I.T. Times
Volume 5, No 3 Information Technology News of the University of California, Davis December 1996


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Network 21 Ð Wired for the Future

Here are some of Network 21's leading-edge technologies:

  • ATM Technology: Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches will transmit data at speeds of 155 megabits per second, roughly 15 times faster than the speed of the existing campus broadband network. Because ATM standards can transmit both voice and data communications, the inclusion of ATM components in the Network 21 design positions the campus to merge the two networks (telephone and data) in the future.

  • Cells in Frames: Cells in Frames technologies are being explored in order to bring ATM capabilities to the desktop. By using existing network infrastructure, Cells in Frames will allow voice, video, and data to be merged in the nearer future and at a lower cost. Rodger Hess, Technical Director of Network 21, will be working with 3Com, the electronics vendor, to implement Cells in Frames technologies on the UC Davis campus.

  • Desktop Video Conferencing: Early versions of desktop video teleconferencing, which add imagery to interpersonal communications, will be tested during the electronics pilot program. Images shared on either end of the "line" might be a view of the person at the other end, a whiteboard on a shared notepad, or documents and software-generated objects.

  • Video Over Data: Video-type images are transmitted over data networks by sending pictures one frame at a time. Only the difference between frames is transmitted, by compressing the information at one end and rebuilding it at the other. Such technologies will also be explored in the electronics pilot.