Ref: 030304
First attempts to create computer networks in Moldova start at the end of 70's.
The work was carried out at Ministry of Communication, the Planification Institute of Gosplan, Academy of Science, etc.
Even some practical positive results were obtained about it.
And some expirience was accumulated it this branch.
But living under the iron curtain of that period, not having access to the technologies used in developed countries, all of the trials to create computer networks failed. Computers and Operational Systems we were having were at the level of IBM 360 and 370 systems but the necessary facilities for network were partially or even completely missing. So naturally in a situation like that it was almost impossible to construct network capable of functioning in real conditions.
The first e-mail systems in Moldova appeared only at the begging of 90's; it was the soviet network - Relcom.
There was not a single leased line at that time, the Relcom servers were working in UUPC mode, that means that they were both accumulating information and interconnecting at certain intervals of time for information transfer on the bases of telecommunication access method. The central computer node of Relcom network, situated in Moscow, were having a connection to West Europe.
It was primitive, but it was a start. And in my opninion an especial
importance of that network consisted in the fact that it realised two main
objectives:
1. The network were respecting international standards;
2. It was an efficient and cheap means to communicate with the colleagues from
all over the world, therefore it contributed to the free exchange of
information (For instance, a message by e-mail were getting the Western
Europe in a couple of hours, while a letter sent by usual air-mail was covering
all of the distance in a couple of months).
The faster and more efficient communication let a group of persons (not too large), who were having access to e-mail, know the developed countries achievements in the branch of electronic communications.
At the time when USSR had disappeared and the iron curtain had fallen, exchanges with all of the countries have intesified; advanced technique and technologies have begun to penetrate our society.
The economical slump was not that bad yet; lots of computers of class PC 286 and 386 (which still work now) were mandated at that time. And the majority of Relcom computer nodes were based on PC 386 and Free BSD operational system.
When western technologies penetrated our market the disparity between West and ex-soviet areas became extremely visible. Soviet technology couldn't face in competition with Western ones and little by little were taken away. At the moment there are no soviet production computers in use anymore.
The first Internet server was constructed in 1993 at Republican Centre of Informatics. It was a PC-based server, rolling the Linux operational system and the most important ! a leased line at 19,2 kbps to EARN network was provided.
Despite the low rate of data transfer, it became possible to make experiments and even to work with utilities like Telnet, FTP, Gopher, WWW in textual mode. In a short time two more computer nodes branched out : one was at the University and another one at Academy of Science. Both the research and the implementations of Internet tecnologies started. The main weakness consisted in low performances of communication canal - for example , it almost imposible to work in graphic mode with WWW.
The work on constructing a computer network for educational and research institutes started in 1995. It was sponsored by Soros Foundation. The network became operational in the first half of the 1996 and it is known as Moldnet (though it would be more correct to be called MoldEduNet, for instance).
The important fact is that this network has a chanel of 64 kbps through satellite to Stockholm, to TideNet and which permits to use graphic mode (of course for video in real-time 64 kbps it isn't enough)
The structure of Moldnet network consists of 5 nodes which are the
following:
· Soros Foundation in Moldova
· State University of Moldova
· Technical University of Moldova
· Academy of Economy of Moldova
· Academy of Science of Moldova
(all of them are in Kishinau).
Each of these nodes has: a server, a router and one or more radiomodems.
Routers are connected between them through radiochanels at a speed of 128 kbps.
Moreover, the Soros Foundation router is connected to Internet node in Stockholm trough a cosmic channel at a speed of 64 kbps.
Network is under estension; the equipment for Pedagogical University is already received; connectin of University of Medicine and of other medical institutes is stipulated. I would like to mention the distinct importance of physicians adheration to Internet - there are high quality physicians in Moldova who colligate with Europe and USA but a serious obstacle for this colaboration is the lack of an adequate system of eficient communication between partners. And in this case access to Internet would have a good effect too.
Besides those 2 academic networks we were talking about, that is EARN
and MoldNet there are two more providers of Internet services in Kishinau:
1. UNDP. They have a satellite antenna , a canal of 64 kbps. Also through this
link local network has access to Internet from UNO office and UNO
representatives in Moldova - through dial-up. Do not perform services for some
persons . At the moment they provide connection to Internet for External
Economical Relations Department of the Government. Also a work on an ample
project of connecting some ministries and departments to Internet is carried
out.
Moldpack. It is a commercial provider. It performs X25 services. Uses an
optical fibre canal. Has two more computer nodes in republic.
2. Apriory SRL. Commercial provider. Satellite canal of 64 kbps to TaideNet
Stockholm.
3. And the old services performers - Relcom. At the moment besides the UUPC use
the leased-lines described upper.
The network problems and their technicak solutions are specific for Universities too. The main specific features that should be underlined are:
The connection of Academic Campus to Soros Foundation Anntena is made through radio-modems at a frequency of 2.4 GHz.
There is a partial functioning of structure based on Thick Ethernet between buildings of different institutes of Academic campus on the str. Academical. Moreover this process is under extention.
Repeaters are used to cover the entire campus. The connection of Botanic Garden, Institute of Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Institute of Biological Protection of Plants which are situated at a considerable distance from academic campus and which are too far to be visible directly by radio-modems will be made through a leased-line.
Also the Praesidium of Academy and the Institute of History and the Institute of Linguistics which are in different corners of the town too will be connected through a leased-line.
The following operational systems are used:
· HP-UX - for the server donated fy Soros Foundation
· Solaris - for SUN workstations and servers
· Linux - for servers based on Intel strusture
· Windows 95 and 3.11 - for users's PC
For navigation through Internet we use Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, Scripter for MS Windows 95, etc.
The development of Moldnet is supposed to follow like this:
· to connect new users to Moldnet, especially other academies and
univeristies, nonprofit scientific-research organizations and different
colleges.
· to increase the channel speed ;
Possible rate through satellite anntena of the donated by Soros equipment is
up to 256 kbps;
· to create a new powerful channel to Internet;
At the moment Moldtelecom, the operator of national telecommunications has
installed a channel based on optical fibre which connects Kishinau to Western
Europe; it is also going to connect Kishinau to Nothern Caucas and Baltic Sea
area. Use of optical fibre channel will substantialy improve the quality of
communications. But in this case a problem of payment for channel appears.
· to research, develop and adopt modern technologies of using the Moldnet
and Internet networks;
Hard and soft solutions adopted in Moldnet network are good solutions, but we
are already facing the necessity of some more performant equipment - server's
parameters and storrage capacity need to be enlarged.
· to develop and create new databases and new Internet servers;
We appreciate the thing that in the very next future the number
of such servers will be increased.
· to upgrade technical base of Moldnet;
The problems of development of academic and university information systems
in Moldova are similar to the ones described by Guntas
Barzdins and Janis Kikutis in “BALTNET Project: Current Network Status
in Latvia”, but the situation in Moldova is worse (for instance, Moldnet
has access to Internet at a speed of only 64 kbps).
The most important are indicated lower:
1. Not modern and insufficient technical base (there are computers as IBM PC
and just a few workstations, so therefore a main part of scientists,
researchers and students do not have a free access to Internet). Actualy there
is a set of obsolete PS-s at educational and research institutes, and about 40%
of them do not allow instalation of some modern softs like Netscape, Windows
95, Unix, etc., talking about servers the situation is even worse - the number
of servers and workstations is under 10.
2. We do not have a good (powerful) link to Internet (a rate of 64 kbps isn't
enough for a normal work, as you know). It should be taken into consideration
that there are about 10.000 people (professors and students) who want to be
connected (the channel is only at 64 kbps). Because of this reason universities
are looking for resourses to mandate their own satellite antenna and to pay for
channels and for data transffer.
3. The number of skilled service personnel for working with Internet is little.
Some groups of people who know Internet technologies have been formed at
institutes which have access to Internet . There are even Internet courses at
some of these institutes.
4. Help for Moldnet was recieved from Soros Foundation, EuroAsia Fond and NATO
(not from European structures).
So our suggestion would sound as follows:
· to apply to European Commission and INTAS Countries on behalf of EUNIS
to increase the amount of funds INCO, COPERNICUS, INTAS and other programs for
support of developing of information systems in the Countries of Central Europe
and the New Indepent States and for integration them into European information
systems;
· to create working group (from all EUNIS countries) which will:
1. develop a common database of EUNIS Web server using also Web servers of
EUNIS countries ( topics may be legislation, scientific programs, education
programs and so on). This may be suggested as a project to European
Commission;
2. to develop the conception of common European academic and university system
(including NIS and CEE countries).
Copyright EUNIS 1997 Y.E.