The SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) has completed a comprehensive upgrade of its IT network, worth several million rand.
The bureau declined to specify the amount. The project started in mid-2006 and was completed about two months ago, but the state standards agency and the vendor concerned withheld public comment until they were sure the system was stable and "on spec".
The implementation, by long-time SABS technology provider Olicom, is based on an Enterasys solution that includes workgroup and core switches, network management, intrusion detection and security management.
The SABS and Enterasys say the new network "provides improved network performance for future interactive services, such as video and dramatically improved security, especially for mobile devices that are increasingly being connected into the SABS network".
The new network replaces Token Ring with a high-speed Ethernet. "The Token Ring equipment worked well, but we experienced problems with availability of parts," says SABS operations manager, Jakkie Pretorius. Cost was also an issue. PCs and servers come standard with Ethernet ports, so having to install additional Token Ring network interface cards was proving expensive.
Connectivity is now provided by five-slot N-Series chassis switches at the core, and Secure Stack C2 switches at the edge. The wide area network is taken care of through an outsourcing relationship with Verizon. Device security and intrusion detection is provided through Enterasys' Dragon suite of products, while a NetSight Policy Manager runs network management and traffic engineering.
Value for money
"We chose [the] solution because it could give us a great deal of value for money in pure performance, in the feature set it includes as a standard, and in its ability to let us easily introduce technologies that are becoming important to the SABS, especially productivity tools like video conferencing and mobility," says Pretorius.
He says the SABS often has auditors and inspectors moving between sites that use mobile devices such as smart phones and laptops, either connecting into the network wirelessly or using a virtual private network over the Internet from remote locations.
Another factor in the choice was maintenance. "We had a problem on an extremely dusty site in Secunda where equipment was damaged," says Pretorius. "Enterasys support engineers diagnosed the problem and swapped out the equipment on the same day, even though the site was very remote," says Pretorius.
The SABS has over 1 100 users on its network, based at its head office in Pretoria, and at several branch offices around the country, in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Midrand, Saldanha, Richards Bay and Secunda, as well as a site at Walvis Bay, in Namibia.
As SABS implements more authentication technology, it is planning to introduce the Enterasys Sentinel access management solution, along with Power over Ethernet for remote cameras, door access control or voice-over-IP terminals.
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