I-Fusion Holdings Limited has been awarded a tender to install an improved networking infrastructure for parliament in the Mother City. This two-year contract is subdivided into three main areas, namely services, server and desktop equipment with an estimated value of R20 million.
Oliver Chifadza, Chief Information Officer for parliament, says the need for an upgrade on their LAN became quite apparent due to bandwidth limitations. "Even though we had a basic network, we were quite restricted in terms of bandwidth and speed, which resulted in personnel mostly relying on a paper based information system, posing obvious problems."
I-Fusion started work on the networking project that is to be completed over the following months. Alec Stevens, I-Fusion group sales director, elaborates: "We will install equipment to the value of R1.7 million over the next few months, which will alleviate some of the traffic problems they previously experienced on their network, as well as streamline communication processes."
Following this tender, I-Fusion also won a cabling contract pertaining to two parliament buildings and the related computer room. Traditional cabling procedures proved impractical due to the established infrastructure of the area surrounding the buildings. For this reason I-Fusion opted for a laser link between the buildings.
"It is essentially a gigabit layout that is complimented with the 100Mbps laser link," explains Stevens. "Contrary to using a fibre cable, we did not have to dig up any roads to ensure an effective link that upgrades their network potential."
Both highband and conventional cabling were used, depending on the location of hubs as well as specific requirements. Stevens says highband cabling provides a flexible environment that allows for mobility and easy addition of network points. "It also enables the mixing of voice and data, which adds to enhanced productivity," he says.
Chifadza highlights the advantages of the new infrastructure. "Due to the upgrade, each political party has its own virtual private network (VPN) that is totally secure. No one party is able to view files or related information of another party - we consider confidentiality pivotal in this environment," he says.
A Krone solution, coupled with 3Com switches were selected for the entire infrastructure, each of which carries a 20-year guarantee. "The Internet is an essential business tool in parliament. Personnel are now able to connect and easily obtain the information they require for fulfillment of their duties," says Stevens.
I-Fusion will also be responsible for maintenance on the network backbone and cabling infrastructure.
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