Clear puts Y2K bug to the test

By Adam Gifford

Clear Communications has installed a $2.5 million test laboratory so it can check the success of year 2000 repairs to its computer systems.

Project manager Edward Overy said the lab can simulate a complete live telecommunications network operation. Testing cannot be undertaken on the actual network because of the risk of causing an interruption, or affecting production data or processes.

"The Y2K project is currently its biggest customer, but the lab is an integrated testing environment. As the Y2K testing winds down towards the end of the year the test lab will be rolled into Clear's overall change management strategy," Mr Overy said.

It will be used to test new voice, data and Internet products and services, cutting down the time needed to bring them to market.

"Although tolls is a key part of Clear's business, we are transitioning from a tolls-based business to an online company," Mr Overy said.

At the heart of the lab is a partitioned-off section of the Clear's Hitachi Data Systems mainframe, housed in its North Shore headquarters, which handles the core order entry and billing functions.

The lab itself where the 20 or so testers work is in Symonds St. It's a corner of the office crowded with PCs and servers mirroring those found within the wider company. These include:

* Clear's domestic switch, a Nortel DMS, to representing the public switched telephone network.

* Servers containing the ClearNet platforms to simulate the Internet service provider.

* Switch Network Gateway platforms to poll call records from the switch.

* Rating platforms to convert call record data into billable information.

* Workstations from which to operate, manage, configure and test the lab.

Clear has been assessing and fixing its hardware and code for more than a year, and the bulk of the mission critical systems are now ready for testing.

Mr Overy said Clear's experience squares with the standard Y2K advice that testing is at least half the project.

"Nothing comes into the test lab until it has been assessed, fixed and declared ready," he said.

While the call switching area is relatively straightforward, the interface with the billing systems is extremely date and time sensitive.

Mr Overy said a typical test involves rolling the clock forward to one of the critical dates. Since the tests involved up to 30 gigabytes of live data replicated from Clear's working system, this must be carefully scheduled so as not to interrupt normal operations.

The lab allows Clear to test interconnectivity with other telecommunication companies. It ran a Y2K interconnection test with Telecom in January, and will run another test in May or June. It is also talking with overseas telephone companies about test schedules.

"All organisations have data recovery practices, the difference here is we want to do it often."

Clear is also developing contingency plans. Critical staff have been asked not to apply for leave over the millennium period, and the company will soon know who it wants on deck during the rollover.