Avaya, the company that is building the converged communication network for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, has been rigorously testing the network`s configuration, reliability and security with excellent results. The tests are a key part of the process to ensure the network is available 99.99% of the time.
The converged network - combining voice and data on the same infrastructure - will be used by teams, referees, journalists plus FIFA and organising committee officials for a variety of tasks, including accreditation, reporting results, logistics and transportation.
In addition to conducting more than 400 tests at the company`s FIFA World Cup lab in Frankfurt, Avaya, a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses, commissioned Netconsult Online Limited, an independent company specialising in quality control and assurance, to validate network testing results.
Exhaustive testing of failover scenarios, backup power, firmware and software compatibility, and the resiliency of the various IP applications was conducted.
"To test the network without finding any major issues is excellent, especially considering the complexity of the project," says Peter Draper, a consultant from Netconsult Online Limited, who oversaw the network assessment testing.
Following the independent validation, FIFA also just completed its own integration testing in which it examined performance of applications across the network. The FIFA integration testing was again successful. All the components of the network have been extensively tested, labelled and made ready for deployment to various stadiums and other venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany so the excitement can commence with kick-off of the opening match in less than a month.
The stage is now set for installation of the network in the 12 FIFA World Cup stadiums beginning with Munich and Berlin. The IT Command Centre for the entire network is currently up and running in Munich and the accreditations centres will be open over the next weeks, beginning with Berlin on 1 May.
"Logistics and transportation are among the many critical functions that rely on our converged communications network," says Doug Gardner, managing director for Avaya`s FIFA World Cup Technical programme. "It is vital to extensively test the network and all the individual devices to be deployed to avoid delays for the thousands of people involved in producing this event, the 80 000 spectators at each game and to get teams to the stadiums on time and match statistics to broadcasters promptly."
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Avaya Inc designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than one million businesses worldwide, including over 90% of the Fortune 500. Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol telephony systems and communications software applications and services. Also, Avaya is a pioneer and leader in enterprise fixed/mobile convergence with hundreds of thousands of customers using extension to cellular capability of Avaya Communication Manager every day.
Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business applications - and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services - Avaya helps customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results. For more information, visit the Avaya Web site at http://www.avaya.com.
The FIFA World Cup and Avaya
As the official convergence communication provider for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Avaya is providing a champion communications network infrastructure for the world`s largest sporting event. The converged network - that combines voice and data on the same infrastructure - will connect the 12 FIFA World Cup stadiums, the media centres in all stadiums and the FIFA headquarters in Berlin.
Players, coaches, volunteers and fans alike will benefit from the Avaya network that will be instrumental in player and journalist accreditation, results reporting, material tracking, accommodation confirmations, transportation, and ticketing, among other critical functions. With an estimated 45 000 network connections, 30 000 network devices and over 15 terabytes (or 15 000 000 000 bytes) of data, it is the largest converged communication network ever built for a sporting event.
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