ENGINEERING

New 10 Gigabit Ethernet Network Will Support Advanced Research and Technology Incubator Program at University of Nebraska's Peter Kiewit Institute -- Foundry Networks announced that The Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI) at the University of Nebraska has selected Foundry to provide the networking technology for a major upgrade to its campus infrastructure. PKI operates one of the most respected and innovative Information Technology and Engineering education programs in the U.S. PKI's network designers required a high-performance, scalable, secure and reliable network solution that would allow traffic monitoring on every network port without impacting performance. After a stringent multi-vendor evaluation, PKI selected Foundry BigIron(R) and FastIron(R) switches equipped with Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) to provide network connectivity between campus buildings, and from its data center to each of its wiring closets. The new network will support Gigabit Ethernet connections to hundreds of desktops and servers, and provides PKI with additional capacity needed for high-bandwidth applications such as modeling and simulation, Quality of Service and computing-on-demand. PKI also plans to install wireless network connectivity in student and faculty areas later this year to enhance mobility. PKI particularly valued the sFlow (RFC 3176) wire-speed traffic analysis technology embedded in Foundry switches, which provides total network visibility and supports "always on" security monitoring at the edge of the network. PKI is a unique collaboration between the University of Nebraska at Omaha's College of Information Science and Technology and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Engineering and Technology. The 192,000 square-foot facility provides classrooms and laboratories which -- together with the Scott Technology Center, an out-growth of PKI -- serve as an incubator for early-stage companies and help mature enterprises leverage technologies developed at the university. The Institute's mission is to fuel collaboration between faculty, students and business, offer exceptional career opportunities for students and provide the business community with a growing pool of skilled technology professionals. "PKI has established itself as a leading center for technology and engineering education, and it is vital that we offer our students, faculty and business partners with an extremely robust network infrastructure to support their world-class research," said Dr. Winnie Callahan, executive director of PKI. "After thorough comparison and testing, we judged that Foundry offered the best mix of high-performance network technology, the best value and a long-term partnership approach." In addition, Foundry is working with PKI to support its "Experts in Residence" program, by providing onsite Foundry participation in technology workshops on topics such as wireless networking and network security. "PKI's selection of Foundry to power its campus network is exemplary of the many leading educational and research institutions around the world who continue to choose Foundry," said Bobby Johnson, president and CEO of Foundry. "We are pleased to work with PKI to build an extremely high-speed, secure and manageable network that will support their advanced research."