Information and communication technology (ICT) major Jasco Group has provided opencast mining company MCC Contracts’ sites with fully redundant connectivity using a combination of microwave and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite connectivity.

Department of Minerals Resources (DMR) requirements stipulate that each site should be able to access all human resources (HR) information.

When the roll-out of enterprise resource planning giant Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing’s (SAP’s) system began across MCC Contracts’ sites in 2013, the network requirements changed. Each site required continuous access to all HR-based SAP content at all times, necessitating a failover link.

To ensure that the networks could handle the volumes of voice, data and SAP traffic, Jasco implemented a Quality of Service feature onto each link at all sites and between sites, as well as to the cloud. This ensured that primary data, such as SAP HR content, takes priority, followed by voice traffic and then standard data.

Jasco delivered the original access network for MCC Contracts’ sites in 2011 using a combination of microwave, digital subscriber line, fibre and VSAT access, depending on the specific requirements of each site. This enabled enhanced voice and data communications at remote mine sites, as well as communication between these sites and MCC headquarters, says Jasco Enterprise sales executive Leanne Hobdey.

Each site now incorporates an Aruba Wi-Fi network, with both wired and wireless access for local area network connectivity to cater for voice, data and SAP traffic, as well as the redundant wide area network (WAN). Jasco also implemented and now maintains the robust indoor and outdoor wireless networks at each site that can carry session initiation protocol (SIP) trunking, which enables Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity for voice-over IP and streaming media, which reduces phone costs.

MCC has realised cost savings on its cellular calls, owing to the local wireless networks and SIP solution. All HR information is readily available at all sites, in compliance with DMR requirements. Further, the company can take advantage of an efficient network to enable ICT solutions to be competitive, says MCC Group IT head Jenny Nelson.

“This project presented some interesting challenges, as the design of the WAN itself was unique. The quality of service had to be matched to the number of users at each site, and it was not possible to implement a standardised quality of service across the network, says Hobdey.

“Budgetary requirements also meant that bandwidth had to be shared, and optimising bandwidth allocations in line with cost, without compromising availability, was a challenging task. We also had to gear up on our own safety, health, environmental and quality management capabilities to comply with mining regulations. All challenges were overcome and the MCC network is an excellent, successful converged solutions deployment,” she concludes.