Alascom Is Served by a Centralized Network Alarm and Control System.
Communications News › Vol. 21 Nbr. 7, July 1984
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Summary
The Alascom communications network provides telephone, telex, telegram, television and other communications services to all Alaskans. The state's rugged terrain and severe weather, along with the technological complexity of the network, made it necessary to implement a centralized network management system. The Alascom Network Alarm and Control System (ANACS) has been designed to provide alarm, control, and monitoring capabilities to the entire Alascom network. ANACS is a network-wide Datalok 10 control and supervisory system that monitors network performance and activity, reports alarm and fault occurrences, provides data for preventive maintenance, predicts trends, and determines downtime probabilities. Regionally located master stations collect alarm information and analog data from the remote sites within the region, using Hewlett-Packard HP-1000 computers. This information is communicated to a host computer, which stores selected data from the regional control centers in a data base. Block diagrams of the ANACS hardware components are included, along with CRT displays of network status information and photographs of remote stations.
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Alascom Is Served by a Centralized Network Alarm and Control System.
The Alascon communications network handles over 48 million telephone calls a year, and provides such services as WATS, telgerams, telex, marine radio, television and dedicated as well as dial-up data service.
These services are provided to all Alaskans, who are widely scattered over a sparsely populated state that encompasses an area more than two and a half times the size of Texas. Couple this with rugged terrain--mountains, glaciers and arctic tundra--plus adverse weather conditions that include winds of 90 to 100 mph, whiteouts, temperatures of 50 to 80 degrees below zero, and wind-chill factors of 150 below, and you have just a sampling of some of the concerns that Alascom, the state's telecommunications company, had to consider when designing its communication network. The Alascon communications system is owned and operated by Pacific Telecom of Vancouver, Washington. The network consists of its own satellite (Aurora) equipped with 24 transponders, over 200 earth stations, three major satellite gateway terminals, three major switching centers, and over 6,000 miles of high-density (1200 to 2400-channel) terrestrial microwave radio systems. Net Is Technologically Complex The technological complexities of the Alas...See the full content of this document
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