Data communication network of the Core University - Jena (DKNK)

Communication network Uni - JenaExternal link

The University Computer Centre (URZ) is responsible for setting up, expanding and operating the data network of the core university of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. The components, structure and operation of the network must be constantly adapted to the requirements of teaching, research and administration in order to ensure that the network can be adapted to meet demand. The information technology resources of the core university with their centralised and decentralised components and the network are to be considered as a unit.

Questions regarding the operation of the information and communication technology connected to the network and the preparation of necessary structural and technological changes are clarified under the direction of the University Computer Centre in a commission with the information processing managers (IV managers) of the individual faculties and facilities|institution|(structural) units appointed by the deans.

Development

The main (topological) components of the network concept were developed between 1988 and 1991 and will be realised in several stages.

Physical basis: The network is based on fibre optic cables as the backbone network of the University of Jena for the connections between the building locations (primary cabling) to the connections between the data distributors within the buildings (secondary cabling). Within the building, service material floor cabling based on copper cables (category 5 and higher) is used as tertiary cabling to connect the laboratories, workrooms and offices.

Legal basis: Approval to operate a private data communication network based on fibre optic technology has been in place since 1988.

Objective: To establish a long-term communications infrastructure.

Conceptual changes were necessary and logical for reasons of rapid technical development. Another very important factor was the constant change in the University of Jena's current locations, the networking of which is the fundamental concern of the concept.

1. Expansion stagepdf, 126 kb · de
   Realisation: 1990 to 1992
2. Expansion stagepdf, 135 kb · de
   Realisation: 1992 to 1995
3. Expansion stagepdf, 105 kb · de
   Realisation: 1996 to 2003
4. Expansion stage
   Application and successful defence: 2002
   Realisation: 2009-2013 (supported by funds from the European Regional Development Fund- ERDF)
   Funding period 2007-2013 (2015) /(further information on ERDF in ThuringiaExternal link)
5. Expansion stage
   (in preparation since 2016)

While the first two expansion stages envisaged connecting the university's most important facilities|institutions|(structural) units with a data network infrastructure via new fibre optic cables and existing copper cables and included simple network access solutions for more remote scientific facilities (X.25, ISDN), the third expansion stage envisaged

• the nationwide expansion of the fibre optic backbone and in-house networking to all university locations,
• the construction of new nodes,
• the transition to new network technologies and
• equipping the operating instances (University Computer Centre and Telecommunications Technology subject) area|field with the necessary measurement technology.

The expansion of the fibre optic network and the construction of new nodes serves to connect additional locations on the one hand, and on the other hand provides for the construction of necessary redundancies, especially in the core area of the network, in order to minimise the impact on affected network nodes in the event of a fault.

In addition to the use of the planned cable routes for the backbone data network, simultaneous shared use by the operational services (including telecommunications technology) is planned in order to replace local leases of telecommunications lines and achieve a qualitative and quantitative improvement in supply. In particular, this involves the coupling of telecommunications private branch exchanges. Shared locations for data technology and telecommunications technology support the shared use of the established and future lines.
The necessity of the transition to new network technologies results from the rapidly changing forms of utilisation of data communication and the changing network technologies. The new multimedia utilisation forms of computing technology require significantly larger bandwidths. In addition to the bandwidth requirement, future forms of utilisation (in particular synchronous image/voice transmission) require the guarantee of "Quality of Service". In line with these requirements, the technologies in the backbone area have been continuously adapted from Ethernet (10Base2, 10Base5) and point-to-point connections via FDDI and ATM to the transition to switching technologies in the Gigabit Ethernet and 10GigEthernet subject area|field. To the same extent, access to the German Research Network (DFN)External link and thus to the Internet was also expanded from the initial erWiN(extended sciencenetworkfor the new federal states with 9.6kbit/s X.25) to the broadband science network (34/155 Mbit/s ATM) and the gigabit science network (GigEthernet). From 2006, access was provided via the X-WiNExternal link and since 2016, access has been gradually expanded to redundant 10 GigEth connections.