News for and about the Internet2 community

[Michelle Pollak <>]

INDIANA UNIVERSITY AND PURDUE UNIVERSITY WIN 2003 EDUCAUSE AWARD FOR 
EXCELLENCE IN NETWORKING

August 7, 2003 - Indiana University and Purdue University are one of two 
sets of winners of the 2003 EDUCAUSE Award for Excellence in Networking,for 
I-Light: Indiana's Optical Fiber Network. This prestigious award recognizes 
strategic, innovative networking programs or practices that improve the 
quality of campus network services through new or enhanced network 
architectures, infrastructure, integration, management, and/or operational 
practices. The award-winning Indiana initiative drew on a remarkable 
collaboration between university, city, and state entities to create a 
powerful system with a high level of shared functionality and potential for 
future use.

To meet the dramatically increased demand for network capacity to support 
teaching, learning, and research, Indiana University and Purdue University 
collaborated to create I-Light, a cross-state, university-owned fiber optic 
network linking Indiana University at
Bloomington, IUPUI in Indianapolis, and Purdue University in West 
Lafayette, to each other, the Internet, and Internet2.

Funded in 1999 by an initial state appropriation of $5 million and 
completed in 2001, I-Light quadrupled the available Internet bandwidth 
without increasing operating costs. It supports significant high-end 
collaborative applications and faculty research programs in such areas as 
grid computing, human genomics, remote instrumentation, and visualization. 
For the Indiana Genomics Initiative, for example, I-Light provides 
high-speed access to huge DNA and protein databases for scientists 
analyzing genetic and protein sequences. By allowing the three campuses to 
pool their advanced computational and data storage resources, I-Light has 
enabled the development of a distributed supercomputing grid with an 
aggregate theoretical peak capacity of 1.5 TFLOPS (trillions of 
mathematical operations per second), providing an unparalleled platform for 
collaboration, research, and distance education. Local economic development 
has also benefited: the city of Bloomington has leveraged the initiative by 
adding two empty conduits connecting its new carrier hotel to the regional 
facilities in Indianapolis, and the greater Lafayette area is developing a 
comprehensive plan for fiber infrastructure in that region. The ongoing 
operating budget is about $175,000 per year, largely offset by savings of 
nearly the same amount for annual circuit lease charges through local 
carriers that previously provided drastically less connectivity. There
are no additional, ongoing staff requirements.

In addition to research applications, I-Light also supports voice 
communications, e-mail, and videoconferencing between the campuses, and 
presents countless possibilities for collaborative research and an 
unparalleled platform for distance education. Future plans include 
implementation of eleven additional points of presence across Indiana,which 
will greatly expand access to high-performance networks. The university 
ownership of this high-power network provides at least two clear 
advantages: a fungible asset on which to build tomorrow's technology at 
marginal cost, and the freedom for creative thinking generated by being 
able to work in that dream environment, "What if networking were free?"

Also receiving a Networking Award this year is the State University of New 
York, Cortland. Winners of the Award for Excellence in Networking are 
chosen by the EDUCAUSE Network Award Committee, whose members are selected 
for breadth of professional experience. The award is sponsored by Cisco 
Systems, Inc., An EDUCAUSE Bronze Partner.

Indiana University and Purdue University-represented by Dave E. 
Jent,Associate Director, Network Infrastructures, Indiana University; 
Stephen Mayo, Associate VP for Telecommunications, Purdue University; and 
Brian D. Voss, Associate VP for Telecommunications, and COO Pervasive 
Technology Labs, Indiana University-will be honored with a commemorative 
plaque at a recognition breakfast and a general session of the EDUCAUSE
annual conference in Anaheim, California, on Thursday, November 6. The 
conference draws more than 6,000 professionals involved in the management 
of information resources in higher education. Later that day, the IU and PU 
representatives will describe the I-Light infrastructure development at a 
track session.

With a membership of nearly 1,900 colleges, universities, and education 
organizations and more than 180 corporations, EDUCAUSE is one of the 
preeminent associations addressing the complex issues of incorporating 
information technologies and resources into the higher education mission. 
The association has offices in Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colorado.

The Excellence in Networking Award is sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc.,An 
EDUCAUSE Bronze Partner. For more information, see 
http://www.educause.edu/awards/.

The mission of EDUCAUSE is to advance higher education by promoting the 
intelligent use of information technology. Visit http://www.educause.edu/.

CONTACT:
Gregory A. Moore
Indiana University Office of the Vice President for Information Technology 
and CIO


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