With about 60 full-time staff and 30 subcontractors working on the implementation phase of the synchrotron, Tuffin has deployed Windows 2003 servers, Windows XP desktops and Linux servers for development and beam control.

"We have a number of different areas and the office is fairly simple - Windows 2003 server with Active Directory, but most important is the development environment which is predominantly run on Linux," he said.

For the network 16 Cisco 3750 series switches were installed with a 6509 core switch for the VLANs.

"It's all gigabit Ethernet, a nice thing to have straight up for every single port in the office," Tuffin said, adding there are no plans for 10Gb Ethernet, but the installed cabling supports it. "We have a gigabit link to AARNet which is quite nice."

One emerging technology Tuffin decided not to deploy is VOIP, opting instead for an Ericsson PABX.