I
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ii ake32 buildingson two northernIndianaVA
il, campuses.Give them a singlemission-providing
timely,accessible,
coordinatedand comprehensive
care.Add
agingequipmentwith no technicalsupportand insufficient
bandwidthto provideadequatesecuriryresponse
time or
redundanry.Top offwith a full newvorkupgradefrom
GTSI. The end result?Missionaccomplished.
And in less
than half the estimatedinstallationtime.
First, hire an experiencedteam,
In the springof 2003, the VA Northern Indiana Health
CareSystem(NIHCS) in Marion/Fort \7ayne wasusing
antiquated,6-year-oldCabletron' 10/100hubsthat could
not maximizebandwidth, alongwith slow 100MB uplinks
and a fat, congested network with no virtual LANs
and slow responsetimes.
The NIHCS information resources
managementteamknew that a major
nerworkupgradewasjust what the doctor ordered.
"tWedo nework upgradeslike this everyday,"says
BenJones,CiscoCenifiedInterneworking
Expert(CCIE), the leadGTSI engineerand
project manager on the installation. "Our team'sextensive
networking and communications experience helps us exceed
our customers'expectationsfor performance."
The original NIHCS Statement of-Work (SOW estimared
that it would take two engineers 5 weeks to complete the
installation. !7ith the help of NIHCS staff three GTSI
engineers got the job done in lessthan 2 weeks.
6l$l-pr0Fi0idg
fls,#&le,
seamlsss 'Winter2003.04
s0,ilti0r$
"The key concernsfor VA werethe ageof its equipment
and the lack ofavailabletechnicalsupportand upgrades,"
saysTom Ervin, technicalsalesconsultantfor the GTSI
Newvorking& CommunicationsTechnologyTeami"" !7'e
wereableto give them a comprehensive
solution that put
theseconcernsto rest."
Getkeyquestions
answered
"'Weaska lot of questions
first.
beforebuildingthesolution,"
v v
saysErvin. "How are they using these applications? t*Aat
systemswould be most vulnerable to nerwork shutdowns?
Once we get the answers,we can more thoroughly meet
the customer's needs. VA wanted equipment that could
intelligently handle voice, video and data traffic, as well as
an upgrade in speed and flexibility."
The installation was so smooth, becauseof expert pre-
planning and pre-installation, that the schedule was
shortened. The team only encountered one minor power
supply problem onsite and quickly fixed it. Adds Ervin,
"'We resolved, on the spot, any hardware inventory issues
that might have slowed the installation process."
Followthe right sequence.
Network upgradeslike this usuallyinvolvethreesteps:
1. Developa parallelnework
2. Test/runthe new network
3. Switch overto the new network
During development,the faciliry continuesto run on the
old nework to ensureno service
inrerruorion. \r/
t"-- -
I
. Getthelatestproducts
and I
i
o The GTSI insallation team,which included engineers
Michael Todd and Brian Taggart(bodr CCIEs), took site
surveysand equipment inventory; provided onsitesuging,
configuradonand installation management;did connectiviry
testing;and testedand debuggedapplications.

As an extra bonus, GTSI engineersintegrated the faciliryt

legacyapplicationsto the new faster network. "After this
installation," addsErvin, "the new inline power switchesset
the stageto useVoice overIP (VoIP) ifVA chooses.Being a
Cisco@
Cenified Gold partner specializingin IP telephony,we
havethe engineeringand procurementexpeniseto dwelop
and insmll aVoIP solution using provenCisco technolory."

Use only the best technology.

The GTSI team, working with longstandingvendor partner
CiscoSystems@,
recommendedCisco Catalyst@
6500 Series
Switchesasthe coreof the solution.

According to Tiaci Grant, Cisco VA account manager,"As a

trustedCiscopartner,GTSI knows that CiscoCatalyst
givesVA exacdywhat it needs-maximum network
uptime, increaseduserproductivity,comprehensive
net-
work securiryand operationalconsistenry."Installingthe
CiscoCatalystintelligentmultilayerswitchesgaveVA the
capability to support a convergednetwork on a single,
highly manageable
platform.

Tap one resource to get the dgftt solution.

The NIHCS got everythingit wantedplus increased
bandwidth,increasedupdme and redundancy,and faster
application responsetime-all on a nework that's
secure,well-managedand connectedto the
faciliry'slegacyapplications.VA also getsfirll
technical and warranty support from
one source,GTSI.

SubsequendyGTSI hasupgradedother legacy

equipment.Thesenvo qrmpusesnow have
VoIP capabilityand an up-to-date,suppon-
ed networkthat will carryir into 2008.

So why did VA chooseGTSI for this installadonoverall

the other PCHS-2 contractors?
Ervin puts it this way:
"GTSI hasmany resourcescommitted to servingVAs needs:
our dedicatedPCHS-2 salesteam, our Cisco suppon and
engineeringstafi, and our exclusiveGTSI Technology
Gams] Our Indiana customersknew that they could
dependon us to build a greatsolution."

Glsl-Ptovidingflexible,seanesssorufiors'Wlnter2003.04. Getthelatcstproducts
ard pdcingat 866-PCHS-lISource,
or GTS|.o0m/PCIS