NEC Fault Tolerant Server Keeps Lycoming County Department of Public Safety 911 Sector Up and Running

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NEC Corporation of America, a leading provider of network, IT and communications solutions, today detailed the successful results of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Safety, 911 sector, state-of-the-art automated computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system running on NEC’s fault tolerant (FT) server.

“After we really got into the nuts and bolts of it, we decided that NEC was the best choice”

Prior to July 2007, Lycoming County had a human-based dispatch system. The dispatchers working in the communications center were local residents with a strong knowledge of the nooks and crannies of county locations, and this, augmented with local maps when needed, formed the core of their dispatch operations. But, there were swaths of unincorporated land without traditional numbering that were difficult to dispatch—the Pine Creek Rail Trail for bikers and hikers that runs 62 miles through what is called the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, for example—which slowed response. And when Lycoming County took over dispatch operations for neighboring Sullivan County—and its expanses of open spaces—the Department of Public Safety knew that they needed to move to a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to provide decision support for dispatch operations.

“It’s very difficult to use a manual system and a map to try and make fast, life-saving decisions,” said Connie Turner, deputy director, Lycoming County Department of Public Safety.

Lycoming County looked at various options, including NEC’s FT server solution, and determined that the high level of availability with NEC’s FT server was the only way to go. Not only does the server provide continuous operation even when a hardware part fails, but it can be serviced without bringing down the application, since the repaired module will re-synchronize with the redundant module automatically once re-inserted.

“After we really got into the nuts and bolts of it, we decided that NEC was the best choice,” added Turner.

Ultimately, Lycoming County signed a contract with Logistic Systems Inc. (LogiSYS) to deploy their NorthStar CAD System and NEC fault tolerant hardware in June 2006. The project was completed in half the planned time with the system online on July 17, 2007.

The NEC-based solution has been running since June 2007 without any unplanned downtime. In fact, at one point, the power cord had not been inserted correctly into the power socket of one of the modules and it fell out, yet the other module continued to run and the application remained available. “We had a power cord pull out and the server failed over, like it was supposed to do, and kept on running,” said Mike Holdren, CAD coordinator for Lycoming County. “The alert from the server noted a power failure. It took us a bit of time to figure out that it was the power cord. You’re always looking for something bigger. We just had to plug in the cord. The NEC server was working even when it wasn’t plugged into the outlet. That’s what it’s all about!”

The decision support system, like all CAD systems, requires an intensive amount of processing power to deliver information to dispatchers. Information in the system is constantly updated through mapping and addressing changes to the addition of landmarks that fall outside of marked streets. “In just landmarks alone we’re up near the 4500 entry mark,” said Holdren. “Take the Pine Creek rail trail, for example—it’s a bike path and walking trail that wasn’t previously addressed. Now we have landmarks in the automated system. If there’s an emergency near the Rattlesnake Rock landmark, the system will automatically find it, give us the right response, and generate directions to get there.”

Lycoming County has also experienced improved dispatch times, from three- down to sub-minute dispatches. Holdren noted, “We didn’t want to be entering data and have to wait. With NEC, it’s all fast.”

Charlie Stortz, vice president of Logistic Systems Inc. (LogiSYS) said, “NEC’s solution excels over everything else out there. Dollar per feature, there was nothing that could touch the NEC fault tolerant server. And, if you look at long-term costs, not just the initial outlay of the investment for the server but also the ongoing maintenance of the system, NEC is highly available and very cost effective.”

NEC's Express5800/300 Fault Tolerant Servers are part of NEC's Dynamic IT Infrastructure. Along with NEC's broad range of services, the NEC Dynamic IT Infrastructure provides an ideal platform for virtualization, consolidation and business continuity and is ideal for driving greater value and efficiencies in solutions for physical security, law enforcement, emergency response, travel and entertainment, education, high performance computing, and business. This type of infrastructure allows IT organizations to move forward confidently and meet changing and growing business needs in an efficient manner. For more information, please visit http://www.necam.com/dynamicIT.

About NEC Corporation of America

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, NEC Corporation of America is a leading provider of innovative IT, network and communications products and solutions for service carriers, Fortune 1000 and SMB businesses across multiple vertical industries, including healthcare, government, education and hospitality. NEC Corporation of America delivers one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of technology solutions and professional services, including unified communications, wireless, voice and data, managed services, server and storage infrastructure, optical network systems, microwave radio communications and biometric security. NEC Corporation of America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, a global technology leader with operations in 30 countries and more than $42 billion in revenues. For more information, please visit www.necam.com.