3Com networks All Africa Games with equipment worth over R5-million

3Com has been selected to provide the entire network infrastructure for the `7th All Africa Games` to be held in Johannesburg in September. The sponsorship of the 3Com Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) based infrastructure is worth over R5-Million.

"The technology for the `All Africa Games`, sponsored by 3Com, was provided at a critical stage to make the event a success," says Mvuzo Mbebe, chief executive officer of the National Sports Council (NSC). He says that as an international company, 3Com will add further value to the Games. "This sponsorship is very important, because without private partnership, the government would have to carry all the expenses involved. 3Com,with its quality expertise in the networking industry, will send a positive message to the outside world," he says.

3Com, in conjunction with partner DNS, will install and maintain the network infrastructure throughout the event and sophisticated IT systems will be required to manage the various aspects of the game, explains Maurice Gaddin, customer services manager for 3Com SA.

"3Com is offering a complete LAN-to-WAN based solution, to act as a backbone for the Games," he says. "The network system will consist of three separate network infrastructures and each infrastructure will consist of distributed workstations and servers linked to a central site in Joubert Park."

"Our involvement in this important event is to plan, design, customise and install the LAN-and WAN based network infrastructure," says Gaddin. "3Com is also supplying the network equipment for the infrastructure, consisting 3Com switches, VPN routers, remote access servers, modems and network interface cards."

The WAN will provide an infrastructure allowing for the transfer of data to the main centre in Joubert Park and will form the backbone of the centre`s communication, with workstations at all the sport locations ranging from Hillbrow to the Games Village in Alexandra.

We compiled a strategy based on the requirements of the `All Africa Games`, explains Gaddin. "Three networks will be implemented," he says. "The first will facilitate the monitoring and on-line posting of the results at the sporting facilities, the second will manage the accreditation of the athletes and a third general network will handle administration for staff and the press."

The results network will monitor the results of the athletes at the various sporting facilities. "Once the event is completed the results will be verified and posted to the Internet server," he says.

DNS, one of 3Com`s business partners, will be assisting 3Com with the planning, customising, maintaining and managing of the network infrastructures. The network will be monitored and managed at the DNS network centre in Bryanston. Unihold has also been subcontracted for the customisation of the three severs and workstations and to manage the roll out of these systems.

The architecture of the accreditation network, which consists of 44 workstations, is structured to link centres at NASREC, the Airport and the Sandton Sun & Towers Inter-continental. "One of the advantages of the accreditation based network is that it provides a centralised data-collection system of all the medical records of all the athletes and allows for on-line printed data inquiries," says Gaddin. "The accreditation forms have already been sent out to all athletes and detailed information regarding their medical records will be available from the database. Specialised data, such the regulation of doping control and infectious diseases features will be identified and marked down in the database."

In addition, the health surveillance committee is going to install an information system located at the international zone located in the Games Village. "All medical data including the reporting of infectious diseases, diarrhoea, rash or jaundice will then be transferred from the medical database to the health surveillance committee server."

The third structure of the strategy, according to Gaddin, is the implementation of a general network system, structured for the sole use of the administration staff and the press. The general network will be linked to a Cyber Cafe, located at the Games Village, where the athletes will have access so e-mail, telephone, fax and photocopy facilities, explains Gaddin.

"The Cyber Cafe will remain at this site after the event, and 3Com will donate most of its technology, such as the NIC`s and modems, to educational institutions after the Games," he concludes.