| • | Changing needs of our students, faculty, staff, and campus community | ||
| • | Direction from the University Information Technology Council | ||
| • | Changes in technology | ||
| • | Staff and campus financial resources | ||