SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The information demands on the
data network for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games will be unprecedented. For
seventeen days in February, the world will consume Olympic information. Medal
standings, split times, world records, success and defeat delivered on demand
to Olympic athletes, officials, journalists and volunteers.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010116/LATU057LOGO-b )
Imagine the demands on the man behind the Olympic Data Network. Meet Bob
Donohoo, Senior Network Engineer at IKANO Communications, the Official Data
Networking Services Supplier for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Once a mild
mannered engineer, he has been transformed by the Olympian demands of ensuring
the Olympic Data Network is as flexible, hardworking and reliable as he is.
Donohoo leads a team of 24 IKANO engineers, five employees of the Salt
Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) and one employee of Olympic co-sponsor
SchlumbergerSema. It's their job to make sure all 100 routers and
800 switches over 30 locations work together in perfect harmony, unaffected by
mountainous terrain, sub-freezing temperatures, and inclement weather.
"As far as checking my e-mail at eight every morning, or anything like
that, there is no typical day," says Donohoo. "I have put in my fair share of
18-to-20-hour days. I have found myself driving to work at midnight."
Donohoo's role as a mentor is the linchpin in ensuring the highest-quality
network and a semblance of normalcy in his personal life. With his trademark
self-effacing humor, he explains, "A lot of what I do is people skills, which
is pretty amazing for a guy with no people skills."
Donohoo's ability to train and manage young engineers means all his team
members can respond equally well to any of the network's needs. He divides
his workday into three main functions: interfacing with SLOC officials,
monitoring the data network and mentoring his engineers.
Testing and Development
Long-term commitment and extensive preparation and testing over the last
two years have gone into this mammoth network. In testing last month three
Qwest DS3 circuits were simultaneously cut. Within seconds of the circuits
failing, all data traffic was routed from the competition venues through
alternate paths to the Main Media Center over the IKANO installed and
supported Data Network. Also within seconds IKANO engineers were notified of
this failure for rapid response and support.
Once again Donohoo's team came through with flying colors. "I've spent a
lot of my time giving hands-on training to take care of weaknesses. I see
myself as the Maytag repairman. No one wants me to touch any of their
equipment. No one wants to be the first to have old Bob step in. It's a very
competitive spirit that develops and it's working. If I have to stand around
and do nothing, that's golden."
In the second rehearsal there was a power outage at the data center.
Classic network architecture used in the corporate world would require a
reconnect or reboot. During the time of the outage no one using the system in
the Olympic Results Room batted an eye. Everyone kept working with no idea
the data had been switched to an alternate path.
"We consider the IKANO-built data network to be the central nervous system
of SLOCs IT solution," said Dave Busser SLOC Chief Information Officer.
Added Donohoo, "We've got this data network set up so that you can take
any device on the network and just turn it off and the network will keep
going."
Personal Transformation
And Bob Donohoo keeps going too, preparing to finish a job many years in
the making but less than two months in application. "My patience has grown as
I work with younger engineers who often want to try new features at the risk
of the Olympics as a whole. My smile is broader and my laughter has been
restored as I rely on people with a variety of skill sets to build a rather
large network. My personal standards for building a solid network are high,
but we've met those standards."
In turn, that effort has freed Donohoo to spend more time with his family.
"If I was working a horrendous amount of hours at this point, then it
would mean I had not trained people properly. I once read an article about
Colin Powell and how people working 12 hours a day did not impress him. He
expects a job to get done, and if they're skilled enough managers to go home
at night, that's fine.
"Now, I get to play with my kids every day. I just don't know exactly
when, because at a moment's notice I can be paged by the Olympics Data Network
telling me where it hurts."
About IKANO Communications
IKANO is a Full Service Provider (FSP) of Internet networking
infrastructure and private label Internet services. IKANO provides turnkey
processes for businesses and organizations wishing to leverage the Internet to
deepen relationships with customers. For more information, please visit
http://www.ikano.com .
SOURCE IKANO Communications
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CONTACT:
David Jacobson, Senior Editor of The Exordium
Group, Inc., +1-408-973-0493, djacobson@exordiumgroup.com; or
Debbie LaBelle, Public Relations Director of IKANO
Communications, +1-801-415-8076, dlabelle@ikano.com
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