Racing permitted - A new data highway at PTB

In the course of time, almost every PTB desk has been equipped with powerful information-processing devices whose computing and storage capacities by far exceed the capacity of the former central mainframe. And these computers must also be able to interchange the huge amounts of data produced by them. This applies to the theorist who wants to pass the results of his sophisticated computer simulation on to a colleague; it applies to the experimental physician who controls a long-duration measurement in the laboratory while sitting in his office; and it applies to all staff members concerned with cross-sectoral tasks, administrative tasks, for example: All this is hardly conceivable without operator-friendly, i.e. fast, trouble-free and reliable networks.

The fiber-optic network now installed at PTB renders the huge amounts of data produced at PTB transportable: In the network's fastest sections, for example, the data contained in the telephone book of the Braunschweig region - about 1000 pages thick - could be transmitted in a little more than one second and this in every direction. To put it differently: The network's bandwidth is up to two times 100 megabit per second. And if the demands become higher in future, it will be possible to increase this bandwidth by the factor 10 without any problems - up to one gigabit per direction of transport.

Like the old PTB network, the new one is based on the so-called Ethernet technology, a special network architecture which controls concrete data traffic. Like all network architectures, Ethernet has undergone rapid changes in the past years. Due consideration has been given to this in the course of the installation of the new network, which was started in 1996 and coordinated by the Braunschweig building construction authority: It has thus been ensured that the new PTB data network is in keping with the latest technological developments.

A large number of firms and institutions were involved in the establishment of the new network: On the basis of an extensive expert report drawn up by the Lower Saxony regional computer center (RRZN Hannover) in cooperation with the PTB "Computer Networks" project, the DOK Systeme GmbH, consulting engineers, compiled the documents for the invitation to tender. The main contractor, the Siemens AG (IT Networks), then realized the active network technology, which was installed by the firm of DATA SYSTEMS GmbH, Braunschweig, in cooperation with the PTB staff concerned. The firm of Hirschmann supplied the active network components, the Ethernet switches, constructed according to the latest technical developments. The use of components from a uniform system family has created a homogeneous network structure - a good prerequisite for smooth data traffic.