[ Thanks to Scott
Courtney for the tip. ]
Colorado State University in $21.6M Partnership with IBM To
Become National Technology Hub
FORT COLLINS-Colorado State University today
announced that IBM is providing the university with a fully
supported, rich, technical environment through use of a
sophisticated mainframe – valued at $21.6 million by IBM over the
course of two years. The project will position Colorado State as a
technology hub for universities across the country.
IBM will provide Colorado State’s College of Business students
and faculty with the use of a powerful mainframe. The unique
capabilities of the IBM mainframe allow it to be partitioned or
carved up into thousands of virtual stand-alone servers. Users are
assigned their own individual server to develop, test or port
applications with complete autonomy, allowing them to work
independently without affecting the thousands of other users on the
same physical machine. Developers can even re-boot or recompile
programs without interfering with others on the system. This
technology will allow faculty and students of the Department of
Computer Information Systems, along with other departments on
campus, to be able to work on their own virtual Linux server, the
fastest growing operating system in the industry.
As an IBM national technology hub, Colorado State will in turn
provide support to universities across the country that wish to
offer their students the same unprecedented experience of working
with virtual Linux servers. Faculty from other universities also
will be invited to submit proposals for information technology
research projects to a steering committee made up of IBM executives
and Colorado State faculty. Up to 20 universities at a time will
have access to the system to perform research projects or use the
powerful equipment for their students.
“IBM’s investment in Colorado State University is part of a
strong partnership and commitment to the advancement of technology
education at this university,” said Albert C. Yates, president of
Colorado State. “This partnership is invaluable to our students and
faculty. It will allow the university to provide direction for
other academic institutions across the country and offer innovative
ideas to the information technology industry. We are truly grateful
for this gift and opportunity.”
“Partnering with universities like Colorado State is a natural
fit because of their capability to pilot advanced research and
education,” said Larry Longseth, Vice President, IBM Global
Services and IBM Boulder Senior Location Executive. “The university
has taken a lead role in the advancement of information technology
education in Colorado, a state that has positioned itself in the
forefront of the industry.”
In addition to each student having access to their own Linux
server, multiple servers will be connected to form a virtual
network on the mainframe. This will allow students to gain a unique
hands-on experience in administering servers and networks without
the need for dedicated hardware. In the past, learning about
network systems management has been purely theoretical. Access to
these virtual networks will provide students with a unique hands-on
learning experience.
“We believe in a technology-driven learning experience,” said
Dan Costello, dean of the College of Business. “The opportunity
that IBM is giving us will dramatically increase our students’
knowledge.”
Students will be able to simulate all information technology
functions that currently exist in business today. Also included on
the enterprise server will be the more traditional business
operating system of VM and OS/390 along with a complete suite of
enterprise software.
“With the demand for enterprise systems managers rising more
than 62 percent in the past year, Colorado State’s students will
learn skills that will give them a sizable advantage in their field
while filling a valuable industry need,” said John Plotnicki,
chairman of the Department of Computer Information Systems at
Colorado State.
Colorado State researchers will also be able to contribute to
the expansion of Linux’s capabilities by working to develop Linux
applications on the mainframe. Linux is an Internet-ready operating
system that offers reliability and the flexibility of a source code
that is freely available. The open source technology of Linux
allows researchers to create cost-effective solutions that leverage
existing IT investments by using Linux’s source codes and adapting
them to their organizations’ individual needs.
Contact: Jennifer Dimas
(970) 491-1543
jdimas@ur.colostate.edu