Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and co-creator of the iPhone and the iPad, once said, "Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people." An African proverb echoes this idea: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) team of unsung IT and Network heroes have collaborated together during the global health crisis to keep the National Airspace System operational and ensure the safety of FAA employees by supporting teleworking infrastructure. Together, they have accomplished great things and have gone far!
Adhering to shelter-in-place orders, tens of thousands of FAA employees were suddenly required to telework from their homes. FAA IT and Network systems felt the strain of this dramatic increase in daily Virtual Private Network (VPN) logins, as members connected to gain access to their work files and systems from home. The FAA Office of Information and Technology (AIT) quickly formed a Pandemic Working Group (PWG) to address these increased virtual network connections and to ensure the continuity of operations.
The PWG, led by Sue Lake, Director of Infrastructure and Operations Service (AIF-001), consists of IT, Network, and Telecommunication professionals from all across the FAA, including the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure Mission Support (FTIMS) program, the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC), and the William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC). This team planned for the challenging influx of thousands of new VPN and remote telework users. Daily connections to the FAA Remote Access (FRAC) VPN more than quadrupled. During normal pre-COVID-19 operations, daily connections to the FRAC numbered approximately 5,000 to 7,000 users per day, whereas early into the shelter-in-place telework directive, daily connections increased to as many as 27,000 connections per day.
To compensate for this dramatic increase, it was necessary for the FAA Network systems to be upgraded and expanded. Additional VPN concentrator equipment had to be added at the MMAC and the WJHTC locations by the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) team. As equipment was upgraded at one location, FRAC VPN services transitioned to the other location to ensure continued service for FRAC VPN users. The PWG oversaw and coordinated these improvements to ensure a smooth and seamless upgrade with minimal impact to system operations. In appreciation for the entire Network team’s support, Ms. Lake presented the team with a special recognition award for their exceptional work on this project.
Danny Thomas, member of the FAA’s PWG, and the Telecommunications Unit (AMK-222a) choreographed, implemented, and supported these upgrade efforts for the MMAC. "I have a teleconference every morning with the Pandemic Working Group," Danny explains, "just to see what the impacts are and how upgrades are going." The Telecommunications Unit (AMK-222a) and other contractor support staff worked to execute and facilitate the network upgrades at the MMAC.
Danny shared that the Aeronautical Center and the Tech Center split the responsibility of handling internet traffic and FRAC access, with the MMAC supporting users west of the Mississippi River and the Tech Center supporting users to the east. He further explained that there is significant collaboration between these two organizations to tackle network upgrade and expansion initiatives. To support the increased number of remote users, the MMAC’s Wide Area Network (WAN) was upgraded from 2 gigabits per second (Gbps) to 7 Gbps and the Internet Access Point was upgraded from 4 Gbps to 10 Gbps with minimal impact to MMAC users. Similar upgrades were performed at the Tech Center - with MMAC supporting the WJHTC’s traffic during their upgrades. The goal of these upgrades is to ensure that both MMAC and WJHTC possess the network infrastructure capabilities to support each other’s Internet access and FRAC VPN needs at any given time. If one location were to go down, continuity of FAA operations is ensured by shifting network traffic to the other location.
The teamwork did not stop within the dynamic lineup of the Pandemic Working Group, the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure Mission Support team, the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, and the William J. Hughes Technical Center. The network upgrades also required interfacing and coordinating with the local Internet Service Provider (ISP) and multiple vendors to purchase the equipment necessary for the system upgrades at the MMAC. Additionally, the Business and Resource Support Office (AMK-020) and the Diversified Franchise Acquisition Section (AAQ-722) supported the business and financial aspects of the Internet Access Point upgrade.
When asked about the pressure of executing this massive upgrade, Danny was modest and self-effacing. "It wasn’t really hard to do because this is what we do all the time, quite frankly. Maybe not always this big of a job, but we are under a lot of pressure at all times to keep approximately 5,500 users at MMAC (and approximately 27,000 users and systems that use our Internet Access Point) operating. We are always under the gun to keep things up and running and we are always having to keep systems upgraded with minimal impact to the users. This upgrade wasn’t a whole lot different than normal operations."
Danny Thomas attributes the success that the PWG has experienced to the teamwork and collaboration demonstrated. He points out, "You can get a lot more done working with others than you can working by yourself!" Maintaining these relationships is key. By working together, the Pandemic Working Group has simultaneously ensured the continued safety and operations of the National Airspace System (NAS) and equipped a maximum number of FAA employees to telework in safety. "We do hourly reports on the number of VPN users in Oklahoma City and at the Tech Center and we see approximately 27,000 users daily," Danny said. "It makes you feel pretty good knowing that we are supporting social distancing and people staying safe by working from home. It makes you feel like your job is really important. We are supporting the National Airspace System with our infrastructure."
