[282] in resnet
Announcement: MIT to Network Grad Dorms
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Cecilia d'Oliveira)
Mon May 9 11:19:14 1994
Date: Mon, 09 May 94 11:14:02 EST
From: cec@MIT.EDU (Cecilia d'Oliveira)
To: bobdi@MIT.EDU, news@the-tech@MIT.EDU, resnet-status@MIT.EDU
Cc: isdir@MIT.EDU
May 8, 1995
MIT NETWORK TO REACH GRADUATE DORMITORIES
MIT graduate students will soon have MITnet service in their dormitory
rooms. Beginning in October 1994, according to James D. Bruce, Vice
President for Information Systems, MIT will extend its campus network to
graduate dormitories. Ashdown House, Edgerton House, Green Hall, and Tang
Hall will come on-line in the academic year 1994-95. Eastgate and Westgate
will receive network service in the academic year 1995-96.
MITnet, established in 1984, is MIT's rapidly expanding campus computer
network. Today, over 8000 computers in MIT offices, laboratories,
classrooms, public computer facilities, and dormitories are connected to
the network. MITnet provides access to the Internet as well as the
extensive facilities of the Athena Computing Environment, MIT's
heavily-used academic computing environment.
The new network services in graduate dormitories result from a
collaboration among Information Systems, the Housing Office, and the
Graduate Student Council that began with the networking of undergraduate
dormitories during the 1993-94 academic year. The residential networking
effort has strong support from Provost Mark S. Wrighton.
According to Professor Wrighton, the extension of MITnet to graduate
dormitories continues MIT's leadership position in distributed educational
computing. MITnet service has been available in independent living groups
(ILGs) since September and in undergraduate dormitories since January. As
of the 1994 spring term, approximately 400 students in dormitories and 350
student in independent living groups had connected their computers to
MITnet.
The Graduate Student Council conducted a survey in November 1993 that
showed overwhelming interest among graduate students for residential
networking. GSC president Caryl Brown credits GSC members Mattan Kamon and
Jonathon Baker for leading a successful lobbying effort for the graduate
network installation, which included numerous meetings with the Provost and
key administrators.
WIRING THE GRADUATE DORMITORIES
In graduate dormitories, Information Systems will provide facilities in
each room for students to connect their own appropriately equipped
computers to MITnet. An Ethernet drop will be installed in each room
which will provide service at 10Mbps (10 million bits per second). There
will be no fees associated with this service.
Lawrence E. Maguire, Director of Housing and Dining, indicated that work in
four graduate dormitories will begin this summer in conjunction with the
installation of MIT's 5ESS phone service. The goal is to have network
connections installed and operational in 900 rooms by October 1, 1994.
Work in Eastgate and Westgate will be delayed until the summer of 1995 to
coincide with the installation of 5ESS service in these facilities.
Wiring for network service will be done at the same time as the wiring
for the 5ESS phone service which will lower the cost of network
installations significantly according to Dennis Baron, senior project
manager for Distributed Computing and Network Services.
Graduate students can buy workstations or personal computers, such as
Macintoshes and DOS/Windows machines, for use on MITnet from the MIT
Computer Connection (MCC) in the Student Center. They may also buy from
other sources as long as the equipment meets network specifications. Adding
Ethernet capability to a computer that is not already equipped requires
hardware that typically costs from $100 to $200.
Graduate students will be able to contact a Residential Computing
Consultant (RCC) assigned to their dorm for assistance in getting connected
to the campus network.
PROVIDING NETWORK SERVICES FOR PERSONAL COMPUTERS
To maximize the educational effectiveness of the expanded MITnet, during
the past year Information Systems has been expanding the network services
available to users of Macintoshes and computers running DOS/Windows. Many
basic services such as electronic mail, Zephyr, Discuss and Techinfo are
available for Macintosh computers. Some of these are also available for
DOS/Windows computers and work on others is continuing with release
targeted for the 1994-95 academic year. Networking software is provided at
no charge to students along with publicly available software that permits
access to the worldwide Internet via Telnet, FTP, Usenet, Gopher and
Mosaic.
NETWORK SERVICE FOR MIT INFIRMARY AND OFF-CAMPUS RESIDENTS
Information Systems also announces that MITnet service is now available for
inpatients of MIT Medical as a result of a collaboration between IS and the
Medical Department. Network connections are available in each inpatient
room and an Athena workstation has been installed in the area for the
convenience of patients.
IS is investigating how to provide network access for off-campus
residents via modem and phone links. This project is in the planning
stages; technical and funding issues still need to be resolved.
For more information on residential networking, send email to
resnet-help@mit.edu.
Cecilia d'Oliveira
Director, Distributed Computing and Network Services
