AbMAN serves the Higher and Further Educational institutes in the North East of Scotland; the University of Aberdeen, the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen College, and Banff and Buchan College, and also research establishments including the Rowett Research Institute, SEERAD Fisheries Research Services, Scottish Agricultural College, and MacAulay Land Use Research Institute. The Thus network will enable consortium members to run a variety of applications including all internet activities, those in support of e-science, video conferencing and collaborative tools in particular, the Scottish Schools intranet network GLOW.
Andrew McCreath, Chair of AbMAN commented: "The network solution from Thus provides higher speeds and bandwidth across the 11 organisations connected on the network. We also have the option to support new technologies and learning tools as well as the ability to connect additional sites in the future should the consortium grow. Increasingly students expect access to online networking and multimedia resources. By facilitating new learning methods such as virtual learning environments, AbMAN will empower students to achieve their goals, take ownership of their studies and define their own learning strategies."
Phil Male, Chief Operating Officer, Thus plc said: "Our experience in the education sector and strong relationship with the AbMAN Consortium has enabled us to deliver a solution that not only meets current needs, but also provides the ability to develop their capabilities in the future. This contract extension recognises the quality of the service Thus has provided over the years."
The bespoke solution designed by Thus offers high capacity, robust access to the AbMAN central network over THUS' next-generation network. Service speed and connectivity are ensured by16 open fibre links and 2 high-capacity leased lines. AbMAN uses these fibres to provide 1Gbps connections to the institutes and 10Gbps between its core routers. AbMAN is connected to the Internet via SuperJANET 5 at 2.5Gbps.