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Problem

The building management network for the headquarters of a global financial institution was reaching
its end of life and due for a refresh. Almost 50 switches over multiple floors needed replacing,
requiring a high level of security and ensuring a failover configuration was put in place.

Strategy

Understanding the nature of the network and the variety of devices connected would be key to the solution provided. Our engineers had to scope a solution that would be able to cope with a high level of traffic from multiple devices, had a high level of resilience and was secure. CETSAT would implement a series of switches, interconnected between floors to ensure no single point of failure. Each floor would be segregated through the use of multiple vLAN configurations that would allow each subnet to only communicate back to a new centralised management platform.

Technology

  • Network Hardware: Cisco Catalyst 2960.
  • Network Security: SonicWALL NSA 4650, DarkTrace Enterprise.
  • Management Platform: Windows Server 2016, MangeEngine OpManager.

Result

Taking into account the business-critical nature of the devices attached to these network switches, CETSAT began a staged process of replacing and testing the new switches out of hours, working until the early morning to ensure minimal disruption. This process carried on over a period of weeks until all the new switches were in place and operating effectively. The project concluded with the installation of two new SonicWALL firewalling devices in a highly available configuration and the configuration of the new management platform. This greater resilience, more efficient configuration and new monitoring platform have ensured the building management team always have eyes on the devices that are critical to their organisation, whilst ensuring a high level of security from both external and internal threats.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]