23 January 2003 -- Basingstoke-based Fibernet Group plc has won a GBP1.4m contract to provide UK bus and coach manufacturer TransBus International with a fully managed core optical IP virtual private network (VPN) spanning the UK and Ireland.
The wide area network will initially link TransBus International's central IT site in Larbert to its disaster recovery site in Falkirk, Stirlingshire via a 100Mbit/s Ethernet service. It will then extend to include Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, York, Woking, Guildford, and as far as Belfast. Initially 11 sites will be connected across the UK and Ireland via Fibernet's national backbone, providing TransBus with a complete managed IP VPN service.
The network will enable the manufacturer to implement a plan of server and storage consolidation while improving network performance and resiliency. Roll-out completion for phase 1 is scheduled for first-half 2003.
"Fibernet's solution ensures that we have complete network resilience, with no single point of failure. It will allow us to load balance traffic equally over the two circuits we have connected to each site, thus increasing the speed at which voice, video and data can flow around the network," said Steve Donaghue, Head of IT at TransBus. "The new network will also enable us to deploy IP telephony throughout the company, reducing costs, improving communications and more importantly improving customer service."
"These organisations demand the highest levels of supplier flexibility, network performance, and technology choice to ensure they retain maximum flexibility in both network operation and business process support," said Fibernet's chief executive Charles McGregor. "These high performance networks are often used to support server consolidation programmes."