CASEstudy KRONE Australia 2 Hereford Street Berkeley Vale NSW 2261 PO Box 335 Wyong NSW 2259 Phone: 02 4388 4422 Fax: 02 4388 4499 Help Desk: 1800 801 298 Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au Web: www.krone.com.au Telecommunications connectivity crucial in the Antarctic wilderness Antarctica has no peer as a wilderness. This vast land, nearly twice the size of Australia, and its surrounding seas are dominated by nature, by cold and wind, ice and snow. It is the driest, coldest, windiest and highest continent on Earth. The nearest point of Antarctica to Australia is nearly 2,700 km away. The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is part of the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage. It maintains three, year-round ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) research stations at Casey, Davis and Mawson on the Antarctic continent and one at Macquarie Island in the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean. Each station is comprised of buildings including accommodation, scientific laboratories, workshops, stores and power houses. The main telecommunications facility is contained in the Operations Building which is linked to the other station buildings by multipair telephone cables for the telephone system, and fibre optic cables for the Local Area Network (LAN). A satellite link provides communication back to Australia. The telecommunications network allows Australian scientists to conduct research programs at the ANARE stations. They need to transfer data between themselves and Australian and overseas research institutions. It also allows them to easily discuss theories and ideas with their colleagues who are not in Antarctica. The scientists studyAntarctic biology, glaciology, climatology, human impact, marine science and atmospheric and space physics and need to transfer information to their home institutions. The network is also used by support staff, such as the communications technical officers, diesel mechanics, electricians, plumbers, carpenters or chefs to send and receive e-mail, connect to the Internet or to phone home. Ian Bruce is Senior Technical Officer (Telecommunications), based at the AAD's headquarters at Kingston, Tasmania. He is part of the team that provides a telecommunications system which supports Australia's research activities in Antarctica. "We are currently upgrading our cabling infrastructure by replacing a Thinwire LAN and Cat 3 internal telephone cables with a structured unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling system. The reliability of the connectivity components of our telecommunications network is crucial. "The move to a structured UTP cabling environment provides more flexibility, greater reliability and easier fault finding. This ensures that the cabling network is always available in support of ANARE scientific and operational programs." In January each year, the AAD recruits eight technical officers (two per station) annually and they spend one year at an ANARE station. These technical officers maintain the entire telecommunications network (satellite systems, computer networks, HF and VHF radios, telephone systems and other equipment). They also install and maintain the cabling infrastructure. For larger installation projects the AAD may, at times, send a technical officer who is dedicated to that particular project. CASEstudy KRONE Australia 2 Hereford Street Berkeley Vale NSW 2261 PO Box 335 Wyong NSW 2259 Phone: 02 4388 4422 Fax: 02 4388 4499 Help Desk: 1800 801 298 Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au Web: www.krone.com.au The biggest hurdle AAD has to overcome is the inaccessibility of the ANARE stations during the planning stages. Whereas for a project in Australia, the designer or project manager would conduct a site survey, this is impossible in Antarctica. AAD relies on the information which comes back from the technical officers in Antarctica and the drawings of the installations as they currently exist. AAD then explains to the technical officers who are about to go to Antarctica what the job entails and how they should approach it, keeping in mind that, in many cases, they haven't been to Antarctica or seen the ANARE stations before. The principal lessons learned with an installation of this magnitude are that planning is very important, as is correct installation technique. "Careful planning is essential. If something is forgotten or lost we can't just go down the street and buy a replacement," said Mr Bruce. "The technical officers at the ANARE stations have done an excellent job of installing the cabling infrastructure in what can, at times, be very difficult conditions. When working in Antarctica, you must be flexible and adaptable. We are extremely happy with the way the project has been going." "KRONE products have been an integral part of the Australian Antarctic Division's telecommunications network since the late 1980s. We use the HIGHWAY range of patch panels and associated accessories and LSA+ modules at our headquarters in Tasmania, and at our bases in the Antarctic," said Ian Bruce, AAD's Senior Technical Officer (Telecommunications). "They have proven to be reliable which is a crucial factor because the ANARE stations are isolated for approximately six months of the year when the sea surrounding the continent has frozen and it is not possible to send replacement items to the area." "We have recently been upgrading our data and internal telephone networks and these cables terminate on KRONE HIGHWAY modular patch panels," added Mr Bruce. "We use standard RJ45 to RJ45 patch cords to patch the outlets into the data switches and hubs, and we use LSA to RJ45 patch cords to interface the outlets into the inter- building telephone network." Cable and patch cord management is achieved by using KRONE HIGHWAY patch cord minders with jumper rings attached front and rear. "HIGHWAY modules, patch panels and associated UTP cabling replaced our existing Thinwire network, providing more flexibility, greater reliability and easier fault finding," said Mr Bruce. "This ensures that the cabling network is always available in support of ANARE scientific and operational programs." A satellite link, known as ANARESAT, provides communication via a public switched telephone network and Wide Area Network (WAN) back to AAD Head Office at Kingston in Tasmania. The KRONE installations form part of the LAN and telephone network at each ANARE station which then connect to the ANARESAT system. . maintains three, year-round ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) research stations at Casey, Davis and Mawson on the Antarctic continent. discuss theories and ideas with their colleagues who are not in Antarctica. The scientists study Antarctic biology, glaciology, climatology, human impact, marine