Lenovo set for final test of IT systems for 2008 Olympics

Computerworld - With the 2008 Olympic Games only a few months away, Lenovo Group Ltd. is gearing up for a three-day trial of the hardware infrastructure it has set up in Beijing for the events.

The technology rehearsal -- the second this year -- will include more than 300 Lenovo engineers testing how some 30,000 different pieces of hardware are working together. Running June 10-12, the test will also gauge how well the technicians can deal with whatever problems pop up.

This will be the final test of the hardware before the 17-day Olympic Games kick off on Aug. 8.

"It's a matter of making sure the equipment and the people are integrated with the whole Olympic team and are working well with other partners," said Bob Page, a spokesman for Morrisville, N.C.-based Lenovo.

As the exclusive computer equipment provider, Lenovo is supplying the games with 24,000 ThinkCentre M55e desktop PCs; 800 ThinkPad T60 laptops; and 2,000 desktop printers. The company is also supplying 700 servers, including the Lenovo SureServer R520, the SureServer T350 and the SureServer R630.

A total of 580 engineers are being trained to begin work on the network in July. They will stay on the job through the end of the Olympics, on Aug. 24.

The June rehearsal will simulate three of the busiest days of the games, according to Lenovo. The test is designed to force technicians to practice managing a wide range of potential problems and situations, such as missing equipment, slashed cables, security breaches and power outages.

The company noted that nearly 95% of Lenovo's installed computing equipment will be deployed over the three-day rehearsal.

For the actual games, the equipment is being set up to handle 302 competitive events that will be held over the course of the 17 days. The equipment in competition venues is expected to run from 6 a.m. to midnight and machines in noncompetitive areas are expected to run 24 hours a day.

Atos Origin SA, an IT services company in France, is on board to handle system integration, while Samsung is providing wireless communication equipment.

Read more about hardware in Computerworld's Hardware Knowledge Center.