Our goal: A network in MINT condition

Wes Wildcat and Mike Martinez (rear) and Fabian Guerrero (front) of SCD's Network Engineering and Telecommunications Section (NETS) pull temporary cable in NCAR's second basement. The cables will service new offices of the Atmospheric Chemistry Division's Atmospheric Radiation Investigations and Measurements (ARIM) project until permanent wires can be run through conduit as part of the Mesa Lab's Millennium Infrastructure Network Technology (MINT-ML) upgrade.

MINT-ML is a continuation of the 1997 Mesa Laboratory Network Access Completion (MLNAC) project, which overhauled 60% of the lab's wiring. MINT will replace the remaining 40%, including the lab's A tower and second basement, plus the Fleischmann building.

NETS staff are upgrading old network media (10 base-2 coaxial cable and category 3 twisted pair cable) to category 6 cable and some multimode fiber. This will increase the data transfer rate from 10 megabits to one gigabit and "futureproof" NCAR's communication network for up to ten years.

NETS completed MINT-FL, an overhaul of the Foothills Lab network, on Friday, 30 March.

Photo: Lynda Lester/SCD