National Airline Upgrades Passenger Check-In System with a Communications Solution from Patton

For a major European national airline, timely and reliable processing is a critical factor for the passenger check-in service at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport. The check-in system includes critical communication between the check-in desk and the back-office systems. Unfortunately...

Synopsis
For a major European national airline, timely and reliable processing is a critical factor for the passenger check-in service at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport. The check-in system includes critical communication between the check-in desk and the back-office systems. Unfortunately, the legacy devices used in the network had aged and were no longer supported by the manufacturers. The airline desperately needed to upgrade the communications system and replace the legacy devices. Alas, the system relied on data links operating over the existing copper plant which will not be replaced or augmented. Ripping up the airport to install new cabling was not going to happen.

The Picture
The Patton OnSite OS2301 EFM CPE provides DSL connectivity for each check-in terminal, allowing the airline to re-use the existing copper cable plant, and avoid the expense, delay, and disruption of installing alternate cabling infrastructure. In the back office, the ForeFront 3310P aggregates the EFM G.SHDSL lines for delivery to the check-in database and processing server.
The Success
  • Working through the local systems integrator, GMI Databox, the national airline found a modern, reliable replacement solution from Patton that leveraged the existing cable plant.
  • Patton has a long, 35-year history in copper-based communication technology. The OnSite and ForeFront devices provided the ideal solution for the airline check-in system.
  • ForeFront DSL Aggregators on Onsite CPE products leverage the latest innovations in G.SHDSL technology to enable high-speed symmetric data transmission over copper lines.
  • Patton’s implementation of DSL technology is ideal for mission-critical-infrastructure applications and environments, where reliability and noise immunity make a big difference.
  • ForeFront Aggregators can support 24 copper pairs in a compact, 1U high standalone form factor. The aggregators are typically paired with Onsite CPE to deliver data links in a star or point to multi-point topology.
  • The national airline saved money and reduced CAPEX deploying a multipoint architecture (instead of multiple point-to-point modems connections).
  • The European air carrier saved OPEX by simplifying installation of the CPE. The OnSite EFM CPE is plug and play, so it's easy to install. The OS2301 units can be remotely monitored and managed, delivering cost savings for installation and maintenance.
The Story
Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, also known as Roissy Airport, is the largest international airport in France and the second largest in Europe. The airline check-in desk is a prominent feature. Timely performance for passenger processing is a critical factor for the country’s flagship airline, so it must be reliable.

The airline check-in system includes critical communications between check-in desk operations from the airline's registration terminals to the back-office database. But the communications infrastructure was aging and the legacy devices used in the network had reached end-of-life and were no longer supported by the manufacturers. The airline desperately needed to upgrade the communications system and replace the legacy devices .

The system relied on data links that operate across the existing copper plant, which cannot be replaced or augmented. Ripping up the airport to install new cabling was out of the question. So, any replacement solution must re-use the installed copper infrastructure.

Working through the local systems integrator, GMI Databox, the European airline found a reliable replacement solution from Patton. Patton has a long, 35-year history in copper-based communication technology. The OnSite and ForeFront devices offered the perfect solution for the challenges this major airline was facing.

ForeFront DSL Aggregators and Onsite CPE leverage the latest innovations in DSL technology. G.SHDSL.bis enables high-speed symmetric data transmission over copper lines. SHDSL’s symmetric nature makes it ideally suited for high-speed, long-distance transmission. Patton’s implementation of the technology makes the solution ideal for mission-critical infrastructure application environments, where reliability and noise immunity make a big difference.

G.SHDSL.bis supports data rates of up to 5.7 Mbps per copper wire pair. The latest wire-bonding techniques enable bandwidth to be shared across as many as 4 copper twisted pairs—and aggregated together to create a single channel of up to 22 Mbps. Even higher data rates can be achieved using TC-PAM 64 and TC-PAM 128 modulation schemes. These new techniques deliver up to 60 Mbps symmetrical by using a broader spectrum and putting more power on the line making these modes well suited for private cable plant used on campuses like CDG Airport.

ForeFront Aggregators can support 24 copper pairs in a compact, 1U high standalone form factor. Each copper pair supports up to 5.7 Mbps-15.3 Mbps and can be bonded together. The aggregators are typically paired with Onsite CPE to deliver data links in a star or point to multi-point topology.

The airline selected the Patton solution after subjecting the gear to rigorous testing.

An airline official reports:  “Nous en sommes satisfaits du bon fonctionnement et n’avons pas détecté de panne à ce jour.” Translation: “We are satisfied with the good functioning and we have not detected a fault to this day.”

While alternate vendor solutions were also tested, according to an the airline representative, “The support from Patton and GMI was the best and made all the difference. We are very satisfied with Patton’s cost-effective and highly-reliable xDSL connectivity solution. The solution is very reliable.”

In the end, the airline saved money and reduced CAPEX and OPEX by deploying a multi-point architecture (instead of multiple point-to-point modems connections) and by pairing the ForeFront Aggregation solution with the Onsite CPE. The OnSite EFM CPE is easy to install and manage, delivering cost savings during installation and maintenance. ForeFront and Onsite devices can be managed remotely via the Patton Cloud, SNMP, HTTP, Telnet and can even be configured using DIP Switches.