Contracts to optimise the wide area network (WAN) and design and implement Microsoft Active Directory for Anglo American's heavy minerals West coast mining operation, Namakwa Sands, have been completed by the Business Solutions division of the Square One Solutions Group, a JSE-listed ICT company.
The WAN optimisation was achieved using application traffic management compressors and accelerators from the international Expand group for which Square One Solutions is a value-added reseller.
"Namakwa Sands was constantly having to upgrade bandwidth at great cost on their thin client/host server system running special mining applications across extended distances between the mine at Brand-se-Baai, the mineral separator plant at Koekenaap and the Smelter at Saldanha Bay," said Square One's Business Solutions Manager, Angus Fisher.
"Expand devices were installed at the data centre in Saldanha and at the separation operations at Koekenap. The distance between Koekenaap and Saldanha is approximately 300km. Line performance was improved by between 30% and 40% and Microsoft applications were accelerated by up to 300%."
The Layer 7 QoS features in the Expand solution also enable Namakwa Sands to conduct video conferencing.
The second element of the contract was the project management, design and implementation of a pilot Microsoft Active Directory solution to manage and secure the Namakwa Sands central information repository, tailored to meet the company's specific requirements. The overall IT system was also upgraded from Windows NT4 to Windows 2003, and from MS Exchange 55 to Exchange 2003
"Essentially, the AD system provides authentication and authority for staff at various levels to access the network and services such as printers, scanners, software applications and stored information. It mandates confidential information storage and access while providing a powerful tool for implementing and maintaining good corporate governance," said Fisher.
The advanced collaborative features of Exchange 2003 were beneficial, allowing business-enabling features to be implemented and improving the flow of key information throughout the operation.
The migration to a full MS Active Directory system was handled by Namakwa Sands IT staff. Dirk Short, the IT Project Manager at Namakwa Sands, said this was to ensure management and staff quickly became familiar with the system, and so that support and servicing of the environment could be handled in-house.
"It made sound financial sense as the company's three major operational locations are so widespread. We were also able to achieve tangible returns on our investment in the WAN optimisation carried out by Square One."
Beach sands containing heavy minerals are mined by Namakwa Sands at Brand se Baai, about 380km North-West of Cape Town. The products - rutile, zircon and ilmenite -- are separated in the plant at Koekenap. The ilmenite is smelted at Saldanha into pig iron and various titanium oxides. Most of the production is exported.
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