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Oakland University Connects with Presidential Debate

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January 15, 2012

When it was decided that the Republican Presidential Debate was to take place at Oakland University (OU) on November 9, 2011 Oakland’s staff contacted Merit Network and its vendors to work with them on technical support.
Oakland University
The Michigan GOP had contacted OU early in the summer of 2011 to see if the university qualified to host this type of national event. Oakland had hosted high profile events with national audiences in the past. The university hosted President George W. Bush in the summer of 2002, as well as the former President of Mexico Vicente Fox in 2004. Once OU was chosen for the debate, it was responsible for assisting CNBC with the technical requirements needed to produce and broadcast the televised event, as well as assist its IT staff with the myriad of media personnel on campus. With so much to accomplish and manage, Brian Paige, executive director of networking and technology for Oakland University, knew that he and his staff would need assistance from its existing partners.

In July of 2011, Paige contacted Kristen Cunningham, Merit’s governing member relations manager, about the possibility of Merit assisting the university with set up and providing high-speed Internet connectivity for the debate. Oakland has been a Governing Member of Merit Network since July of 1985. In addition to network connectivity from Merit Network, OU has used several of Merit’s services with success over the past eight years. Paige was confident that Merit could be relied upon to provide trusted and reliable network connections for this large-scale event.

Once Merit was on board, Paige and Cunningham held several teleconferences and two site visits prior to November 9 to determine what was needed to coordinate provisioning a wireless network for the event and to determine the wireless access points and other telecommunication resources needed in OU’s O’rena Activities Center. To get a more immediate sense of what the debate would require, Paige went to New Hampshire to visit Dartmouth’s campus, where a Republican Presidential debate was set to take place in October 2011. While the visit was informative, Oakland University had certain requirements unique to its venue.

Because Oakland’s stadium is normally used for university athletics, it was not designed for wireless Internet access for the magnitude required to host a presidential debate. In addition to the arena, the complex includes a three-court gym, a weight training and fitness area, multipurpose rooms, racquetball and squash courts, as well as a wellness center, classrooms and meeting areas. The main arena was used for the debate itself, while the other rooms in the gymnasium were used as the media filing center for over 250 reporters, and the locker rooms and classrooms were used for CNBC staff, the Michigan Republican Party and the candidates.

A wireless network needed to be set-up to provide coverage to all of these areas with the capacity to serve a high density of users. David Gilbertson, Bob Dewolf and Brett Nelson of Merit Network were brought in to build and set up wireless access points throughout the complex, all within three days of the event. Merit was then asked to bring in its vendors, Cisco and TelNet Worldwide, to provide a large number of VoIP handset phones and provision MeritVoice (VoIP) and regular telephone lines for the media filing center. Gilbertson and his team have had extensive experience building wireless networks for major events, including multiple annual meetings for both the North American Network Operators’ Group (NANOG) and the Merit Member Conference (MMC).

On the Sunday prior to the event, Merit staff began building the access points. Miles of cable were used to get network drops where they were needed to provide the appropriate number of wireless access points. Merit and Oakland staff worked together to get all of the network access ports configured and activated, including the provisioning of the network.

Gilbertson said that other than wearing clearance badges, security in the O’rena was relatively relaxed until the night before the debate. That night everyone was forced to leave the facility so government officials could conduct a thorough sweep of the building.

Gilbertson and his staff ultimately set up 23 wireless access points throughout the O’rena, which was initially designed to support about 300 users. Attendees were not supposed to be able to use their mobile devices on the network, which would create a lot of additional traffic and create potential latency problems. However, during the event, people were allowed to keep their phones on and in use, causing an overflow to the network of more than 600 users. Thanks to Merit’s networking expertise and its successful partnership with Oakland University, the network worked exceptionally well despite the unexpected traffic.

Along with wireless network support and a robust Internet backbone, Merit staff worked with Cisco and TelNet Worldwide to provide telecommunications resources to all of the reporters in the O’rena filing center. Cisco, a Merit Community Supporter, provided over 60 handset phones, while TelNet, a long-time Merit service partner, set up the phones and provided all of the provisioned phone lines. As part of a strategic contingency plan, the vendors also provided several fax machines that worked easily on Merit’s network. According to Cunningham, both vendors did an exceptional job accommodating all of Oakland’s needs for the debate.

TelNet founder and president, Mark Iannuzzi commented, “We’re proud to have been selected to partner with Merit in support of such an extraordinary event. In coordination with Merit, Cisco and OU’s technical teams, TelNet established service for over 100 IP-based telephone and fax lines, and set up the Cisco-provided IP phones, used by the media – all within a very short period of time. As a long time Merit partner, we appreciate their confidence in TelNet to get the job done right. Exceptional effort on all fronts made this project a resounding success.”

The Republican debate at Oakland was a success. Looking back on the entire planning process, Paige said, “Time and space do not allow me to adequately describe the planning process [for this event]. It was a herculean effort, mostly orchestrated by a 24-person planning committee comprised of OU staff members from various departments, plus students and faculty.”

Merit’s David Gilbertson explained that helping a Member in any way is always a great accomplishment for Merit. Merit has the expertise and equipment to help its Members in unique and customized ways, and large-scale, national events like this one are no exception.

About Oakland University

Oakland University was created in 1957 when the late Alfred and Matilda Wilson donated $2 million and their 1,500-acre estate to Michigan State University to start a new college in Oakland County. Named Michigan State University – Oakland, the college enrolled its first students in 1959. The name changed to Oakland University in 1963. In 1970, the Michigan Legislature recognized the maturity and stature of Oakland University by granting it autonomy, and Michigan’s governor appointed Oakland’s first Board of Trustees. Oakland University offers 129 baccalaureate degree programs and 99 graduate degree and certificate programs.