Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO), the market leader in gas transmission, distribution and processing in Egypt, has announced that it will deploy a 3Com networking solution to serve 2 500 users across three connected buildings at the company`s new $25 million headquarters in New Cairo.
Representing the largest ever oil and gas local area network (LAN) yet to be deployed in Egypt, the end-to-end solution from 3Com includes multiple Gigabit Ethernet switches that maximise speed and performance of network traffic and minimise network disruptions.
"Given the number of users and physical spread of our new headquarters, we needed a flexible, feature-rich and cost-effective networking solution that would guarantee 100% uptime, traffic prioritisation and identification," said Mohamed Taher, IT technical manager, GASCO.
"Moreover, we needed a flexible network design that would allow for the movement and configuration of different users from one location to another. With 3Com, we have found a state of the art network that will help improve productivity and efficiency. The proven scalability, high performance and resilience of 3Com`s enterprise switching products proved to be by far the best price to performance, both in terms of cost per port and overall return on investment."
The new GASCO headquarters comprises of three different wings, each with seven storeys, housing the natural gas grid main control centre and all other administrative employees.
Wael Fakharany, general manager, 3Com Egypt, explained the 3Com solution: "Each seven-storey wing will be controlled by a fully loaded 3Com Switch 4007. Each of the 21 floors will have a 3Com SuperStack 3 Switch 4900 SX switch together with three SuperStack 3 Switch 4400s. All paths will be fully resilient and redundant to one another, and the 12 servers within the GASCO headquarters will also be directly connected to the 3Com Switch 4007 switches via resilient links.
"Working closely with the GASCO team, we set about identifying and prioritising their requirements," said Fakharany. "This included an in-depth review of the different design options, work-shopping these options and introducing our client to our new products like the SuperStack 3 Switch 4400. It was a very detailed and comprehensive process."
Established in 1997 with a capital investment of $325 million, GASCO has been the dominant force in the development of the Natural Gas network in Egypt. With more than 2 500 employees across its multiple sites in Cairo and Alexandria, the company has been at the forefront in establishing and developing natural gas as a key resource not only within the petroleum sector, but also within the Egyptian economy as a whole. As it steers a course for the future, GASCO was challenged to connect more than 2 500 users at its new headquarters to a central LAN and multiple virtual LANs.
"Cementing our decision was our long-term confidence in 3Com. Their professional team and operation in Egypt backed by their market leading product offering made us feel very comfortable when it came to making the final decision. With 3Com we have the partner and the platform that will allow GASCO to build on our networking requirements for the future," Taher added.
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3Com is the global leader in functionally-rich, easy-to-use networking products that connect businesses to their employees, customers and suppliers - anytime, anywhere. 3Com is also a leader in Internet protocol (IP) service platforms and access infrastructure for the network service provider market. In 1979, the company was founded by one of the inventors of Ethernet technology on which virtually all local area networks are based. Since then, 3Com has sold more than 340 000 000 Ethernet connections. 3Com has headquarters in Santa Clara, California and offices around the world. For further information, please visit www.3com.com, or the press site www.3com.com/pressbox.
GASCO
Established in 1997 with a capital investment of $325 million, GASCO is considered as the leading company in gas transmission, distribution and processing in Egypt. The company has taken the responsibility of operating, maintaining, upgrading, developing and modernising the National Gas Grid through linking the main routes of the Grid and modifying the pipelines routes across the country servicing more than a million houses, 24 power stations, 6 425 commercial firms, 110 factories and 860 bakeries across the country.
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