Infrastructure

BPOC has led several park-wide infrastructure projects to improve the lack of connectivity in the Park and to allow visitors to access online Park resources via their smart phones.

Park-wide Fiber Network

BPOC has completed a project to build a high-speed (1 GB) network using fiber optic cable through Balboa Park with a 50mb fiber connection to the Internet. This network will give all BPOC members access to high-speed internet and the ability to distribute content and share resources in a way that has previously been impossible because of the limitations of their current networks. It also provides a completely separate network for wireless traffic from multiple organizations and is provisioned so that traffic can be evaluated independently by organization or in aggregate.

Connection to CalREN

BPOC has initiated a project to extend a high-speed connection to the University of California-San Diego and onto CalREN, the California Research and Education Network to which the vast majority of the state's K-20 educational institutions are connected. It will also provide access to Internet2, to which many major universities are connected, as well as high-speed education networks into northern Mexico and around the Pacific Rim. This will give BPOC and its members unprecedented access to university computing resources and open up multiple opportunities for partnerships on the mobile applications. It is expected that this connection will be complete in spring of 2011.

Wireless

BPOC now provides public wireless access in six locations in Balboa Park. BPOC will continue to build out public wireless hot spots throughout 2011 and 2012 with the intent of having more than 250 access points deployed by fall of 2012.

Cloud Computing

Economies of scale can be realized by centralizing computing resources, networked storage, and backup facilities of BPOC members. BPOC has deployed more than 12 physical and 35 virtual servers in support of its members and more than one hundred terabytes of storage.