SSHEnet is the high-speed, state-of-the-art, private digital wide area network that delivers System-wide IP-based applications and services to the State System and its affiliates. SSHEnet supports secure applications (e.g., ERP and payroll), private applications (e.g., videoconferencing and e-mail), and public applications available on the Internet and Internet2. SSHEnet is considered by the State System to be a mission critical asset.
SSHEnet enhances connectivity and resource sharing. The model of interconnecting all campuses and aggregating traffic has returned beneficial results in multiple ways. The following reasons all fall under the category of critical to the State System and are only possible because of the shared WAN, SSHEnet V program.
Environment |
Efficiency |
| Competitiveness in the Higher Education market—students demand reliable Internet access. | Cost saving initiatives (Keystone Library Network, Shared Administrative Services, Learning Management Systems e.g. Blackboard). |
| Students/faculty electronic connection for instruction (high availability from on- and off-campus locations: WWW access, e-mail, on-line course materials and references, flexibility in completing coursework, exams, and finding employment). | Administrative operations (payroll/HR, communication among employees via e-mail, electronic filing of state and federal mandated reports). |
| Faculty retention and recruitment. | Distance education and videoconferencing initiatives. |
| Faculty retention and recruitment.
K-12 and community network partnerships. Sponsored Educational Group Participant (SEGP) and Internet2 (I2) initiatives-access to high speed network (Abilene) of the I2 community. Private mesh WAN permits access to critical enterprise applications despite “storms” on the Internet. |
Student recruitment via Web-attached servers.
Nexus for federal and state authorities to “network” educational communities. Leverage best price from ISP as aggregator and provider of multiple gigabit gateways. Cost share separate gateways as business continuity measure. |
It is common to refer to the network as critical because so many core functions have naturally gravitated to its utility and incorporated its availability into their base definition. However, assuming that because the network works so well it is in fact a “utility” service, and that any such “utility provider” can provide this service will quickly undermine the best intentions. The observer should not divorce the fact that SSHEnet V operates so well from the fact that an internally run network operations center makes it so. This internal network operations center (NOC) resides at the Business Technology Center (BTC) of West Chester’s School of Business. In its corporate park location several miles from WCU’s campus, the NOC has access to redundant SONET rings of Level3’s network which add even greater reliability to Internet and Internet2 gateways. Also note that a second gateway to the Internet was added to Edinboro University, thus permitting dynamic failover of the Internet traffic stream across SSHEnet. This reconfiguration was mandated as part of the Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery effort and Pandemic Flu plan.
It is estimated that the State System saves at least $4 million per year by operating this network in concert with the Commonwealth’s efforts at reducing telecommunications costs, while providing an impetus to telcos to penetrate rural Pennsylvania with advanced services at affordable costs.
Besides opening the second gateway at Edinboro, the Internet2 gateway was recently increased from 45Mbps to 100Mbps to permit the increased use of Internet2 by the Meteorology Departments at Millersville and California Universities. Several Music Departments at PASSHE Universities are also contemplating performance delivery by symphonic orchestras across the Internet2 link. However, do not underestimate the value of the second gigabit gateway opened thru Edinboro. This architectural enhancement to SSHEnet significantly decreases the likelihood that PASSHE’s campuses will lose connectivity to the Internet at any time of the day or night, any time of the semester be it opening week or finals week, any season of the year. PASSHE’s students, faculty and staff require this type of access for a dizzying array of reasons—all of which tie to the educational mission which transcends the constraints of the traditional workday framework.
Cost increases are for telecommunications and Internet services, requested directly by Universities.
The National Internet2 K20 Initiative brings together Internet2 member institutions and innovators from primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries, and museums to extend new technologies, applications, middleware, and content to all educational sectors, as quickly and connectedly as possible. PASSHE currently pays membership fees to Internet2 annually as the SEGP for all of Pennsylvania, which includes multiple school districts throughout the Commonwealth, regardless of which connector the districts use. PASSHE has a longstanding relationship with Drexel University to provide this connectivity to the Abilene network, as well as a ‘grant’ by Level3 of the bandwidth from the NOC to Drexel. PASSHE acknowledges the contributions of these partners to the overall success of the SEGP program within the Commonwealth.
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