The University Record, November 8, 1999 From the Office of the Chief Information Officer
The University has a new, faster, more direct connection to Abilene, the national high-speed backbone network supporting Internet2. All Internet traffic between the U-M and other sites that are connected to Abilene automatically uses the upgraded connection.
Internet traffic going between the U-M and these sites now travels 10 to 20 times faster than before. And, because some of the U-M’s Internet traffic is being diverted to the new connection, the lines between the University and the regular Internet are less congested.
The upgraded connection to Abilene was completed in August when Merit Network installed an OC12c data network attachment between Ann Arbor and Cleveland. It operates at 622 million bits per second (bps) — a significant increase over the previous speed of up to 45 million bps.
The University shares the attachment with Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Merit and the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) office in Ann Arbor. It was made possible in part with financial support from the National Science Foundation and assistance from Ameritech Advanced Data Services.
UCAID created and operates Abilene to support the Internet2 project, a collaborative effort to develop advanced Internet technology and applications vital to higher education. Such applications might include remote medical diagnosis and monitoring; collaborative use of remote tools; collaborative creation of music or other performance, sound and video archives; three-dimensional models; and more.
“Our new Abilene connection represents a huge improvement in our Internet capabilities,” said Alan McCord, Information Technology Division’s director of operations management.
Said Jeff Ogden, the U-M’s Internet2 coordinator: “High performance networking, such as that now available over Abilene, will support U-M’s research activities by providing the highest quality network access to other national and international research organizations.”
For more information, see Internet2 at U-M on the Web at www.itcom.itd.umich.edu/i2/.
