World Press Corps Gives EDS and Cisco Wireless Network Top Score

Reporters from around the globe rely on secure, enterprise wireless network to meet deadlines, file stories at EDS Byron Nelson Championship

Back when the first Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament was held, the Allies were preparing to invade Normandy, wood drivers were actually made of wood, and reporters used pencils and telephones to write and transmit the lead sports story of the day: Byron Nelson Wins the 1944 Texas Victory Open (as the tourney was then titled) with a Score of 276.

Today, PhDs from M.I.T. design “woods” from space-age composites, and reporters use voice-recognition software and satellite feeds to broadcast golf scores in real time. This year’s EDS® Byron Nelson Championship – which takes place May 7-14, 2006, at the Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas near Dallas, Texas – showcases the latest advances in wireless and networking technologies that make reporters even more mobile and productive.

A Business-Class Enterprise Wireless Network

“Part of our job as sponsors of this prestigious tournament is to provide a world-class media center and communications network” says Ken Quaglio, vice president at EDS. “Millions of people around the globe want to hear, see, and read up-to-the-second details about every bogey, birdie, and bunker shot. Designing and implementing the enterprise network which makes that possible is a big responsibility, so we turned to an EDS Agility Alliance partner, Cisco.”

A Cisco Systems® high-speed broadband wireless and wired network covers the major reporting areas, from the EDS Byron Nelson Championship Media Center located on the country club’s indoor tennis courts to the skyboxes lining the PGA-approved course and hospitality suites on the 18th green. The network is a microcosm of the same business-class enterprise networks EDS and Cisco have implemented for international corporations with thousands of employees—who want a cost-efficient platform with the mobility their staff needs to work at home, in the field, or wherever business takes them.

Wireless Networks: As Secure as Wired

In the days of the Texas Victory Open, one reporter scooped another by eavesdropping on a conversation. Today, scooping is a high-tech art form that can include illegally tapping rogue access points to break into a wireless or wired network. The EDS and Cisco platform protects reporters’ intellectual property and thwarts other threats by incorporating the latest high-tech security measures.

“Word on the street is that wireless networks are not very secure,” says Gary Moore, senior vice president of the Advanced Services Group at Cisco. “But our system at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship proves that false. Nothing could be more open or vulnerable than a golf course, yet reporters from around the world can operate as securely as if they were in their own offices.”

The Threat from Within

“It’s logical to assume that network administrators worry most about attacks from outside the network,” Moore says. “But just the opposite is true. Authorized users who connect to networks at home or in other companies and then return and connect to their corporate network present a real danger as well. For example, at the 2005 EDS Bryon Nelson Championship, we found that several of the international press corps’ laptops were infected with worms and viruses. None of the owners knew their laptops were infected, and we purged the bugs before they could do any harm. This year we have even more stringent security in place to protect the 500-plus authorized users.”

The EDS and Cisco network allows reporters to quickly, easily, and securely send text, photos, and streaming video to their home offices, from Austin to Australia. The Byron Nelson Media Center is set up like a broadcast booth, with television cameras and full audio capability. Using IP multicasting technology, streaming video of interviews with pro golfers in the media center is sent over the wireless network to the skyboxes and hospitality suites. “The network is the reporters’ lifeline,” says Quaglio. “It is one of the most important behind-the-scenes resources in the golf tournament, just as it’s one of the most important tools for businesses. If the network goes down, media coverage is affected, and so is the tournament. For example, last year Tiger Woods’ record streak of 142 cuts ended here at this tournament. That was a big scoop. The network has to be available 24/7 for breaking news, so besides providing the highest level of next-generation security for the network, we’ve also ensured it is always up and running.”

A Digital Hole in One

Redundancy is the key to high availability, which is why EDS and Cisco designed duplication into the network at all levels, from routers and switches to firewalls. In addition, the separate wired and wireless networks provide client redundancy by allowing reporters to switch from one to the other if, for instance, a wireless card fails or an Ethernet cable goes on the fritz.

“When we were asked to implement a high-security, broadband wireless and wired network that reporters from around the world could depend on,” Quaglio says, “we called Cisco. EDS and Cisco have been teaming up to design the same type of network for businesses that seek increased performance and productivity from their employees by allowing them to work untethered and liberating them from worrying about viruses and security breaches. We knew we had to hit a hole in one on this project, because one of the oldest, most revered tournaments on the PGA Tour requires the newest, most robust and secure network on the market.”