Aruba smashes security intrusions for Tennis Australia

Tennis Australia chief information officer, Samir Mahir.

Tracking intrusions to the Tennis Australia network is easier this year due to an expanded partnership with Aruba Networks.

Since 2011, the vendor has provided a mobile wireless network for use during the Australian Open when visitors to the Rod Laver Arena peak.

Tennis Australia chief information officer, Samir Mahir, said it is always receiving intrusions; some are benign while others have to be investigated. “The good thing about the Aruba network is because of the wireless controls that we are using, it allows us to identify any issues and segregate a segment of the network,” he said.

He added that the organisation has learnt some lessons since undertaking a pilot of the network during the Australian Open last year. “We expanded the coverage across the Rod Laver arena this year because the fans and players are hungry for this type of access,” Mahir said.

“From an operations perspective, mobility is important to the players and coaches.”

Aruba Networks Australia and New Zealand managing director, Vince Chiappazzo, said that in 2011 there were 600 users on the network while in 2012 it had hit 1400 users. “We’ve also extended the network to the official Open hotels, the Hilton, Hyatt and Mercure, in the CBD using one of the Aruba remote access points which provides a wireless access point through a 3G connection,” he said.

Once the Australian Open was over, representatives of Tennis Australia would meet with Aruba to discuss how it could offer expanded network coverage during other events throughout 2012.

In addition, the organisation is using a scoring and analysis tool called SlamTracker developed by IBM. It provides match stats across all courts, with live text commentary and a momentum visualiser for featured matches.

Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU

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