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Radio Free Europe |
Radio Free Europe |
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RFE broadcasts uncensored news in 28 languages to 25 million listeners in 20 countries, including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Russia. Headquartered in Prague, RFE employs over 400 full-time journalists, 750 freelancers, and maintains 19 local bureaus. The coordination of information and communications is a core activity for RFE – and a key challenge.
To take its capabilities in this strategic arena to a new level, in 2008, RFE management undertook a major communications infrastructure upgrade project. After building a state-of-the-art new building to house its new network, RFE looked for a solution to a massive control challenge: how to control the physical access of over 600 users to network assets; how to minimize the maintenance required for the smooth operation of more than 19,000 ports; how to assure the continuity of user sockets which doubled as connectors for IP telephones as well as workstation hook-ups; and how to manage the hundreds of gigabytes required to support the work and bandwidth required by its users. |
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To meet this daunting challenge, after a thorough study and evaluation, RFE’s IT staff decided to deploy RiT’s PatchView infrastructure management system to bring integrated visibility and control to its entire data and communications networks, and to bring centralized control to its HVAC system, surveillance cameras, door access, and other physical infrastructure components.
RFE installed its first RiT products approximately a decade ago and have since then used RiT components and cables for physical data communications. With the move to a new broadcast center, the physical cabling infrastructure was expanded to include PatchView intelligent components and all sockets and server connections were terminated at double-represented patch panels. This has enabled RFE’s IT team to achieve a whole new level of security and control while reducing the overall IT budget. With a smoother-running network, RFE has been able to achieve a more efficient work environment, more satisfied management and happier employees.
As is common in dynamic organizations, RFE’s workforce is constantly regrouped and reorganized, and this translates into a heavy load of ongoing moves, adds and changes (MAC) for the IT staff. RiT’s physical infrastructure management system offers numerous tools that reduce the work effort and minimize human error, including the automation of mass-MAC work orders, the provision of real-time guidance for technicians, and the automated maintenance of the infrastructure database. The system also facilitates planning and troubleshooting by providing RFE’s IT team with complete visibility, giving them accurate, accessible, up-to-the-minute information regarding the characteristics, location, connectivity and usage of each piece of network equipment.
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In summary, the PatchView system brought automation and accuracy to RFE’s operations:
- The system is simple to operate.
- The use of PatchView LED-guided MACs and the availability of an accurate infrastructure database results in a significant reduction in the time required to complete routine infrastructure tasks.
- The system automates many tedious tasks, such as database maintenance and work order production. This frees up the time of valuable IT personnel, allowing them to concentrate on complicated tasks and strategic planning instead maintenance tasks.
- The system’s total automation of the database maintenance tasks relieves IT staff from this tedious task while assuring that the connectivity database is accurate and up-to-date.
Mr. Manfred L. Hanspeter, Director of RFE’s Telecom Networks, contributed to this case study. | |
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