The Alabama Supercomputer Authority (ASA) provides internet access to over 900 sites across the state including schools and libraries. The ASA covers any remaining funds after E-rate discounts for internet services for the base level bandwidth. In 2023 the base level bandwidth was 1.5 Gbps for a P-12 school, 1Gbps for a high school, and 500 Mbps for Elementary, Middle, and Primary schools. The ASA also provides the ability for education facilities across the state to use a high performance computer system. The ASA is based in Hunstville, AL. Through their work in Alabama schools, libraries and other government entities are able to access much needed internet capabilities.
A supercomputer uses multiple CPU’s called nodes to handle complex computer operations. Instead of a web server that ryan at 10% of it’s capacity and is useful for small task A Supercomputer can use 100% of it’s resources to perform complex computations. The ASA currently has 7 nodes that are located in 4 locations across the state, to prevent any system-wide failure. The ASA has many different software and hardware elements that must all work together. A Linux based system is used to operate much of these components. dThe ASA also has many different layers of security that work together to fend off daily attempts at unauthorized use.
The ASA has been providing internet access to schools for over 35 years. Nowadays high-speed internet is very common. However, 25 years ago when I was in school most people didn’t even have dial-up. I can remember using the computer at school and only dreaming about being able to stream a video at home. In fact, the area I currently reside which is where I grew up at, has only had reliable high-speed internet in the last 5 years, unless you lived in town, and then it wasn’t near as fast as what is available now. High speed internet access is a very valuable tool in education, in fact many classrooms are sole dependent on internet nowadays. I know that when the internet goes out, everything in my class changes. Which is interesting because I rarely use the internet in many of my classes, but most of the tech I use requires connectivity to the internet.
The cost to provide that type of connectivity to schools would be astronomical without the federal E-rate program. This is important, because only those schools that had alot of private funding would be able to provide their students with high speed internet, if the funding was left up to the school. This would create many areas where students would be at a disadvantage in today’s society. E-rate levels the playing field in internet access, and in Alabama the ASA provides the ability to connect those schools to the internet.
Alabama Supercomputer Authority. (n.d. ) Managed Internet/ Wan. accessed on 4/1/2025. https://www.asc.edu/service/managed-internet-wan#:~:text=ASA%20offers%20high%20speed%2C%20dedicated,increments%20from%20100Mbps%20to%2010Gbps.
Frazier, M. & Hearrington, D. (2024) The Technology Coordinator’s Handbook (Fourth Edition) Portland, Oregon: Internation Society for Technology in Education.
HPC System Design. (n.d.) Alabama Supercomputer Authority. Accessed on 3/31/2025. https://www.asc.edu/sites/default/files/2023-07/HPC_system_design_1_compressed.pdf
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