Campus connections

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: The Assam University came into existence in 1994 to provide higher education to students, delivered through a multidisciplinary approach. The university has nine schools and 24 departments under its belt, covering major disciplines like social sciences, technology, and management studies among others. In addition, the university has five districts under its jurisdiction, with as many as 51 undergraduate colleges.

The university had no existing IT infrastructure. A technical committee consisting of senior scientists at the university, solution vendors, and other experts was formed to visualise a campus wide network that would enable students and faculty to access internet-based resources. Further, a local area network (LAN) was envisioned , which could provide non-stop connectivity and security to members of the institution from their respective departments. The idea was to facilitate rapid data transfer and ensure better communication between various departments.

The terrain posed a challenge as the campus (located in Dargakona, Silchar in South Assam) is spread across 600 acres of rolling terrain with hills and lakes, and the departments are located far apart. After reviewing the recommendations from other systems integrators, Cisco and HCL Comnet were selected for the project.

Asoke K Sen, dean of School of Technology, Assam University, says, “Although other products were competitive and cost-effective, we chose Cisco because of its reliability, reference and brand name. Since we are located in a remote corner of the country, we did not want to take any chances. Once the vendors were finalised, the technical committee, solution vendors (HCL Comet), and other experts got together and devised a roadmap or a consulting bill for sourcing material.”

Amit Malik, vice-president, East, Cisco India and Saarc, says, “Our vision for Assam University is to enable them to create value for their academic community and offer high-quality education in the region. An always available, stable and secure network allow teachers and students to enhance their knowledge and share information that creates ‘knowledge societies’.”

Following detailed discussions with the faculty, technical committee, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, and various OEMs, Cisco and HCL Comnet recommended the implementation of a LAN with fibre and unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling. The implementation was completed in a single phase.