TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Smarter Infrastructure Can Take a Beating Without Missing a Beat

Dennis McCafferty | Date: 12-04-09 | Comments

Sixnet is offering specialized "rugged" infrastructure solution packages that provide the kind of durability, reliability and redundancy needed to get the job done.

Running a job operation in a place like Antarctica can be tough on employees�what with sub-zero temperatures and all of that annoying snow and ice. And it can be just as rough on the operation�s IT infrastructure. Ditto for the opposite end of the global climate perspective, in a place like the rocky, sweltering Barnett Shale in northeastern Texas�where reliable networks are needed for continuing natural gas exploration�and various pockets of the Middle East.

As in Barnett Shale, opportunities for IT projects continue to grow in even the most remote, roughest parts of the world, so the infrastructure needs to be tough enough to withstand a continuous beat-down from Mother Nature. Or�in the case of war zones in Baghdad�the pounding of combat. Sixnet, a Ballston Lake, N.Y.-based networking solutions company specializing in machine-to-machine data communications products, is taking advantage by marketing specialized "rugged" infrastructure solution packages that provide the kind of durability, reliability and redundancy needed to get the job done. Sixnet products are now being used by U.S. Navy air traffic control systems operators in Antarctica, oil drillers in Oman and organizations in other challenging parts of the world.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Sixnet�s waterproof, eight-port, all-gigabit Ethernet switch/rugged style connectors package is being used to equip Stryker assault vehicles. With these vehicles essentially serving as rolling networks with the most advanced electronics, the Ethernet tools protect against vibration, shock, corrosion, dust, water, debris and other hazards of war. �It�s demonstrated constant reliability in tough combat situations,� says Scott Killian, Sixnet�s director of connectivity. �More than 30 of our product units on field trials have passed all needed Army testing.�

Similar products being used in off-shore networking operations�needed to provide wireless data logging of tasks such as the metering and accounting of wet oil/gas supplies�have yet to encounter any online failures to date. Electric utility companies are using them to monitor remote, unmanned facilities, using less manpower in the process. Sixnet has even found a strong demand for its products among companies that seek to develop wind-energy solutions, given the need to perform such research in extremely gusty environments.

The technology provides needed flexibility too. The Sixnet EL228 Ethernet switch, for example, can be used with a mix of copper RJ-45 or fiber transceivers, so network operators can mix and match fiber and copper ports on the fly�a common demand in these kinds of venues. It also provides fast redundancy to keep the network running under fault conditions.