Students at the University of Durban Westville - a 40-year-old institution which gained full university status in 1971 - now have the facilities for communicating via tele- and video-conference with international universities and educational bodies, thanks to an integrated 3Com solution.
This follows the upgrade of the campus` computer network to a high-speed Gigabit Ethernet environment and the development of a new training laboratory at the University`s Govan Mbeki High Technology Centre.
The project, which was designed by 3Com SA, the suppliers of the university`s original network, also resulted in significantly improved network response times for students.
"Our student and lecturing bodies have come to rely on the network for researching on the Internet, locating material, submitting and evaluating work and disseminating academic information - so improving response times was critical," says Andie Ragaven, communications manager (Voice and Data Services) at the University.
"We also needed to have a full gigabit network in our High Technology Centre which is being used for student research and teaching. With tele- and video-conferencing facilities they will be able to link up with other institutions around the world and take advantage of online learning opportunities - such as Microsoft training," he says.
In addition to the High Technology Centre, the university has computing, undergraduate and Geographical Information System laboratories. It is also investigating the possibility of establishing a dedicated "3Com laboratory" focused on network training using 3Com products and solutions.
"The ultimate objective in creating a 3Com lab would be to become an authorised 3Com certification training centre," says Ragaven. "Then we will be able to train and certify our technology graduates so that they will be better able to obtain employment in the IT industry when they graduate."
Gavin Labuschagne, business development manager at 3Com SA, says that the university continues to explore leading-edge learning solutions. "The latest initiative is considered a major leap forward in enabling students to take part in live training and to benefit from being exposed to the latest vision of networking from around the world," he says.
"The deployment of such innovative teaching methods relies on a solid network infrastructure. 3Com specialises in providing high performance, highly reliable Gigabit Ethernet solutions in a cost-effective way," Labuschagne concludes.
Technical perspective
The training lab comprises 200 desktop computers linked to 12 stackable 3Com SuperStack 3 Switch 4400s running from the 3Com SuperStack3 Switch 4924 high performance gigabit core switch connected to the Corebuilder 9000 backbone via fibre optic cabling.
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