A high-speed, fully redundant optical Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) network is just one of services provided in a $7 million, four-year agreement between Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) and AT&T Canada, the Toronto-based company announced Monday.
PWGSC provides information management and IT services to federal government departments across Canada.
The contract with PWGSC branch Government Telecommunications and Informatics Services, Network and Computer Services division (GTIS/NCS), means AT&T Canada will be launching the optical network to link GTIS/NCS data centres within the Ottawa region, said a spokeswoman for GTIS/NCS in Hull, Que.
“What (GTIS/NCS) had before was basically a low speed 10 megabit per second services and in some cases there was no redundancy in place,” said David Grixti, sales director for the federal government branch at AT&T Canada.
AT&T Canada will also provide management and maintenance support, Grixti said, adding that the DWDM network will offer the department improved infrastructure, less downtime, rapid service deployment and better disaster recovery capabilities.
DWDM technology, with its high bandwidth transmission capabilities, Gigabit Ethernet and Ficon and Escon support, will extend GTIS/NCS high-speed carrier capabilities to store, backup and send information throughout the national capital region, AT&T Canada said.
The agreement will also support GTIS/NCS as it undertakes an upgrade project involving server consolidation and implementation of a storage area network (SAN), the company added.
AT&T Canada in Toronto is at http://www.attcanada.com
Public Works and Government Services Canada in Ottawa is at http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca