In terms of feeds there probably shouldn't be too much of a problem, this sounds like the IT/phone system that's gone wrong rather than any broadcast system such as BNCS, the software that is used to route feeds around. At the BBC just like any broadcaster the IT network and the broadcast computer network are kept separate except where schedules, scripts, run orders etc need to be transferred from one to the other.
The article linked in the first post quotes an internal email as saying
Quote:
"In a best-case scenario we will lose all outside connectivity - ie agency feeds, lines, internet access etc.
"In a worst-case scenario we will lose ENPS, Jupiter, VCS, email and CPS as well. The 4.30am deadline to get the network up and running again is an ambition rather than a guarantee."
. It will only be a problem if there's a major breaking news story, and there's no way of accessing the incoming feeds (but I imagine they could be fed to another BBC centre (Glasgow?) and fed to London when everything is back up).
In terms of feeds there probably shouldn't be too much of a problem, this sounds like the IT/phone system that's gone wrong rather than any broadcast system such as BNCS, the software that is used to route feeds around. At the BBC just like any broadcaster the IT network and the broadcast computer network are kept separate except where schedules, scripts, run orders etc need to be transferred from one to the other. There have been major problems with the new IP based phone system since it was installed, it's been a bit of a disaster all round it seems
If that's the case then the only thing that would affect feeds is the lack of ability to book lines (the bookings system is on the IT network) without which things are made more difficult but not impossible. I don't see how feeding everything via Glasgow would help, it just makes things more complicated... and if the IT network's down then Glasgow's probably will be too!
Don't you believe it!
Most feeds are recorded at TVC using Jupiter - which is controlled by BBC Desktop PCs... over the network. If you can't use your BBC Desktop PC - you can't use Jupiter and thus can't make a recording, or view existing recordings outside edit suites. In those cases you have to use edit suites and editors to make recordings, view them and edit them... Not as many of them as there used to be.
A lot of editing is also done in Jupiter, which stops if the network stops - so the amount of editing required in the suites that also now need to record feeds goes up.
ENPS carries the running orders which link to autocues and playout systems. With no network, that link is broken and everything has to go manual...
You're right that incoming circuits themselves are independent of the BBC IT network - however the booking systems run over the network - so knowing what is coming in and where becomes a lot more of an issue.
In terms of feeds there probably shouldn't be too much of a problem, this sounds like the IT/phone system that's gone wrong rather than any broadcast system such as BNCS, the software that is used to route feeds around. At the BBC just like any broadcaster the IT network and the broadcast computer network are kept separate except where schedules, scripts, run orders etc need to be transferred from one to the other.
The article linked in the first post quotes an internal email as saying
Quote:
"In a best-case scenario we will lose all outside connectivity - ie agency feeds, lines, internet access etc.
"In a worst-case scenario we will lose ENPS, Jupiter, VCS, email and CPS as well. The 4.30am deadline to get the network up and running again is an ambition rather than a guarantee."
Tuesday evening the IP phones were playing up at BU and connectivity to TVC was going up and down making email difficult to use. Early hours of Wednesday was when things really kicked off and BH Egton Wing took the worst of it. BBC Arabic were in pretty much the worst case scenario above. Radio London were also hit badly judging by the technical difficulties on the Wednesday breakfast show.
I don't think the email was an overreaction, as nobody really did know what was going to happen when Siemens tried to restore the network to a fully resilient state. Egton did take a hit again Thursday morning, but Arabic were prepared for it and had lots of prerecorded material on standby.
While lots of us know how our own immediate area was affected by the network problems, most of us are not going to find out the true extent of what happened until the service incident report is released. But there are some common strands coming out already, such as everyone hating the IP phones.
For weeks, if not months, there has been an ongoing bug whereby calls transferred by the PABX switchboard (the main number you ring from outside the BBC if you don't know the direct external number) have been dropping off left, right and centre.
Hardly a great image for the BBC when members of the public effectively have the phone put down on them...
Most feeds are recorded at TVC using Jupiter - which is controlled by BBC Desktop PCs... over the network. If you can't use your BBC Desktop PC - you can't use Jupiter and thus can't make a recording, or view existing recordings outside edit suites. In those cases you have to use edit suites and editors to make recordings, view them and edit them... Not as many of them as there used to be.
A lot of editing is also done in Jupiter, which stops if the network stops - so the amount of editing required in the suites that also now need to record feeds goes up.
A good point about the editing demands, but the idea of an essential function like recording being soley on the same network as the desktops is a bit silly. Systems I know of (and have used) have their full-res system on a broadcast network and the low-res (for editing) accessible via the IT network. They should be able to use the record ports independently of the desktop interfaces which will only use a proxy copy of the material. On the system i use for example the interface for the record ports is on a PC but is on the broadcast network. even if this software goes down you can just do the same function manually direct on the server itself
Although this isn't perfect (the high and low res databases will become unsynced) it does allow you to continue if the IT side gets compromised.
For weeks, if not months, there has been an ongoing bug whereby calls transferred by the PABX switchboard (the main number you ring from outside the BBC if you don't know the direct external number) have been dropping off left, right and centre.
Hardly a great image for the BBC when members of the public effectively have the phone put down on them...
String and two tin cans would do a better job. IP Phones for you.
What is the advantage of IP phones anyway? We have them where I work and they work fine (unlike the beeb's) but I really can't see the advantage over a traditional switchboard system
What is the advantage of IP phones anyway? We have them where I work and they work fine (unlike the beeb's) but I really can't see the advantage over a traditional switchboard system
Easy to monitor, supposedly easy to integrate into computers.
A good point about the editing demands, but the idea of an essential function like recording being soley on the same network as the desktops is a bit silly. Systems I know of (and have used) have their full-res system on a broadcast network and the low-res (for editing) accessible via the IT network. They should be able to use the record ports independently of the desktop interfaces which will only use a proxy copy of the material. On the system i use for example the interface for the record ports is on a PC but is on the broadcast network. even if this software goes down you can just do the same function manually direct on the server itself
It's fairly common to put broadcast playout kit is on a separate 'Media Net', this is designed to be able to disconnected from the rest of Reith when things go up the wall and run independently. But you then have the problem of the data feeds required for autocue, astons etc. Also most of the video is ingested from packages made on desktop machines or pulled from Jupiter, even the wire services are moving to FTP delivery now. While it's fairly easy to shuffle text files and stills around on a USB key, video is another matter. Ingesting baseband video isn't obsolete yet, but it's use is declining in the news room.
What is the advantage of IP phones anyway? We have them where I work and they work fine (unlike the beeb's) but I really can't see the advantage over a traditional switchboard system
Half the amount of structured cabling is a MAJOR benefit - even if you use separate drops from the switch room to the desk for voice and PC you still have far less cabling upstream.
VOIP gets rid of the requirement for a 1:1 physical connection from the desk all the way back to the exchange, and the requirement for all that physical gubbins. The exchanges themselves are a LOT cheaper as a result.
VOIP itself isn't inherently terrible - but doing it badly and sharing networks between PCs and voice is 'eggs in one basket' territory...
