A. Network Architecture
To orient the reader to the placement and significance of the various components requested in the following subsections, we offer here a brief overview of the network architecture being used for Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh. A much more detailed description was given in our original proposal to the NSF, which is attached to the present document.
It is convenient to distinguish three levels of computer networks. At a school site there is a local area network. This involves wiring on the premises, with a number of attached devices. These devices include the following:
Information servers. These computers provide various services for students and teachers at the school site. In CK:P these services include file serving (or storage of electronic material), print serving (to allow several people to share the same printer), electronic mail and the dissemination of information across the network.
User devices. Typical user devices are personal computers attached to the network. These are general-purpose devices, whose functionality is enhanced by their network connection.
The next level of the network is what links together the various school sites and allows them to access other network resources in the community. This level is called the metropolitan area network. In CK:P the essential pieces of the metropolitan area network are provided by links from each school to a central site. The central site is presently at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center but is expected eventually to migrate to a site within the Pittsburgh Public Schools, whose offices are just two doors down Bellefield Avenue from the Supercomputing Center.
Through the Supercomputing Center CK:P is provided with a fast connection to the national network. Collectively, networks which span units larger than the metropolitan area are known as wide area networks. Any school district contemplating connectivity to the national network will have to consider these various levels of connectivity and assure that they hare able to procure reliable and economical connections at each level. We believe that CK:P provides a valuable prototype for all of these considerations.
B. Scope
In our original proposal to the NSF we envisioned that the project would involve a total of 10-12 school sites in its second year. We are easily on track with these expectations, and we believe we could accelerate the pace of implementation if we were provided with the necessary funding. The major stumbling block is precisely the hardware needs addressed in the present proposal. In the subsections which follow we list the equipment needs and associated budget, assuming we would proceed only at the pace targeted in the original proposal.
That pace would accommodate 6-8 new school sites in the 1994 calendar year. The RFP process has selected 7 particularly strong candidates from a short list of 15 that was selected in the first round of proposal reviews. If we are able to find adequate funding for the associated hardware and personnel needs, we would like to accommodate more of these very good proposals. Therefore, if the resources of the Heinz Endowment permit it, we would like to funding beyond the level indicated in our current NSF proposal so that we might be able to expand to 10 or 11 new sites in the present calendar year.
The following tables show the budget numbers that would apply for the limited scenario described in the original grant proposal and the expanded scenario that we would like to propose to the Heinz Endowment. The text in the following subsections explains the various entries in the tables; and a detailed budget is attached at the end of the proposal. Each table indicates the total cost of the school-based infrastructure being developed for Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh. A portion of these costs are to be covered by vendor contributions or monies from the Pittsburgh Public Schools. (The majority of the financial contributions to the project from the Pittsburgh Public Schools are in the form of staff support, but the school district is scheduled to cover the costs of a portion of the school network wiring.) The columns labeled "Vendor/PPS" refer to the vendor donations and the Pittsburgh Public Schools contribution. The column labeled "Heinz" is the difference between the total cost and the contribution from the other sources mentioned. This is what is being requested in the present grant proposal.
The two tables are labeled "Limited Scenario" and "Expanded Scenario." The limited scenario refers to the minimal funding level required for us to meet the funding formula given in our proposal to the National Science Foundation. The expanded scenario would allow us to go beyond a minimal second year implement with seven new school sites and take advantage of the enormous level of interest that has been generated in the course of the RFP process. Given the school district's current interest in technology planning, the present year seems like a particularly good time to encourage initiative on the part of teachers, principals and school support staff. Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh provides a good mechanism for doing this.
Item Cost Vendor/PPS Heinz
School network $96,000 $13,000 $83,000
Information servers $172,000 $86,000 $86,000
User devices $160,000 $80,000 $80,000
TOTAL $428,000 $179,000 $249,000
Item Cost Vendor/PPS Heinz School network $132,000 $13,000 $119,000 Information servers $242,000 $121,000 $121,000 User devices $232,000 $116,500 $116,500 TOTAL $606,000 $250,500 $356,500
C. School Network
The costs listed under the heading "School network" include both the network wiring and the electronics needed to tie the network together and allow attached devices to function in the networked environment. The total cost of these items for each site amounts to about $9,000. The additional costs of spares and security equipment bring the total cost of school network items for the limited scenario to about $96,000. In the expanded scenario, there are 4 additional school sites budgeted, and the cost of school network items is correspondingly $36,000 higher, for a total of $132,000. We are requesting that the Heinz Endowment cover that portion of the school network not covered by funds from the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
The wiring supplied for classrooms at each site is similar to standard telephone wiring, and wiring procedures are also similar. In the first year of operation of CK:P we have learned how to approach building wiring within the school district. Given the complications of asbestos remediation, work scheduling and other problems, this can be a lengthy task to complete, and it is important that we begin wiring the second-year sites as early as possible in the present year.
D. Information Servers
The server at each school site is a key element for network services at the school and for information dissemination over the network. This machine can either be a high-end personal computer or a low-end scientific workstation. The server includes large amounts of shared disk space and memory, and a capability to access other mass storage devices such as magnetic tapes and CD-ROMs. We are budgeting $16,000 for each school server. The budget for the limited scenario includes 10 such servers - one for each of the seven new sites, one spare and two to cover sites that could not be funded under the Buhl grant received in October, 1993. Additionally, we are providing printers for each site. These cost $1500 each, giving a total of $12,000 for seven sites and one spare. The total cost of information servers under the limited scenario is thus $172,000. The expanded scenario covers the cost of 4 additional severs and printers. This adds $70,000 to the cost of the limited scenario, for a total of $242,000. We are requesting that the Heinz Endowment cover half of the costs of these items, the other being assumed to be borne by vendor donations to the project.
E. User Devices
A major cost in the project is the provision of user devices for students and teachers. The user devices that we have supplied to date have been a mix of Apple Macintosh computers and personal computers running Microsoft Windows. These have performed quite well, and we expect to continue to supply a mix of these machines. We are budgeting $1800 for each such device and seek to provide for a dozen devices at each school site. Seven sites would require a total of 84 devices. The budget for the limited devices includes funds for 5 spares, and a total cost for user devices of $160,000. The expanded scenario adds 40 additional user devices for the 4 additional sites, which increases the cost of this line item by $72,000. We are requesting that the Heinz Endowment cover half the cost of these items, the other half to be supplied through vendor donations or discounts.