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 IBM
is providing Colorado State University with the use of a fully supported
rich technical environment valued at $21.6 million. 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 Computer
Information Systems Department, along with other departments on campus,
will 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.
“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.
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. Students will be able to simulate all information technology
functions that currently exist in business today. This will allow
students to gain a unique hands-on experience in administering servers
and networks without the need for dedicated hardware.
“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.”
“With the demand for enterprise systems managers rising more than 62
percent in the last 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, chair of the Department of
Computer Information Systems at Colorado State.
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