Trans World Airlines Selects ADC's ServicePoint Service Delivery Units for Network Upgrade

Strategic Insights -

Trans World Airlines, Inc. has chosen ADC's ServicePoint service delivery units (SDUs) to upgrade its wide-area network (WAN), aiming to reduce costs, improve network performance, and enhance monitoring capabilities. The airline's network project manager, Patti Blankenship, highlights the benefits of migrating to Frame Relay services, stating, "Moving to Frame Relay and the ADC ServicePoint SDU gives us the ability to size our network to match the actual traffic at each site and make the entire network more cost efficient."

The current network infrastructure is a point-to-point T1 WAN hubbed out of the Kansas City Communications Data Center, connecting major facilities, including TWA's headquarters, airports, the flight operations center, and reservation centers. The new Frame Relay network will enable TWA to better target circuit bandwidth, improve network performance, and monitor service provider performance against service level agreements.

Statistics on traffic trends delivered by the ADC ServicePoint Reporter software will enable long-term bandwidth planning. The airline anticipates improved capabilities for isolating and resolving network problems, thanks to end-to-end troubleshooting supported by the ServicePoint SDUs. Blankenship notes, "Anytime you work with multiple service providers, it's nice to have the tools to see what's going on in each part of the network."

Key Takeaways:

  • Trans World Airlines selects ADC's ServicePoint service delivery units to upgrade its wide-area network (WAN).
  • The airline aims to reduce costs, improve network performance, and enhance monitoring capabilities through the migration to Frame Relay services.
  • The current network infrastructure is a point-to-point T1 WAN hubbed out of the Kansas City Communications Data Center.
  • The new Frame Relay network will enable TWA to better target circuit bandwidth and improve network performance.
  • The airline will utilize ADC's ServicePoint Reporter software for long-term bandwidth planning.
  • The ServicePoint SDUs will support end-to-end troubleshooting, enabling the airline to isolate and resolve network problems more efficiently.
  • The new network is expected to reduce WAN costs, perform proactive network management, and monitor service provider performance against service level agreements.

Statistics:

  • The new Frame Relay network will connect 16 major facilities, including TWA's headquarters, airports, the flight operations center, and reservation centers.
  • The airline flies approximately 2 million passengers per month on more than 825 daily flights.
  • ADC's ServicePoint SDUs support a wide range of network protocols, including Frame Relay, ATM, and IP.
  • The ADC ServicePoint Reporter software delivers traffic trends and statistics to enable long-term bandwidth planning.

Sources:

  • Business Wire, "Trans World Airlines Selects ADC's ServicePoint Service Delivery Units for Network Upgrade" (May 8, 2000)
  • ADC Telecommunications, Inc., "About ADC" (www.adc.com)
  • ADC Telecommunications, Inc., "ServicePoint Service Delivery Units" (www.adc.com/access/servicepoint)