New equipment for 10 million!

Through very beneficial conditions from nLogic, we have been able to buy equipment from Juniper. This is part of a new 3-year deal with nLogic which will, through cooperation, yield good results in the foreseeable future. This means that for the first time ever; The Gathering will be fully self-supplied with equipment. It is a huge milestone in TG’s history, and we are very much looking forward to have all the functionality we’ve been wishing for. The Gathering’s Chief of Tech, Peter Blakstad, says that the new equipment will add more security functions that will eliminate incidents that could previously have led to Internet downtime. “We expect the quality and stability of the network to be be improved. This will in turn help create an even better experience for our attendees” - he says.

Picture of some of the new equipment. Photo by: Peter Blakstad

Blakstad is very pleased to partner with a leading distributor of network, IT-security, and data centres. Saying “This goes to show that The Gathering is an arena where technical manufacturers wants to be visible, and will go to great lengths to offer the best possible solution for the event.”

Meru will supply Wi-Fi until 2017. Using their own technology, Meru’s solutions are optimal for an environment such as Hamar Olympic Hall, and will provide wireless signal despite a lot of radio noise. The amount of devices such as mobile phones, tablets and gaming consoles has skyrocketed since 2013, when The Gathering first offered a wireless solution. The demand for a network that can cope with so many devices and yet operate with high speed is therefore very high. Blakstad has no doubts however and says: “We maintain high hopes that this year’s network will be the most stable wireless network The Gathering has ever seen”.

Another three-year deal with Nextron secures servers for TG15 and until 2017. Nextron will be lending us servers for over half a million Norwegian kroner for each event. This, Blakstad says, will for the first time in many years give The Gathering a total server capacity that offer us the amount of flexibility we want.

It is obviously important for technicians at The Gathering to be able to analyse usage and gather statistics. Fortinet will be delivering tools for them to utilise, so that they can analyse and improve technical solutions year after year.

Total capacity will be 30 Gbit/s like previous years, which can be extended by another 10 Gbit/s if necessary. To put this into context: last year’s event peaked at 14 Gbit/s used. This is part of a two-way deal between Eidsiva bredbånd and Blix Solutions. Eidsiva bredbånd will deliver the Internet infrastructure, while Blix Solutions deliver the internet capacity itself. A cooperation that worked so well, both signed a deal with The Gathering until 2017.

It is important to note that these are not monetized sponsors who have paid for publicity, but rather crucial collaborators who deliver equipment that is vital for us to be able to deliver the world's second largest computer festival. Big round of applause to our collaborators! Go check out their websites for more info on each company.