FOLLOWINGrapiddevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,theInternethasfounditswayintoalmosteveryhouseholdinChina.WiththeInternetnowintertwinedwithourcomputers,smartphones,andhomeappliances,it鈥檚hardtoimaginehowweusedtomanagewithoutit.AnormaldayinChinabeginsbycheckingtheWeChatapponourphone.Mostpeoplecan鈥檛waittocheckthelatestupdatesontheapp,whichservesasagatewayintothelivesofourfriendsandaplacetoreadaboutworldnews.Onthewaytowork,mapappshelpusavoidtrafficjams.Fordailywork,peopleusesearchengines,emails,teleconferences,voicemails,andvideoclips.Afterwork,theyplayonlinegames,andsearchforpopularrestaurantsonfoodapps.Beforegoingtobed,peoplewatchTVseriesonlineandevenbuythingsonpopularshoppingapps.Withasmuchaswenowrelyonoursmartphones,it鈥檚unimaginabletothinkofwhatourlifewouldbelikewithoutallthistechnology.
TheInternethasmadeourlivessomucheasier,largelybecauseoftheengineerswhoworkasbuilders,firefighters,anddoctorsinthevirtualworld.Theyprovideuswithfirst-rateservicesbydevelopingfasterandmorestableInternetandtroubleshootingthenumerousbugs.Theircontributionisinvaluable.ChenLei,aseniornetworkengineeratChinaUnicom鈥檚Shenyangbranch,isonesuchengineer.Throughhistenure,hehasearnedmanytitlessuchasInternetExpertandMasterinShenyangUnicom.Hehasworked17yearstosafeguardInternetsafetyinShenyangforhundredsofthousandsofusers.
MoreHaste,LessSpeed
Seventeensecondsismorethanenoughtimetotypeintwocomputercommands,however,whenandwheretotypethemhavebeenpracticedbyChenLeioverthepast17years.ChengraduatedfromtheLiaoningProvincialSchoolofPostsandTelecommunicationsalmosttwodecadesagoandwenttoworkinChinaUnicom鈥檚Shenyangbranchasacomputerroomtechnician,whichheadmitswasratherboring.Despitethis,Chendidnotstopstrivingtolearnallhecould,fullyimmersinghimselfintocomputerscience.鈥淐henwasonly19yearsoldwhenhecameherebuthewasaspirantandneverlaggedbehind,鈥漴ecalledamanageratthecenterforInternetservice.
Duringtheday,heworkedhard,andafterwork,hewasusuallysoimmersedinreadingbooksaboutcomputersthatheoftensleptonlyafewhours.Despitehisexhaustion,hestillfoundcreativeideastosolveprevioustechnicaldifficultiesatwork.Likeasponge,Chenabsorbedeverythingaroundhim,constantlytakinginnewknowledge.Althoughheworkedfull-time,hereceivedhisbachelor鈥檚degreeinComputerandCommunicationEngineeringin2004fromJilinUniversitythroughpart-timestudy.In2006,ChenwasofferedanewpostintheInternetManagementandMaintenanceCenterandspentlotsoftimeworkingatnight,whichgavehimaleapforwardinhisexpertise.In2009,hereceivedtheCCIE-SPcertificate,themostauthoritativeoneofitskindintheworld,onlygivento2,000peopleatthetime.PavelFefelov,anexpertfromCisco,wasamazedbyChen鈥檚expertise.Chenhadalreadyestablishedhimselfasapillarinhiscompany,knownforhissharpness,knowledge,andtechnicalability.In2015,ChinaUnicomdecidedtochallengetheIPv6,acutting-edgeITtechnique.Rightbeforetheyhadfinished,theexpertswerefacedwithatoughchallenge.Withasolidtheoreticalfoundationandrichexperience,inonly20minutes,Chensubmittedtwocommands,perfectlysolvingtheinitiallyinsurmountableproblem.HiscontributionmadeChinaUnicomthefirstdomesticoperatorthatputIPv6intouseintheInternetforcompaniesandpublicinstitutions.ChenLei(firstleft)andhisdedicatedteammemberstestingouttheirresearchresults.MassiveInnovation
TheInternetManagementandMaintenanceCenterwhereChenLeiworkedisthebrainofShenyang鈥檚network.Chen鈥檚responsibilityistoovercomedifficultiestomaintainsmoothoperationandimplementinnovationstomakeitevenbetter.Atthebeginningof2007,Shenyangwasselectedtohostthefootballmatchesforthe29thOlympicGamesin2008.Inordertoprovideserviceformanysportsenthusiastswhowouldvisitthecity,Chen鈥檚companydecidedtoupgradeandrebuildthecoreandconvergencelayersofitsnetwork.However,ordinaryoperatorsdidnothavetheabilitytoundertakethistask.WhenChenwasaskedifhecoulddoitwithhisteam,hisreplywaspositiveandfirm,andherevealedthathehadwantedtodoitforalongtime.Withoutanypriorexperience,Chenandhisteamworkedfor120daysandnights,successfullycompletingthetask.
In2012,whencheckingpotentialrisksthatmightleadtoseriousproblems,theydiscoveredthattherewassomethingwrongwithseveralLDPs.TheyneededtoimmediatelyuncoverthecausestoavoidbringingtroubletomillionsofInternetusersinShenyang.Thepotentialtroublerenderedtheworkersatalossaswhattodo.TheycouldthinkofnoothersolutionthantoaskChenforhelp.Chenspent15minutesbrainstorming,isolatingthecause,andthenrepairingit.IntheeyesofZhangHongyan,generalmanagerofChen鈥檚center,thekeytosolvingsuchproblemsliesinthefamiliaritywiththestructureoftheInternetandtheequipmentonwhichitruns鈥搘hichcanonlybedonebyChenLei.
In2015,inordertomakeupforthedeficienciesofthetraditionalIPleasedline,ChendevisedaspecialmodebasedonPON.Itmadetheopeningofaspecialleasedlinefullyautomaticandsolvedabigproblemlinkedwithuseraccess.ChenalsoappliedavirtualdialingtechniqueonBRAS,whichinterfacedAAAcertificationandtheresourcessystem,andautomatedtheformsforspeciallinebusiness.Thissavedthecompanyover90percentofopticalcables,allhumanresources,and75percentoftheaddressresources,andshortenedthetimeneededtostarttheserviceby97percent.Soonafter,ChinaissuedthestrategyforFibertoTheHome(FTTH).WiththesolidfoundationthatShenyangUnicomhadlaid,ChinaUnicomquicklyoccupiedthemarketandbecamecompetitiveinthisfield.
PromotingTeamwork
AlthoughChenwasabletosolvemanyproblemsinashortamountoftime,herealizedthatteamworkwastheonlyguaranteeofacompany鈥檚greatness.IntheeyesofMuFeng,Chen鈥檚colleague,Chenwaswillingtoshareeverythingheknewwithwhoevercametohim.UnderChen鈥檚guidance,numerouscomputerengineershavegoneontomakeoutstandingcontributionsintheirworkgroups.
Inhisteamofover10people,ChenLeiandhiscolleagueChenXiaobinareratedasBLevelTalentofChinaUnicom,whichisanationalhonor(only55peoplehavewonthishonornationwide).AnothereightcolleaguesareratedasCLevelTalentofChinaUnicom(aprovincialhonor).IntheeyesofQiuRui,whocametoChen鈥檚centerafewmonthsago,Chenislikeabrotherwhoalwaysgiveshimtheperfectsolutionwheneverheisintrouble.
In2012,acommunicationtechnologyinnovationworkstudionamedafterChenwasopenedinShenyangUnicom.Here,everyoneisencouragedtoexpresshisorherideasandteamworkischerished.ChenLeidoesnotthinkofhimselfasanauthorityandinhiseyes,ampleexperimentsspeaklouderthanmerewords.Withtheirjointefforts,ChenLei鈥檚studiohasaccomplishedanumberofinnovationprojects.Whenthestudiowasfirstsetup,inordertosavecosts,ChenLeiandhisteamdevelopedanewmethodtodeployIPTV,whicheasedthepressureofserversonIPTVplatformsandsavedhalfofthedatatrafficusedpreviously.Thisinnovationhelpedincreaseplatformusersto140,000from70,000,en-suredtheuseofIPTVfor100,000users,andsavednearlyRMB20millionofinvestment.
ForChenLei,itisimportanttoimproveoneself,butmoreimportanttoimproveateam.Throughmentoring,experiencedworkersadviseandhelpthosewithlessexperience,whichprovesmutuallybeneficial,injectingnewenergyintotheirteamaswellasthecompany.AsanIPworkerinthevirtualworld,ChenLeiguardsthesafetyoftheInternetformillionsofpeopleinShenyang,andnurturesInternetprofessionalswithhisexperience.Hehasdevotedhimselftohiscareerwithapassionandperseverancethathasprovedbeneficialformillionsofpeople.C