Red ULA

                  Global Networking Survey

Section 1 Coordinates

Name of the network RedULA
Contact person/pointEdmundo Vitale

Postal address Facultad de Ingenieria ULA-Av. Tulio Febres
                  Merida, 5101-Venezuela
                Telephone Number+5874402919-1128-2903
                  Fax Number+5874402947
                e-mail addressvitalee@ing.ula.ve

Section 2 Network

1.  Scope of the network (check all that apply)

       Academic                [x]
       General Research        [x]
       Government              []
       NGO                     [x]
       Commercial              []
       Special Interest Group  []      Specify________
       Other                   []      Specify________

2.  Description

      Operating since         __1991___
      Registered users        __1500___
      Active users            ___600(connected at least once a
                                     month during the last 3 months)

3.  Approximately, what percent of your users would you estimate as being

      __94___ University and research faculty staff
      ___3__ University students
      _____ Government employees
      _____ Commercial employees
      ___2__ NGO employees
      ___1__ Employees of International organizations, e.g., 
             (UNESCO, PNUD, OAS, IADB, and World Bank)
      _____ Other   ______________________

4.  Do you charge for services     Yes []  No [x]

      If Yes, specify charging methods (check all that apply)
              ____ Free to end users
              ____ Fixed charges to end users
              ____ Variable (usage-based) charge to end users
              ____ Free to end institutions (such as a university)
              ____ Fixed charged to institutions
              ____ Variable (usage-based) charge to institutions

5.  What is the approximate annual budget for your network 
   connection and/or information center?    __150.000__________USA$

6.  Of that budget, approximately what percent is used for


      __10 communication equipment
      __20_ computer equipment
      __10_communication charges
      __15 technical staff
      __15_ management staff
      __10___ support staff
      __ 5 facilities
      ___5_ software
      ___5_ overhead
      ___5__ other ______________________

7.  Type(s) of connection(s) or gateway(s) out of your country

      __x___ IP
      _____ UUCP
      _____ Fidonet
      _____ Bitnet
      _____ Other _______________________

8.  Communication links(s) out of your country (for each link)

      Speed                   19.200____
      Leased or switched      ___leased_
      Vendor                  __CANTV__
      Where do you connect?   _University of Princenton_______

9.  Approximately, what percent of your users have

      ____ e-mail only
      __5__ dial-in access to a command line account on a host
      __5__ dial-in SLIP/PPP connectivity
      _90___ full-time IP connectivity

10. Approximately, what percent of hosts on your network run

      __1_ an FTP server
      __1_ a WWW (http) server
      __1_ a Gopher server
      __1_ a list server
      __1__ a news server
      ____ a dial-up bulletin board
      __1_ a library catalogue

11. Of the hosts of your network, what of each type?

      _20% personal computers running DOS
      _55%_Personal computers running Microsoft Windows
      __1% personal computers running Unix
      __1% Personal computers running Mac OS
      _23% Unix workstations
      ___ Other workstations
      ____ Unix minicomputers
      ____ Other minicomputers
      ____ Unix mainframes
      ____ Other mainframes
      ____ Other ________________

12. Approximately, what percent of the hosts in your network communicate via

      _100 IP
      ____ UUCP
      ____ Fido
      ____ Bitnet
      ____ Other ________________

Section 3 Help-desk and user support

1.  Is there a help-desk or other central point for queries?  Yes [x]  No []


        Postal addreesRedULA-Facultad de Economia ULA-La Hechicera
                        Merida, 5101-Venezuela 
                      Telephone number+58-44-1128
     e-mail addressredula@ing.ula.ve

2.  Is a general user guide available?  Yes [x]   No []

      Paper   [x]      Electronic []

3.  User group support activities
      Describe here activities to support user groups in using the network.
       
        Short courses on e-mail, unix
        Installation of Programs
        Seminars that covers Internet facilities
        Installatios and configuratios of Modems
        User guides
        
4.  Training activities and workshops
      Describe here activities to train and inform user support staff.
        
        Courses(at National levels) on Network Management, Unix, Modems
        Netware, Windows for Group, Design of Networks, etc.
        Workshops for training our technical staff(3 per year)
        Telecommunications Workshops
5.  Other activities
      Describe here any other activities on your network you consider
      relevant.  Comments (plans, etc.) 

        We organize the Latinoamerican School on Computer Networks, every
        two years. On November 95 we are going to have the second presen-
        tation.


Section 4 Success stories

Could you give some examples of users or applications which best
illustrate the value of your network?
 

For a developing country like  Venezuela the possibility to tap the
information resources of the INTERNET make a profound difference specially
for the Academic activities. Since the deployment of our network the
international cooperation project in which our researches have been involved
has increased tenfold. Some of our users do not have access to telephone 
lines due to the limitations of the communications infrastructure. Nevertheless
they are able to connect to our network and to the INTERNET by means of 
radio modems, sidestepping the PTT. 
 
              Thanks for your cooperation!!!!