for a Successful EventTo ensure the Georgia World Congress Center remains competitive in the high tech and medical meetings market, CCLD Networks overhauled the GWCC’s event network infrastructure beginning in late 2012. The completion of the network upgrade was in June 2013 in anticipation of the Microsoft MGX event. This project was a necessity for the GWCC to have in place in order to provide the level of service that is required for such high profile events.
The upgrade included the installation of 10 GB single mode fiber from the GWCC’s data center to the main distribution points in Buildings A, B and C. The upgrade also included the installation of 10 GB multi-mode fiber from these distribution points to the edge switches which provide end-user connectivity. All network electronics provide 1 GB Ethernet connections to the end-user and a 10 GB back haul for data traversing the network. Spare fiber was installed to increase the back haul speeds up to 40 Gbps.
The network upgrade included the installation of the following:
- 8,500 feet of 12-strand single mode fiber optic cable
- 35,000 feet of 24-strand single mode fiber optic cable
- 200,000 feet of Cat-6 Ethernet cable
- 8 Cisco 6500 series core switches
- 53 Cisco Catalyst edge switches
The Microsoft MGX event was completed on July 19th. The GWCC’s upgraded network provided all that was required for the attendees to remain connected during their sessions and meetings. At the peak, 840Mbps of bandwidth was pushed through the network with an average of 400Mbps throughout the three day event. Our IT contact for Microsoft MGX provided the following after the show.
“I just wanted to drop you a quick mail to thank you for your work for MGX this year. You and all your guys did an outstanding job and were a pleasure to work with. We look forward to coming back to Atlanta next year.”
Technology is critical to the success of the Georgia World Congress Center, and these network upgrades will allow the facility to continue to host large technology events well into the future. Microsoft was just one of many events that will benefit from the additional bandwidth and network capacity that is now available. It is vital for events to have reliable connections for presentations, video, speaker networks, social media and more. The GWCC’s network is capable of handling the most demanding technology events.