Why CWRUnet?
      This is one of the first questions that the Administration needs to ask when considering CWRUnet. Sometimes, it is easy to lose sight of long-term goals, or even an essential thing such as purpose. The engineers, technicians, and managers who created CWRUnet back in 1988 wanted the most technologically advanced campus network in the country. In many ways, they succeeded.

      Today, the Administration’s goals for CWRUnet are no longer seem so clear. Currently, many students, faculty, and staff are bewildered by the Administration’s apparent goals for CWRUnet. What services should CWRUnet be providing? Connectivity? Information? Service? Just as the world, and more specifically networking, has changed over these nine odd years, so must the Administration’s strategies.

      There are many reasons why Case Western Reserve University needs CWRUnet. Many professors enjoy the flexibility that this campus-wide network provides. The network allows them to better distribute information to their class, and facilitates many different channels of teacher/student interaction. As a result, students in many different disciplines, require some form of network access in order perform well.

      Secondly, CWRU prides itself on its reputation. The foundation of that reputation is the strength of its curriculum, and its history of innovation. CWRUnet is an integral part of this reputation. Through CWRUnet, the University has set the standard in wiring infrastructure among universities. CWRUnet provides over 8,000 Multimode Fiber Optic connections, something no other university in America offers. Designing CWRUnet this way, from the ground up, was truly visionary. CWRUnet also adds to the University’s prestige. Many students are proud of the level of connectivity that they receive at CWRU, as compared to their friends at other universities. Consequently, CWRUnet is an important selling point to potential students.

      CWRUnet, and the Internet in general, are incredible communication tools, yet much of this potential remains untapped. For example, through the Internet, professors at other universities give "distance lectures", in which students scattered all over the globe participate just as if they were in a normal lecture hall. This ease of communication also enhances the ability for groundbreaking research to be conducted. Researchers at Universities from around the world can easily exchange information and cooperatively work on groundbreaking research. Consequently, outside communication is an essential function of the network. Electronic communication allows contact to be established with family, friends, and colleagues. Its relative low cost and speed combine to form a truly useful form of communication.

      Finally, given the prevalence of advanced networks in today’s workplace, CWRUnet forms a necessary, strong foundation in our education. Without it, the young workforce that CWRU so diligently prepares will lack basic knowledge necessary in order to be effective. Consequently, CWRUnet, or more importantly, the experience that it provides, is necessary to fulfill one of this university’s most basic missions, the education of its students.

Table of Contents:
[ Abstract | Why CWRUnet? | Services | Status | Solutions | Conclusion ]

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