Deutsche Aircraft

Providing an efficient and secure autonomous network for aircraft manufacturer's new production line.

Country: Germany
Industry: Transportation
Solution: Autonomous Network, Digital Age Networking

The German manufacturer Deutsche Aircraft specializes in producing regional short-haul aircraft. For over 15 years, the company has used a network solution from Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise at its headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, currently with 600 connected employees.

For the D328eco, an environmentally friendly upgrade of the renowned Dornier 328 regional aircraft, Deutsche Aircraft recently set up a new production site at Leipzig/Halle airport, which was also equipped with an ALE network.

We are very satisfied with the functionality and flexibility of the technology, appreciate the smooth cooperation with our partners, and value the lively exchange with ALE and Huber & Feneberg.

Mathias Reitinger, Team Lead IT Operations &Support, Deutsche Aircraft

Challenges

Deutsche Aircraft does not only rely on up-to-date aircraft technology and innovative, sustainable products, but also on future-proof digital infrastructures. That is why the company has used a modern network solution for its production and development environment at its headquarters since 2010. The network was installed, and is updated regularly, by ALE partner Huber & Feneberg, who was also commissioned to set up the network at the new Leipzig site in 2025.

Action

Connected via VPN, both sites use Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch® LAN switches with Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) in the core and the Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista® 2500 network management system.

As always, all new components were tested and configured at Huber & Feneberg before installation on site. Among other things, warehouse scanners and the automated forklift warehouse in Leipzig are connected via IoT integrations.

With this latest update, Deutsche Aircraft has a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure with an autonomous network that can be flexibly adapted to new production lines, additional IoT devices and other changes in the critical IT of a manufacturing plant at any time. Secure, scalable and efficient, the network also forms the backbone of the new production facility in Leipzig.

Results

Technical Benefits

Flexible scalability through expansion
24/7 availability and redundant component configuration
Standardized configuration at both locations, with established technology
Streamlined operation, fault tolerance and increased reliability with SPB
Simple, secure autonomous network

Financial Benefits

Investment protection, as the network supports planned growth and future developments
Reduced costs for implementation, training and operation
Excellent price-performance ratio compared to the market

User Experience Benefits

Highly available with high performance
Familiar technology, little support required by IT team
Fast implementation thanks to testing and pre-configuration at the partner's premises