ALPHA Technologies

High Reliability/Availability in Loma Linda’s City Network Utility

Loma Linda has a citywide, state of the art, fiber-optic based communications network. The network provides a very high common denominator of broadband/digital communications speed and supports both commercial connectivity, as well as those associated with residential use. These uses include public safety/service, city communications, as well as the wide variety of Internet access applications used by all. Voice-over-IP is strongly supported, as well as E911 capabilities.

Civic Center Network Operations Center Protections

Even before the lessons of Katrina were learned, Loma Linda had engineered high-availability and reliability into its city-wide utility network infrastructure. The fiber optic network that runs in a cohesive set of loops around the city of Loma Linda was engineered to maintain operability given numerous and diverse possible failures. The system runs several separate cable networks with different physical terminations at the Loma Linda Civic Center. There are numerous other important safety/availability features that keep the network alive in the event of disaster or the unexpected.

The Civic Center Network Operations Center (NOC) is a state-of-the-art facility that services the numerous fiber optic network branches around the city. The NOC also contains cross-connections and facilities for services providers to the city’s utility users, and is protected by a large battery backup system provided by Alpha Technologies.

The Alpha power system performs several functions. Primarily, an Alpha battery backup subsystem provides AC and DC power to ‘light’ the city’s fiber, but also powers the servers and service provider equipment located in the Civic Center NOC. Connections that gateway to phone and emergency services for city information technology are also served by the backup system, which can sustain prolonged brown-outs and several days of complete power-outage. Once battery supplies are depleted, diesel generators can sustain the city’s communications infrastructure indefinitely.

Residential Community Power Protection

At each of the new residential developments in Loma Linda, additional steps are taken to maintain operability as well, as these developments must be available to allow customers to make 911 calls, and have other online services available. Alpha Power Systems equipment was chosen to power the Loma Linda Civic Center Network Operations Center, as well as the communications utility substations located in each of the new residential developments in the city.

Miniature versions of the Civic Center NOC, residential development intermediate distribution frames (IDFs) connect the residential community’s network to the city’s fiber optic broadband. These IDFs contain fire protection, as well as battery backup that can be used to prevent difficulties coming from either brown-out conditions, or full power interruption.

These protections are necessary to ensure that phone, alarm, and E911 connections are maintained for the residential communities in the event of power disruption, which unfortunately can happen with little warning.

In a similar way, each home’s signal distribution equipment has battery backup support in case the power interruption occurs locally, such as an accidental, street-side power line cut or a transformer circuit breaker problem. This ensures that equipment that connects through the city network is protected end to end, at each distribution point along the way.

The Loma Linda Advantage

Alpha’s power systems are critical components in the engineering of Loma Linda’s advanced city network utility. They provide critical power support from the edge network to the core network, and help maintain not only public safety/municipal services, but residential and business users as well. Alpha’s contributions ensure that these systems are online, all the time.