"Proactive Monitoring Helps DANC Avoid Costly Truck Rolls..."

The Development Authority of the North Country (DANC), located in Watertown, NY, operates the wholesale transport system known as the Open Access Telecom Network (OATN). The OATN provides telecom circuits to service providers on an equal and open basis, creating opportunities for expanding Internet and wireless service, data transport, television, and video. The OATN is comprised of approximately 750 miles of fiber optic cable and 14 central offices.

"With four people and a network of that size, there's no way we could accomplish this without the network monitoring we use - And it's all DPS equipment..."

Tim Field Network Engineer DANC

Large Network is Managed With a Small, Efficient Staff...

With the network spanning hundreds of miles across the Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties of New York, it's hard to believe only four technicians manage such a large territory. Tim Field, a Network engineer for DANC, provided a closer look at their operations, and explained how proactive network monitoring allows them to keep tabs on their large fiber network.

'We supply services to many school districts, as well as private carriers," Field said. "The network consists of SONET muxes, a gigabit Ethernet network, DWDM equipment and an OC-192 ring." Unlike some vendors, DANC offers "around-the-clock network monitoring and support" as part of their list of services. DANC's carrier-class telecom network connects their region to collocation facilities in Syracuse.

"With monitoring, we can see what's going on at a remote site, and many times, solve issues without even rolling a truck..."

Windshield time is no small matter for DANC technicians, and Field knows firsthand how important it is to keep truck rolls at a minimum. With a small staff and a large network of circuits to monitor, cost could quickly get of hand. "Using the contact points from the SONET muxes, we currently get Critical, Major, and Minor alarms. We also gather environmental alarms such as temperature, open and closed doors, etc. Basically, every piece of equipment in our central offices is monitored using our DPS system."

Reliable Network Monitoring Means Less Drive Time...

Having NetGuardians and T/Mon on the front lines, Field maintains visibility of the network without having to drive out to every remote site. "With four people and a network of that size, there's no way we could accomplish this without the network monitoring we use - and it's all DPS equipment," Field said. "Monitoring cuts down on a lot of drive time." According to Field, DPS equipment has been deployed at DANC since day one. Any 3rd party monitoring gear within the network is tied back to their NetGuardians and T/Mon. 'With monitoring, we can see what's going on at a remote site, and many times, solve issues without even rolling a truck."

"The NetGuardian 832As are rock solid... I can't even tell you about a case or time when it hasn't been up and running and doing what it's supposed to do..."

Factory Training Shows DANC the 'Full Potential' of Their Monitoring Gear...

After attending a Factory Training class at DPS Headquarters, Field learned more about the functionality of the NetGuardian 832As deployed in the network. "We're not using the NetGuardians to their full potential," he said.

Field realized that he could do much more than monitor discrete alarms. Factory Training inspired Field to think about tying analog alarms into their NetGuardians. "The NetGuardian 832As are rock solid," Field said. "Very easy to configure and very reliable. I can't even tell you about a case or a time when it hasn't been up and running and doing what it's supposed to do.'