Summary of campus resources

Kenyon College owns 620 microcomputers, nearly all of which run Microsoft Windows operating system. Nearly 250 of these have Pentium-based processors and fully multimediacapabilities. Approximately 340 computers are using the Intel 486 processor, while fewer than 30 computers rely on the older 386 processor. Computers are deployed in consultation with those who use them based on the programs each individual needs to use. Concerted efforts are made each year to replace as many obsolete computers as possible through the College's "funded depreciation" program. Approximately 80% of all microcomputers are connected to the local area network (Ethernet).

Kenyon staff rely on 90 terminals which connect to one of the four College Digital Equipment VAX minicomputers. In addition, there are 145 public terminals for use by students. Terminals can only run VAX-based programs such as e-mail.

The campus fiber optic network reaches all but five buildings on campus, three of which do not have offices in them. The campus network is used largely to distribute data from microcomputers (connecting to the network at speeds of 10 megabits per second) and terminals (connected at speeds up to 19,200 bits per second). The fiber network also serves campus needs for voice communications (telephones), video (satellite downlink facility) and the campus wide energy management system. Trunk lines of the campus network operate at 100 megabits per second. Kenyon has two Internet connections for academic and administrative uses, each operating at speeds of 1.5 million bits per second (called "T1" connections). In addition, the College has other network connections, some at T1 capacity, for sharing information with other colleges in the Five Colleges of Ohio consortium.

Central computing facilities of the College include four Digital Equipment VAX minicomputers, two Unix-based servers (for the web and departmental support), and several Windows NT servers for file and print services. The VAX computers are used by the academic community largely for electronic mail, and in some cases, for word processing. Nearly all other academic applications have been moved to distributed microcomputers on the Windows NT network. Administrative users continue to rely on VAX computing for administrative systems(registration, payroll, accounting, et cetera). New administrative programs are being implemented on the Windows NT network running on distributed microcomputers during the period 1996-2000. These include systems for development, admissions, student information services, financial systems and human resources. Centralized VAX computers are likely to be eliminated in the 2001-2002 time frame.

While the campus network used to run Novell NetWare, a transition to Microsoft Windows NTfor network servers as well as desktop computers is underway. This transition is driven by the need for increased reliability and the need to contain support costs. During this transition, many desktop microcomputers are running Windows 3.11 as an intermediate step before a full conversion of campus operating systems to Windows NT 4.0 which is planned to be 90% complete during 1998.

Public computer-equipped classrooms

All public microcomputers are connected to the campus network and operate with the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. Multimedia computers have CD-ROM drives and sound systems. In addition, there are approximately 20 more networked microcomputers in several departments for use by students working on academic projects.

Public laser printers on the campus network

Contact: ScottSiddall, scott@siddall.info
Edited: 08-13-97