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Research and Education Network Nepal: Problems and Prospects
Binod VaidyaCenter for Information Technology
Institute of EngineeringTribhuvan University
Nepal
APAN South Asia Net Group MeetingBangkok, Thailand18 December 2003
Introduction
Background 4 Universities dealing with technology
courses Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu - 1959 Kathmandu University, Dhudikhel - 1992 Pokhara University, Pokhara - 1997 Purwanchal University, Biratnagar – 1995
1 University (only Sanskrit Language) Mahendra Sanskrit University
Tribhuvan University (TU) Tribhuvan University is oldest and
largest University 61 Constituent Campuses 222 Affiliated Campuses. Total number of students in
Constituent campuses – 138,500 More than 150,000 students in
Affiliated campuses
Distribution of Campuses – region wise
Eastern Development Region, 13
Central Development Region, 29
Western Development Region, 11
Mid Western Development
Region, 5
Far Western Development
Region, 3Eastern
Development Region, 34
Central Development Region, 120
Western Development Region, 44
Mid Western Development Region, 11
Far Western Development Region, 13
Constituent Campuses
Affiliated Campuses
Overall Student Population Student population distribution in constituent
institute/faculty only
11,533
4,2911,667 358 564 1,390
37,210
61,015
20,479
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
Science andTechnology
Engineering Medicine Forestry Agricultureand Animal
Science
Law Management Humanitiesand SocialSciences
Education
Institute of Engineering (IOE)
Established in 1972 One of institutes of TU. To produce technicians and engineers capable of
meeting national aspirations for accelerated development of country.
Four Constituent campuses – Pulchwok Campus & Thapathali Campus in Kathmandu Western Region Campus in Pokhara Eastern Region Campus in Dharan
Six private affiliated Colleges. About 1800 students in Pulchowk Campus alone
Center of Information Technology (CIT)
Established in 1997 One of autonomous units in IOE Objective is
to provide IT facilities to faculty, staff and students
to conduct research and development and consultancy works related to IT.
VSAT terminal and equipment for Internet connectivity
Optical fiber backbone within Pulchowk premises and large computing facilities.
Current Network Infrastructure at CIT/IOE Network Link and Users
VSAT link : 512kbps/128kbps (downlink/uplink) Thaicom Satellite
C-band systemBangkok as hub to internet
LAN Users : 1800 Dial-Up Users : 300
Current Network Infrastructure at CIT/IOE Equipment at Main Server Room at CIT
No of Routers: 2 Satellite Modem (upto 2 Mbps): 1 RAS Server (96 pools of digital/analog modems): 1 Switch (24-port Opto Electrical Switch) : 2 DNS, Web, Mail, Proxy, DHCP Servers : 6
Existing IOE Network Optical Fiber Backbone cabling for Interdepartmental
Connections About 900 PCs ranging from Pentium I to IV.
Research and Education Network Nepal
Establishment of RENN under administration of IOE to cater national and international
collaborations for facilitating research and educational developments
to meet growing needs of academic and research community in Nepal
Non-commercial Network
Aims and Objectives of RENN
To set up IT infrastructure to connect all universities / institutions and campuses within Nepal
To develop self-study centers by providing electronic library databases, Internet, multimedia, and other self-study material
To develop social-learning systems by creating multimedia courseware, and providing knowledge databases and distance learning systems.
To deliver increased opportunities for collaboration in research;
To facilitate transfer of technology between academic and research institutions;
To train teachers and assistants to be able to apply IT for educational development
To establish national database for academic institutions and educational research; provide systematic educational information to help establish information application system for academic institutions.
To encourage institutions participating in bilateral cooperative arrangements to bring them into multilateral relationships
RENN Organization
Divided into 4 levels of organization: RENN Advisory Board RENN Management Board Education Network Panel Information Resource Panel
Advisory Board Representative from Ministry of Education Representative from Ministry of Science and Technology Representative from Ministry of Finance Representative from National Planning Commission Representative from Ministry of Information and Communication/
Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) Representative from Nepal Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) Dean, Institute of Engineering Campus Chief, Pulchowk Campus Director, Center for Information Technology, Pulchowk Campus Representative from Kathmandu University Representative from Pokhara University Representative from Purwanchal University
Advisory Board (cont..) Representative from Faculty of Management, TU Representative from Institute of Science and Technology, TU Representative from Institute of Medicine, TU Representative from University Grants Commission (UGC) Representative from Royal Nepal Academic Science and
Technology (RONAST) President, Computer Association Nepal (CAN) President, Society of Electronics and Communication
Engineers Nepal (SECEN) President, Information Technology Professional Forum (ITPF) President, Association of Computer Engineers Nepal (ACEN)
Management Board Campus Chief, Pulchowk Campus Director, Center for Information Technology Head, Department of Electronics and Computer
Engineering, Pulchowk Campus IT Expert from Kathmandu University IT Expert from Pokhara University IT Expert from Purwanchal University IT Expert from Faculty of Management, TU IT Expert from Institute of Science and
Technology, TU IT Expert from Institute of Medicine, TU IT Expert from one of IOE Affiliated Campuses
Services Network infrastructure and services set up
shall include: Installation, maintenance and operation of large
Campus LANs Seamless interconnection of LAN-WAN segments,
and multi-protocol capability provided Deployment of wired and wireless networks for
Internet access Provision of whole range of Internet services Provision of e-learning and distance education
Current Status Central TU offices and Exam controller
Office are using dial-up connection TU Constituent as well as affiliated
Campuses within Kathmandu valley are connected by dial-up service
Ministry of Education is also connected to CIT network
Proposed Network Infrastructure
Network shall be build at three-layer hierarchical principle: Main Networking Center at IOE University Networking Centers in
Central TU Kathmandu University Pokhara University, Puwanchal University
Campus network in each campus
Main Networking Center is located in IOE at CIT Building acts as gateway to Internet Dedicated Intranet servers located.
Academic institutions and campuses are connected either directly to Main Networking Center or via University Networking Centers are located in
different parts of Nepal
Proposed Network Infrastructure
Proposed Network Topology
Constraints and problems Lack of policies and regulations for non-
commercial educational network No tax or license fee exemption for non-
commercial educational network Lack of telecommunication facilities in all
development regions Lack of ICT facilities in most of campuses outside
Kathmandu Valley Lack of infrastructure and physical facilities Lack of investment for educational network High cost of internetworking devices High cost of Internet Bandwidth through VSAT
Prospects Ministry of Science and Technology has
assured to formulate appropriate policies and regulations.
Ministry of Education is keen to support on establishing RENN
TU as well as IOE authorities are positive on establishing RENN
Foreign institutions are willing to help for not only establishment but also sustainable operation of RENN
Future Plan Upgrading the facilities of IOE; VSAT Bandwidth - Increase to 1Mbps/512kbps Connection to IOM and Central TU using dedicated
lines using Wi-Fi networks; Connection to IOE constituent as well as affiliated
colleges Wi-Fi networks or leased lines; Connection to Kathmandu University (KU) by leased Building Intranet Collaborations with foreign institutions/
organizations for various ICT R&D and network connectivity
