By Robert Frank, WSU Today
The currently unused fiber optic cable — known in the computer industry as “dark fiber” — will give faculty and researchers the ability to rapidly conduct massive data computations and transfers, and to network efficiently with other universities and researchers nationwide and worldwide.
This high-speed access will cost the university $5 million over the next seven years.
Viji Murali, WSU’s vice president for information services and chief information officer, noted that access to the fiber optic network will be restricted at WSU to specific academic activities, such as research, transferring huge amounts of data, certain networking activities, as well as instructional activities such as videostreaming. It will not be used by faculty, staff or students for regular daily internet use. Two reasons for this limitation are that the vendor contract restricts usage to only research and instructional activities, and because the technology is better suited for high-performance computing and solving complex research problems.
WSU recently upgraded the bandwitdh for its regular Internet traffic, handled through its K20 network, from 620 to 920 megabytes per second capacity. The black or optic fiber network, once activated, will trip at speeds 40 times that fast.
“You might picture it as two different types of highways, with two different purposes,” said Murali. “The optic fiber is like a superhighway, providing phenomenal speeds and no red lights. The K20 network is more like a business route highway, giving users the ability to travel efficiently, and yet to make stops, take detours.
“Although we cannot accurately predict future needs and technology beyond two years, we think this service will satisfy our connectivity needs for about five years. However, we also included an option in the contract to purchase another 10 gigabytes of capacity, if we need it.“
The 360 Network fiber will connect the WSU Pullman campus to Spokane, Seattle and the University of Washington, then via the Pacific Northwest Gigapop system, https://www.pnw-gigapop.net/, to research and education institutions on the Pacific Rim. It also will provide a link to Boise and the Idaho Regional Optical Network (IRON), which connects to similar optical networks throughout the continental United States.
360 Networks, https://www.360networks.com/, has its headquarters in Seattle. It is a major provider of wholesale voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) and fiber-optic network communications services in the western United States. Its network spans more than 17,200 miles, with broadband routes running north-to-south paths from Calgary to Denver, as well as to the CANARIE network in Canada.
