NSYSU computer and network center was established in 1981. In early days, our primary mission was to provide mainframe computers for all faculty members and students at the university. These mainframe systems were so expensive that no individual department could afford to build and maintain such a system. We first leased the CDC Cyber 180 mainframe computer in 1984. We then bought the CONVEX C3840 and IBM SP/2 to increase the computing power in 1993 and 1998, respectively.

As the rapid development in the information technology, the personal computers have become more and more powerful, and the price is getting more and more affordable. It causes the increasing use of the computers, and personal computer has become a basic personal equipment in office. We are now using PC cluster instead of mainframe computers to provide the computing power.

The rapid growth and extensive use of Internet is also an important event in the development of information technology in the late 20th century. Statistics show that the purpose of using a computer for most users is to collect and process information, scientific computation is no longer the main task of ordinary users. So our emphasis had shifted from the provision of scientific computation to the the provision of fast network service.

In recent years, a lot of resources were allocated to build up the computer network infrastructure in our university. The chronology below includes some important constructions: In 2001, we deployed the campus fiber network. In 2002, we bought Juniper M160 and we also expanded the service range of campus network to the student dormitory. In 2004, we added two Cisco 7609 routers to finalize the first phase of the campus broadband network. For the wireless network, we began to build the campus wireless network in 2000. We increased the speed of the network and expanded the service range of the network to most open space and important conference rooms at university in 2004.

In addition to the establishment of campus network, we also actively participated in the building and operating of national computer network. In 1990, we cooperated with the Ministry of Education to establish the first computer network in Taiwan --- TANet and started the network operation center of TANet South site. In 1999, we participated in the National Broadband Experiment Network (NBEN) project led by National Science Council. In 2003, we cooperated with the National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC) to build the Taiwan Advanced Research and Education Network (TWAREN), and we are one of the network operation centers of TWAREN now.

We put a lot of effort into the promotion of the management and the application of the network too. Besides providing service for users in our university, we also try to promote the application of internet and other information technologies for the local community. For instance, in 1992, we set up the first BBS in Taiwan and provided users with a platform on which everyone can freely express his/her own opinion. This BBS had become well-known for its enormous users for a long time and is still operating until now. There are also other favored BBSs in our school promoting the activities about humanity, art, and environment protection in southern Taiwan.

In addition to the hardware construction of our campus network, we also pay much attention to the management and application of network, especially the application for teaching. We have started to develop our e-learning platform since 1995. In 1999, National Sun Yat-Sen Cyber University provided the first cyber course and it is still in operation now. Compared to other universities in Taiwan, we are not only the first to enter the area of e-learning; we are also one of the most successful universities in e-learning course development. Over 1000 courses had been using this platform. It provides another way of learning for students. Students are not restricted to study in the traditional classroom. They can adjust the pace and the time by themselves according to their schedules and progress they have made.

Compared to other national universities in Taiwan, we were founded later, and the size is also smaller. In the first decade after the foundation of our university, we had ever been proud to have the fastest mainframe computer. The second decade is the period of computer networking. We had built a high quality campus network to make us one of the best universities in providing internet services. In the coming decade, we have started a plan to build the next-generation network and the high performance computers. Although we will continue to construct the new hardware, the focus of the third decade will be on services. We will provide robust and easy-to-use network and computer systems. Applications on the fast networking, such as advanced e-learning system will be emphasized. Consolidating database and its applications will also be in our plan. We will also promote the information security in the hope that everyone can rely on a much more robust and reliable information system in the near future. [TOP]