Maintenance window scheduled to begin at February 14th 2200 est. until 0400 est. February 15th

(e.g. yourname@email.com)

Forgot Password?

    Defense Visual Information Distribution Service Logo

    The riddle of the Gordian Knot – Virginia National Guard soldiers untangle 50,000 feet of network cable in Afghanistan

    The riddle of the Gordian Knot – Virginia National Guard soldiers untangle 50,000 feet of network cable in Afghanistan

    Photo By Frank O'Brien | Spc. Gregory Gourdeau, from Chesapeake, Va., reviews reorganized cables at Forward...... read more read more

    QALAT, AFGHANISTAN

    11.15.2011

    Story by Sgt. Frank O'Brien 

    116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

    ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Alexander the Great resolved the riddle of the Gordian Knot by slicing the cords with his sword in 333 B.C. Twenty-first century information technology soldiers of the Virginia Army National Guard, deployed just outside the remains of a castle built by Alexander, faced an equally daunting puzzle: How to resolve a tangle of computer network cables haphazardly assembled by many units over the years? Their solution was Cablepalooza.

    Cablepalooza was a round-the-clock collaborative effort to organize, consolidate and replace computer cable used by the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the headquarters for the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, at Forward Operating Base Lagman. The project involved soldiers from the 116th IBCT, Nevada National Guard 422nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, flown in from Kandahar Airfield, Tennessee Army National Guard 230th Signal Company, and the Fort Wainwright, Alaska-based 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.

    Over nine days from Nov. 6 to 15, up to 17 information and communication technology soldiers replaced over 50,000 feet of computer cable working 24 hours a day. Cablepalooza was the nickname give to the project by the 116th soldiers who initiated and led the effort.

    “It was a great collaborative effort,” said Maj. Lesley E. Kipling, 116th Brigade communications officer. “Very professional.”

    “It’s something I would never, ever want to do again,” said Staunton-native Sgt. 1st Class Michael S. Rivera-Wenger – the chief planner for Cablepalooza – with a laugh.

    Prior to Cablepalooza, cables were unlabeled, and in some cases, lying exposed on the ground. Technicians working on issues could not reconcile a cable coming from a user’s computer to where it was plugged into the network switch.

    “Everything about the setup of the network was field expedient,” said Kipling, “and it had become completely unmanageable.”

    “The Army believes in leaving a place better than you found it,” said Rivera-Wenger. “This was an outstanding team effort. Everyone was really focused and did a great job. It will be part of S-6’s legacy to have cleaned and improved the network infrastructure here.”

    S-6 is the designation given by the Army to its communications and information technology office.

    The appearance of the disorganized cables was described by one soldier as “a Flying Spaghetti Monster.” (The Flying Spaghetti Monster is a popular meme among computer technicians and Internet junkies.)

    “My part in Cablepalooza was to neatly route the cables in order to facilitate the location of bad cables,” said Sgt. Michael Roper of Radford, Va., a recently promoted Army information systems specialist. “For everyone who has a cable running from their computer, that cable connects to a switch. The switch is a collection of ports that allows us to move network traffic. It’s where everyone gets their connectivity from. Rather than have a Flying Spaghetti Monster on our switches, Cablepalooza allowed us to see all the cables and switches in an organized layout,” he added.

    Three types of cables are used by deployed troops, color coded to represent the classification level of the information being transmitted. Most users had all three systems at their workspace. What that meant for the information technicians of Cablepalooza was that almost every aspect of the project was tripled.

    “Nothing like this has ever been attempted before on this scale on this base,” said Kipling. “It was a huge undertaking that required everyone to step up. Even those soldiers who weren’t part of Cablepalooza had to step up – picking up the workload of others.”

    Some might be quick to dismiss the project as akin to stringing cable in their own home, not realizing that the cables had to go up, under, through and around multiple structures on the FOB.

    Spc. Gregory Gourdeau, a 25U signal support systems specialist from Chesapeake, Va., on his third deployment, was the “go-to guy” for much of Cablepalooza’s muscle.

    “I was the team leader for the northside team” said Gourdeau, referring to the side of the base where he worked. “We were a mixed group of five to seven, including soldiers from the 230th, responsible for upgrading the brigade headquarters and all the attached elements. We put cable up in the roof, through the attic and under the building. The attic was a challenge. Because of health and safety concerns, we had to use protective masks. It was cramped up there for four days, followed by two days crawling under the building,” he added.

    Gourdeau and his team were able to reduce the amount of switches used from 100 to 90, making the layout more intuitive, flexible and functional. Users in similar offices are now grouped together with space available for future new users in those sections. In addition, new wall boxes and jacks - cable interfaces - were installed throughout the building that will make it even easier for technicians to pinpoint problems.

    “All the cables have been replaced,” said Gourdeau. “They’re brand new, brought to us by the 422nd. This new cable layout will be ten times easier to maintain for any incoming unit than it was for us.”

    A common principle of warfare taught by grizzled non-commissioned officers everywhere is: Always improve your fighting position. Soldiers of the Virginia, Nevada and Tennessee National Guards have done just that at FOB Lagman, not with concertina wire, but with network cable.

    The goal of Cablepalooza was to provide better network security and be able to troubleshoot the network. Prior to the upgrade, the S-6 staff didn’t know where disconnects were taking place. It made troubleshooting a challenge. Now their ability to solve connectivity problems is greatly enhanced by the improvements.

    LEAVE A COMMENT

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 11.15.2011
    Date Posted: 11.27.2011 04:08
    Story ID: 80587
    Location: QALAT, AF

    Web Views: 303
    Downloads: 1

    PUBLIC DOMAIN