Dec, 2001 : Ikano Runs Final Technology Rehearsal Tests for Olympics

📅 December 31, 2001 - The stage is set and the final technology rehearsal, TestRehearsal 2 (TR2), for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 is complete, saysIkano Communications (ikano.com), the official network services supplier forthe Games. The tests gave Ikano engineers an opportunity to test and ensurethat the expanded data network will be ready.

Ikano Communications, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, will provide alldata-networking services and accompanying support for the Games. TheIkano-built data network is the largest network in existence in the state ofUtah and is considered the central nervous system of all technologyfunctions for the Games. Nearly every aspect of technology for the Gameswill run over this network.
The high-performance network will be used to aggregate data and informationfrom Olympic events and then distribute the information to Olympic staff,athletes, officials, the host broadcaster, and the Salt Lake OlympicOrganizing Committee (SLOC) Web site.
"The Ikano engineering team has extensive experience building, managing andsecuring extremely complex, networks. Ikano currently supports its ownnationwide network and I am confident that the Olympic network will remainsecure for the duration of the Games," said Dave Busser, SLOC CIO. "We choseIkano because of its demonstrated expertise in delivering high-performancenetwork infrastructure, built-in redundancy, and its experienced staff."
While Test Rehearsal 1 went smoothly in October, only one-third of thenetwork was built out at that time. Since TR1, the network has expanded totwo-thirds of Games-time operation size.
Additional applications have been installed and have come online, moreservices have gone live, additional venues have been added and more trafficoverall will flow over the network during TR2.
"The operation of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Games Data Network was flawlessduring the second and final technical rehearsal," said Bob Donohoo, Ikanosenior network engineer. "This Ikano-installed and supported data networkwas validated through several artificially created network failures as apart of testing the network redundancy features and training preparedness todate."
One testing scenario involved losing power to all primary routers andswitches at the data center. Backup routers and switches were automaticallyenabled without any human involvement. In addition, Ikano engineers detectedthe failure to the network within seconds and responded immediately.
Another scenario simulated a major cable cut to one of two cable entrancesat another location. Three DS3 circuits were simultaneously cut. Withinseconds of the circuit failure, all data traffic was routed from thecompetition venues through alternate paths over the data network. Again,Ikano engineers detected, isolated and resolved this simulated problemquickly.
To complete TR2, Ikano engineers reconfigured the data network at twocompetition venues to simulate the transition from Games to Paralympics. Thetransition was successful and provided valuable information for the greaternetwork transition that will occur in early March 2002.
"This network, with some 450 installed switches, firewalls, cache engines,and routers of the 900 required for Games, met all expectations after makingsome minor modifications based on the results of the first technicalrehearsal," said Donohoo. "At this point, we are going to expand the currentnetwork model and do not expect to make any design changes."
"This final round of testing gave us a much better idea of what thenetwork's capabilities will be during Games time," said Henry Smith, IkanoCEO. "It operated closer to capacity during this round of testing, allowingIkano engineers to produce conclusive test results."
TR2 allowed Ikano engineers to validate network design changes made sinceTR1, as the network was changed to increase security and reduce exposure tofailures. While the network performed well during TR1, these steps weretaken to ensure greater success during Games-time.
While the data network is operational both before and during the OlympicWinter Games, systems must be in place to ensure that the network staysoperational. If a failure should occur, Ikano engineers must isolate andsolve the problem as quickly as possible. While the primary network mayfail-over to a backup network in a matter of seconds, the original problemmust typically be corrected in a matter of minutes. To ensure that thishappens, approximately 12 network management stations will be strategicallyplaced throughout the network using a variety of utilities and severalcustom-built applications and databases written by Ikano engineers.
Information distributed over the network will include event schedules andreal-time results, athlete profiles, weather and performance data. Ikano iscurrently building, configuring, testing, managing and maintaining a datanetwork capable of supporting all the integral technology functions of theGames. The network will be available at all venues, many of which will stageevents simultaneously.