NewsDude
07-10-2008, 04:10 PM
The Alameda County Fair Association knew it needed a long-term infrastructure solution to solve its antiquated network issues. Alameda County Fair Association Chief Financial Officer Randy Magee and maintenance supervisor Ed Johnson [examined] plans for thenext phase of the fiber-optic network at the nation's oldest one-mile horse racetrack. The historic fairgrounds needed a solution that could support today's changing technology.
The country's oldest one-mile horse racetrack sits among 267 acres of high fairgrounds maintained by the Alameda County Agricultural Fair Association. Today, jockeys and trainers run their horses on the same grounds once used by champion racehorse Seabiscuit. Each year, this Northern California site 30 miles outside of San Francisco opens its gates to the Alameda County Fair, which has attracted people from around the county since 1858.
Though history is part of the fairgrounds' charm, its age was creating obstacles as the association sought to incorporate new technologies into the fairgrounds' antiquated copper network. Dropped calls, connectivity failures and slow-loading network applications were taking their toll on the association's daily operations. Limited bandwidth and monthly DSL service charges created additional inconvenience and expense.
Though he had part-time help from an external IT company, fairgrounds maintenance supervisor Ed Johnson needed a long-term infrastructure solution. "I like to be self-reliant," Johnson says. "I don't want to wait for help." Johnson had his work cut out for him. The copper-structured cabling system lacked a central backbone to connect the more than 30 buildings scattered throughout the fairgrounds. Upon inspection, Johnson discovered that about 30 percent of the copper wiring was unusable, while about 20 percent was in marginal condition.
"It was a matter of, are we going to pull all this old wire out and start from scratch, or are we going to work with what we have," Johnson says.
The association's needs went far beyond...
More... (http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=60697)
The country's oldest one-mile horse racetrack sits among 267 acres of high fairgrounds maintained by the Alameda County Agricultural Fair Association. Today, jockeys and trainers run their horses on the same grounds once used by champion racehorse Seabiscuit. Each year, this Northern California site 30 miles outside of San Francisco opens its gates to the Alameda County Fair, which has attracted people from around the county since 1858.
Though history is part of the fairgrounds' charm, its age was creating obstacles as the association sought to incorporate new technologies into the fairgrounds' antiquated copper network. Dropped calls, connectivity failures and slow-loading network applications were taking their toll on the association's daily operations. Limited bandwidth and monthly DSL service charges created additional inconvenience and expense.
Though he had part-time help from an external IT company, fairgrounds maintenance supervisor Ed Johnson needed a long-term infrastructure solution. "I like to be self-reliant," Johnson says. "I don't want to wait for help." Johnson had his work cut out for him. The copper-structured cabling system lacked a central backbone to connect the more than 30 buildings scattered throughout the fairgrounds. Upon inspection, Johnson discovered that about 30 percent of the copper wiring was unusable, while about 20 percent was in marginal condition.
"It was a matter of, are we going to pull all this old wire out and start from scratch, or are we going to work with what we have," Johnson says.
The association's needs went far beyond...
More... (http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=60697)