Transatlantic Corporate Network Update

The new corporate network delivers unprecedented speeds and security between Spectrum's sites in the US and UK enabling the company to easily access seismic data stored and processed at their seismic processing centres in Houston and London. Exponential-e's local presence in the US allowed the service provider to deliver the solution cost-effectively.

Spectrum's executive vice president of IT, John Lyons commented: "Seismic data processing and 3D imaging are bandwidth-intensive by their nature. Exponential-e was able to provide high-levels of bandwidth cost-effectively and at the speeds we needed over two continents." John added: "Our ability to move huge quantities of seismic data from Houston to a client in our UK office in as little as 57 milliseconds is mind-blowing. We also have the extra peace of mind that our data is now supported on a private network."

In providing seismic data services to the oil and gas industry, Spectrum moves substantial quantities of 2D and 3D seismic data between its sites in the UK and the US. The company also uses its proprietary and third party software to conduct real-time analysis and manipulation of data in Houston remotely from Woking, placing significant demands on bandwidth and latency.

Spectrum was previously using an Internet-based IP VPN to transport significant volumes of data between sites. Exponential-e was able to connect Spectrum into their next generation network using local network nodes in each country to deliver significantly higher levels of speed and efficiency as well as enhancing security.

Connectivity between the two sites is no longer reliant on the Internet with all critical data transported on a highly secure dedicated private network. A unique networking approach based on switching rather than routing in the core has reduced the round trip latency between the two sites to as little as 114ms.
Cost savings related to infrastructure consolidation and therefore a lower support overhead is now possible. Both services are delivered to Spectrum over a single powerful connection at each site, with each service securely insulated and delivered to the company as physically different cables. A simple Ethernet interface allows each service to be plugged directly into the LAN.