MELBOURNE, 12 March 2001 -Cisco Systems today announced that Swinburne University of Technology is implementing a single Internet Protocol-based communications network to provide voice, video and data services to more than 45,000 students and 4,500 staff using the latest technology based on Cisco AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data).

With more than 11,000 connection points it will be one of the largest end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) telephony networks in the world, outside of Cisco's own deployment worldwide.

The network is being implemented across Swinburne's six campuses in the Melbourne area by Cisco reseller, Netstar. It is being introduced under a four year rolling plan, which will ensure Swinburne maintains its position as a leading user of information technology (IT) in Australia and the Asia/Pacific region.

The network will be based on Cisco's AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) solution that enables a single IP-based voice, video and data infrastructure to run advanced integrated applications. The first phase of the new network will see Swinburne upgrade its existing ATM backbone to gigabit Ethernet on every campus. This will deliver 10/100 Mbps to every user on the network. The Swinburne network is part of the Swinburne Information Technology Enhancement Strategy (SITES 2000), which will also link all of Swinburne's campuses around the Asia Pacific with fibre optic technology.

Swinburne Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Wallace said the university was "looking for a reliable and robust network that was flexible enough to meet our needs now and for the future".

"With the approach we have taken, Swinburne will get an intelligent network infrastructure which will take advantage of new technologies and applications such as video for learning purposes and campus communications, IP telephony, wireless networking and many others," he said.

"We will also develop a student/client resource management application which will enhance the student experience from a technological and customer service point of view."

Mr. Richard Constantine, Director of IT Services at Swinburne said, "High availability was one of the key criteria in moving to a gigabit backbone, with redundancy and fault-tolerance at both a hardware and system level."Cisco Managing Director, Australia & New Zealand, Terry Walsh said there were two key aspects to the Swinburne deal.

"The first is that with Netstar and Swinburne we are adopting a full textbook approach to this implementation. It will give Swinburne a state-of-the-art network to meet future business needs. The second is that Swinburne is committed to ongoing funding for the network. This means it will be continually refreshed as new technology comes along," Mr. Walsh said.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that enterprises are demanding intelligent and scalable IP based networking infrastructure for their communications needs.Cisco's end-to-end solutions for new world communications are recognized as leading the industry. With this network in place, Swinburne will be able to take advantage of all that IP has to offer, including Voice Over IP, video streaming and E-Learning," Mr. Walsh said.

NetStar's Managing Director, Kent Brooks, added "Swinburne's SITES 2000 project is unique both in the scale of the project and the amalgamation of several innovative technologies to provide a competitive advantage. Their willingness to apply the latest proven technologies will yield significant business benefits for Swinburne now and into the future".

Included in the hardware are two Cisco Catalyst 8500s and nine 6500s distributed across the campuses. These form the core and distribution layers connecting buildings and centralised resources within each of the campuses. Within the buildings, more than 45 Catalyst 4006s and up to 190 Catalyst 3500s (all with in-line power) will provide both distributed connections to wiring closets and end user connections, all of which are 10/100-switched Ethernet.

Also included are IP telephony gateways, Cisco CallManagers and IP phones to deliver IP telephony. Cisco 7200 routers and Catalyst 6500 FlexWAN modules provide connectivity for Swinburne's Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) linking other campuses. In addition, there are Intrusion Detection Modules (IDS) installed in the Catalyst 6500s.

"This network infrastructure ensures that globally, services are available at all times to our staff and students," Mr. Constantine said. "Swinburne has a large number of students accessing teaching and learning content remotely from various global locations. The key message is anywhere, anytime and from any place. We also have students at night school and taking classes over the weekend. Our systems have to be able to handle those requirements."

"We want to make sure that Swinburne's technology infrastructure keeps us at the forefront of technological universities in the Asia Pacific region," he said.

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