Cisco expands IIT-Kharagpur''s campus-wide IP converged network

Mumbai: Cisco Systems today announced the expansion of its IP Converged Network at The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. Cisco has deployed more than 4,000 points of access connecting every student room in the hostel with high-speed converged network based on Cisco technology that enables new video / multi-media based services.

IIT-Kharagpur in West Bengal is the first IIT in the country, having been established in 1950.

The new network, based on Cisco solutions, offers a multi-layered switched ''quality of service'' (QoS) IP network to the student''s hostel rooms and is capable of delivering full-featured multimedia applications for educational technology such as video-on-demand, multi-cast video, IP telephony ,etc.

The IP-based network spans across 14 students'' hostels spread over distances of four kilometres using single mode fibre connectivity and a high performance, and high availability core switching network at the network operations centre of the Computers and Informatics Centre, IIT Kharagpur.

The network enables IIT Kharagpur to deliver a complete e-learning package comprising of video-on-demand and multi-cast video and lecture and laboratory content right to the classrooms and to students'' hostel rooms. Each student with a multimedia Intel based Pentium4 PC has access to lecture materials, virtual classrooms and can conduct several projects and exercises on-line over the network. The 24/7 network is also designed to cater to the quality of service requirements for IP telephony.

The network is to be configured to enable students to make voice calls on Cisco and IP phones and soft IP phones within the campus community initially on a trial basis.