One of the banes of an office worker's day to day life is the time it can take for large files to load from network drives. Examples of such files are PowerPoint slides and video file—often used in the training of staff—in addition to files from Access or when using Computer Aid Design programs (CAD) and GIS (geographic information systems).

Such bottlenecks generally occur on computer networks built with 10/100 Mbs Ethernet switches that effectively 'throttle down' the speed of throughput to workstations at the edge of the network that are capable of accepting much higher data rates.

The staff at Hinchinbrook Shire Council noticed this happening on the network and recently took proactive steps to address the situation.

Like many Information Technology Managers, the Hinchinbrook Shire Council's Colin Valinoti recently discovered that an ever-increasing amount of network traffic was slowing down access times on users' workstations. Even with fairly fast processing power workstations—typically 1.7GHz machines with up to a massive 1.5GB of RAM—were struggling to access files in a timely manner, which surprised the IT department.

Further investigation of the situation revealed that the five-year-old 10/100 Mbps switching environment was not keeping pace with the abilities of the workstations connected to it. In one example, a PowerPoint file for a routine business presentation was noted to be 258MB in size. While not an enormous file per se, it was unwieldy enough to cause a slow-down effect when being accessed on the network, which focused the attention of the Council's IT department on other files regularly being accessed on the LAN. These file structures were ranging in size with some common files reaching over 100MB in size, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Access files.

Testing revealed that an average sized file was taking a considerable amount of time to open on the LAN. It took up to two minutes to access a file from the Council's remote depot location, almost three kilometres away when accessing large file structures.

Reducing file access time
According to Mr. Valinoti, a networking solution was required that would allow greater throughput to workstations. This was particularly important for areas of the council where staff was relying on their workstations to liaise with customers—both in-person and over the phone. Reducing the file access times for these workstations was seen as a top priority, for both customers and Council employees.

Further, it was determined that such a solution might also be able to handle any Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) requirements that the Council would be investigating in the months and years ahead. By installing such a solution sooner rather than later, the Council would be future-proofing itself, making it able to chase future trends—and enjoying a healthy Return On Investment (ROI) in the meantime.

Leading Solutions, Hewlett-Packard's largest, exclusive Business Partner in Australia, suggested to Hinchinbrook Shire Council that it could replace the 10/100 Mbs Ethernet switches which were causing bottlenecks on the network with a range of switches from ProCurve Networking by HP. Those suggested, and subsequently implemented, were:

ProCurve Networking Switch 5308xl
Part of the 5300xl series, the 5308xl offers scalable layer 2, 3, and 4 switching in compact 4- or 8-slot modular form factors and provides the main chassis for the Hinchinbrook Shire Council network. These convergence-ready switches provide flexibility, high port density, free software updates, and a lifetime warranty.

ProCurve Networking Switch 2650
As one of the models from the 2600 series, the 2650 is a collection of low-cost, stackable, multi-layer, managed 50- or 26-port switches with 48 or 24 auto-sensing 10/100 ports and 2 dual-personality ports for 10/100/1000 or mini-GBIC connectivity.

ProCurve Networking Switch 2524 and Switch 2512
Both part of the 2500 series, the 2524 and 2512 are the most used of ProCurve Networking by HP's switches in Hinchinbrook Shire Council's LAN. The switches are both low cost, stackable, managed 24- or 12-port switches which are ideal for low-cost migration to 10/100 managed switching with uplinks

Hinchinbrook Shire Council also examined switching solutions from other suppliers, however, its experiences with HP equipment in other areas of the business—including printers and servers—gave Council a sense of security with ProCurve Networking by HP equipment. Further, the council's relationship to date with local reseller, Leading Solutions, gave them the reassurance and piece of mind of the equipment required.

"Since we started to buy HP servers, we have found excellent service and customer after sales service from Leading Solutions," said Mr. Valinoti. "In turn, we have a real trust relationship there so when it came to switching, knowing what our HP printers and servers were like, and already knowing Leading Solutions, Council was comfortable that they were making a good business decision."

Before the Council's network was updated, Mr. Valinoti made some notes on average network speeds. Following the upgrade, he compared the speeds using the new ProCurve Networking by HP equipment to the notes he had taken. The results were astounding. In one example, a file taking almost two minutes to be opened at the Council's depot 3km away took just 19 seconds with the new switches in place.

"The Council is committed to bring in more reliable robust mission critical devices that users need at their beck and call on a daily basis," said Mr. Valinoti. "Over the last few years HP has really shone through with devices already installed here at the Council and the HP ProCurve switches have proven to be no different."

Mr. Valinoti uses the example of opening files at the Council's depot to demonstrate that the 'new' network is now up to 5.5 times faster. This has also proved useful for staff members using Computer Aid Design (CAD) and Graphic Information System (GIS) applications.

"Since we put in our HP ProCurve equipment, the CAD, GIS and remote users have commented that the accessibility of data and refresh rates within software operations are a lot faster. They can load more information than before," said Mr. Valinoti.

While a dollar figure is incalculable on the benefits which the ProCurve Networking by HP solution has brought to the Council, Mr. Valinoti is certain that there has been an attitudinal change among users—which then filters through all aspects of the organisation and out into the public.

"When you increase the speed of the service, the general attitude changes," said Mr. Valinoti. "If I was a user who previously had to wait a long time for a file to load and now it comes a lot faster, my attitude would almost certainly change."

"All the feedback that the IT Department have received so far, from across the Council, is that the speed of the network is now excellent," said Mr. Valinoti. "Users just can't get over the speed difference!"

Mr. Valinoti says that the Council will also be exploring a VoIP solution for its telephone network as a part of it's IT Operational Plan as a proactive step to follow once the current telecommunication system is superseded. In addition, future budget provisions will be sought to acquire appropriate infrastructure which will enhanced switch technology to accommodate for the replacement servers in the Local Server Farm (LSF). This will ensure that the Council continues to reap the benefits of the performance of its fast, future-proofed solution.

When you are ready to explore the benefits a ProCurve Networking solution can offer you, call HP at 1-800-975-7682.

To learn more about ProCurve Networking's Adaptive EDGE Architecture™ solutions, visit our home page.

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