Inside Iowa State
Dec. 1, 1995


          ISU Internet Line Gets a Boost

by Diana Pounds
The line that carries Iowa State data to and from the 
Internet is about to get bigger. The line, which will be 
shared with the University of Iowa and the Iowa 
Communications Network (ICN), "will provide a major increase 
in our capacity," said George Covert, technical services 
associate director in the Computation Center.

Covert said ISU's current line (known as a T1 circuit) can 
carry 1.54 megabytes of data per second. The new line (a T3 
circuit) can handle 45 megabytes per second. The technology 
employed on the new line will be "ATM" or "asynchronous 
transfer mode," a recently developed technology for high-
speed communications.

Covert said the new line will ease the congestion that 
typically occurs weekday afternoons when the old T1 line is 
"absolutely full."

"ISU computer users will be able to get out on the Internet 
faster," Covert said. "But they still might end up in a 
traffic jam if their destination is a remote site with a slow 
link to the Internet or an overwhelming amount of traffic."

The switch to the new line probably will occur this month, 
Covert said. As the transition takes place, there may be some 
glitches. The old line will continue to be available as a 
backup, and no prolonged interruption of Internet service is 
expected, he added.

__________
University Relations
Iowa State University