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Inside a Verizon Wireless Superswitch
An anonymous reader writes "Geek.com has posted a walkthrough of a Verizon Wireless Superswitch, a 45,000 square foot, $50 million facility. From the article: 'The Superswitch we visited, located in Orlando, Fl., is one of about 25 across the US. These control centers are designed to handle mobile calls, SMS, MMS, and mobile broadband for their respective regions. This particular Superswitch faces a somewhat unique problem given its unfortunate proximity to extreme weather conditions, and as such is re-enforced to survive a Category 5 hurricane and still provide service to its area. While definite numbers were unavailable, this center handles millions of calls and texts, as well as tens of thousands of gigabytes of mobile data on an average day, and is designed to scale up rapidly for large events or emergencies.'"
Look, I know these articles are user submitted, but there's really no harm in correcting spelling and grammar; in fact it would make this site look more professional.
The word is reinforced. "re-enforced" sounds like the enforcement of a rule didn't work well enough the first time, so it had to be enforced again.
Wow, I looked at that headline and my brain saw "Inside a Verizon Wireless Sandwich".
Must eat lunch on time.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
The solar super-storm, like the one 1859, should make life interesting. Imagine being unable to use your cell phone or internet for week - and you have the Japan situation.
Two of the generators run simultaneously when not relying on battery live to power the facility in an emergency, and the third generator acts up in case of failure. In the event that another facility is unable to keep two generators running, a mobile generator that has been built into a large trailer is able to be delivered and used to keep the lights on. With two very large gasoline tanks underneath the facility, the generators are able to work with the batteries to keep the facility running as smooth as possible during a crisis.
Man, they need a new third generator if it acts up in case of failure. Also, how many large facilities use gasoline to fuel their generators? the whole thing reads like someone a little too star struck about being allowed inside the fence.
Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
If you're invited inside a big datacenter and want to take good pictures, at least rent an ultra-wide-angle lens. These pedestrian shots of individual wiring cabinets feel extremely flat.
I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
That's huge! I wish we had a word to describe such a large figure. I will attempt to create one. I will call this value "ginorbyte". One ginorbyte of mobile data is approximately equal to one terabyte of regular data.
...to picture # 3, you can see one of the cables says "to NSA". They really are pulling out all the stops to compete with AT&T.
This really isn't a POTS type switching system anyway - it more closely resembles a protocol splitter. You get an IP gateway for cellular data, SS7 over ATM for voice, and perhaps an IP gateway for SMS messaging. Of course the real meat of the operation is the BILLING SYSTEM!
I said no... but I missed and it came out yes.
Ok, fine. I am either missing your point, or you are missing mine. When someone writes "and the third generator acts up in case of failure", they are not paying attention to what they are writing. Also, I seriously doubt that they have gasoline tanks under the facility. Diesel or propane is far more likely to be the fuel. At no point did I question 48VDC operation (I would have loved to convert our facility over, but I could not justify the cost). I was expecting a story about the technology, and what I got was filler for Parade.
Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
A triple shot of powerful, room-sized generators as well as four massive rows of very large batteries are in place should the lights go out. . .
. . . the whole (generator) room is sunk a bit deeper than the rest of the facility to ensure anything that could happen would be contained to the room.
So the batteries and generators are below the level of all other flooring.
During flooding, won't water flow first to the lowest point in the building?
Ask Me About... The 80's!