CASE STUDIES
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INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT CASE STUDIES

DC Wide Area Network Rapid Deployment

Through the District of Columbia Wide Area Network (DCWAN), the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) desired to provide a technology platform for developing and deploying state-of-the-art centralized District-wide information systems.

In December 1998, the District Government began the DCWAN Rapid Deployment Project. The objective of the project was to interconnect all District agency local area networks (LANs) and make the DCWAN the data communications infrastructure throughout the District government. At that time, less than 250 District agencies were connected to the DCWAN and were using various methods of Internet connectivity including individual ISP connections and, in some cases, modem dial up to providers such as AOL. Many District government employees were using their personal email accounts to communicate across District agencies. The District needed to change the technology quickly to keep up with the communication needs of modern business.

While the technology behind the project was a crucial piece of this project, an even more difficult task was the logistical task of coordinating the various parties involved including various District agencies that required connectivity, the competing needs of the budgetary and information technology groups within those agencies, the telecommunications vendor involved, Verizon, and the fast paced goal to provide WAN connectivity to over 300 sites within a period of only 3 months.

DBTS employees provided expert project management and WAN engineering support to successfully complete the task. The DBTS team approached the challenge with an expedited and iterative development methodology. The first phase of the effort included a comprehensive assessment of each agency including meeting with key personnel such as IT staff, management and users to determine existing technology platforms and agency bandwidth needs. The assessment also took into account a physical inventory of environmental conditions including space, temperature, cabling configuration and security requirements. The Project Manager then worked with engineering and District staff to compile data into individual agency requirements, order the appropriate circuits, and provision the work to be done. It was also the responsibility of the Project Manager to coordinate circuit and hardware installation with the telecommunications vendor, OCTO Engineer, and agency contacts. This was often done so after hours and at the convenience of agency contacts. The final stage of the project was to document the project from 'cradle to grave' and deliver the documentation to the Government client.

Through complete dedication, a strong technical understanding, and the logistical skills needed to bring together various resources, the project was a success with over 600 District agency sites connected in a record breaking three months. The success of this project was the backbone of the continued success of DBTS in infrastructure services. This high-profile project demonstrated the commitment of DBTS staff and the multiple skills used to approach a project including site analysis, requirements analysis, project management, technical documentation, and engineering.