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I started a class and i have no clue on this, help  please
ACE COMPUTER SERVICES, INC.

Ace Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) is a subsidiary of Ace Corp. that provides
computer and data processing consulting and software development services to
the rest of Ace and also to many outside clients. ACS is in process of moving
into several new office buildings. ACS decided to develop a data wiring plan
for all of Ace. The plan would initially be tested in the new buildings. Based
upon this experiment, a master plan for all current and new buildings for ACS
and Ace as a whole is to be developed, with wiring to be retrofitted to
existing buildings.

Ace has a pressing need for a consistent single-medium solution to its data
communications needs. A typical Ace employee changes locations every nine to
twelve months, and along with the employee goes his or her terminal. Looked at
another way, it is not unusual for 50% of the installed data terminals to be
moved at Ace each year.
Because there is a variety of cable types used to support the current data
terminal inventory, this presents cabling nightmare for the wire maintenance
crew. Furthermore, apart from the problems of moving terminals, it is difficult
to troubleshoot cable problems in existing buildings because of the different
types of cable trays. A lot of computer downtime at ace has been attributed to
locating the correct cable. To install and maintain a separate type of wore for
every different type of terminal is costly and time consuming. Prewiring new
and existing buildings with a single type of cable can minimize the impact of
moves, additions, and changes as well as cable faults.

Acs's solution was to choose shielded 22 gauge twisted-pair cable containing
four solid cooper conductors that will support data speeds up to 16 Mbps in
both directions (one twisted pair of cooper conductors for each direction).
This cable is designed to let users permanently wire buildings in a systematic
way. On each floor of a building, twisted pair is installed between a wiring
closet (usually the telephone closet) and each office. By appropriate patching
in the wire closed and by use of interconnections between closets on different
floors, any form of wore interconnection can be implemented. When the wiring is
completed, from 80 to 90 percent of Ace's terminals and computers will wun on
this type of cable. Some Specialized graphics workstations, however, will not
work on this cable because they use more than four conductors.

The wiring scheme was first tested in a new building at 2RP in Renton,
Washington. Occupancy of 2RP was set for July 1986, and two teams were put
together in January 1986. The first team, called the Implementation Committee,
was responsible for overseeing the process of installing the cable. The second
team, called the ACS committee, was responsible for assuring that the wiring
satisfied user requirements and that data processing equipment was properly
installed. Each of the two groups met every week from late January 1986 until
completion of the building in July 1986. The ACS committee met every week after
completion of the building to make sure all computing equipment went in without
a problem. The equipment was installed during every weekend from the first of
July until the end of August.

The results from 2RP were highly satisfactory. All terminals came up
immediately without any downtime. Detailed cable records and cable albeling
allow ACS to relocate devices, to make alterations easily, and to quickly
isolate any faults. The shielded twisted pair provides excellent performance
(few errors) even at very high data rates.

Discussion Questions:

1. The installation activity seems to have involved a lot of people in the two
committees and to have consumed a lot of their time. Was this justified or was
Ace being too cautious?
2. How would you go about justifying the cable installation project to top
management? What costs savings or other benefits justify the resources
involved?
3. How would you measure the effects of this project? Can you propose
quantitative measures that can be used after the fact to(a) demonstrate that
the project was worth it and (b) quantify the benefits?

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