Network management strategy
Network managers from the private and public sectors tell Linda More how they have geared up their organisations to meet the needs of today and tomorrow
Managing growth is a common concern with many network managers
The explosive growth of IT infrastructures has resulted in complex distributed systems and applications whose timely management is rapidly exceeding human ability. Today’s network managers are expected to ensure secure, reliable service delivery of voice, data and video across large, distributed networks. In addition, firewalls have to be supported and managed along with intrusion detection and prevention systems, virtual private networks (VPNs), load balancers, traffic shapers and content management.
Managing growth is a common concern with many network managers, both in terms of network capacity and capability to support new applications and technologies. In addition to ensuring that the corporate network is available, reliable and fit for purpose, network managers have to understand the complex requirements that a converged voice and data network brings.
The ability to expand his network and provide new services when needed is a major concern for Paul Lewis, network services manager at Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.
“The priority for our network is that it can be expanded easily with new technologies, without having to throw it all away,” he says.
The onset of convergence has introduced more complex management functions because different media, voice and video in particular have to be treated in a more sensitive manner to guarantee the higher levels of service.
Providing and managing sufficient bandwidth is a perennial problem that forward-looking companies started addressing several years ago. Matt Ballantine, head of IT at global creative agency Imagination, recognises the limitations of his 10-year-old infrastructure and the benefits of outsourcing, saying: “Our network was designed to meet our data needs a decade ago and it’s holding us back from using VoIP, videoconferencing, media streaming and more. Looking forward a few years the challenge will be providing an internet connection to every desk as all the applications will be cloud based and defined in terms of service.”
More demanding users
There has also been a shift in user perceptions. IT services at work used to be dull and boring but definitely much more powerful than the computing devices used at home – now the scenario is reversed.
“People expect real-time communication tools because they have and use them at home,” says Ballantine. “Often, we can’t yet implement them in the workplace due to the complexity of managing that very last bit of the network – the final piece that goes into the office.”
For Ballantine, the nirvana of network deployment will be when infrastructure services are bought and deployed in the same manner as a mobile phone – on a monthly contract that includes the hardware.
“I’ve heard the term infrastructure as a service – I don’t need to know how it works, just how to order it. Unfortunately, the world of network management is some steps behind the rest of IT, which is rapidly becoming commoditised. Network infrastructure and management remains a black art surrounded by gobbledegook.”
Network management has become an essential part of ensuring network availability as well as playing a significant role in proactive network diagnosis including traffic management and capacity planning for both new and existing applications. Many organisations have used network analysis tools to gain valuable insight into the working of their networks before deploying demanding new services. Exploiting the capabilities of modern converged networks to support both voice and data, organisations are taking advantage of the cost savings, ease of management and ubiquity of VoIP to replace traditional fixed-line telephone systems.
“With real-time insight provided by NetEvidence’s Highlight service, I have a clear view of what the network is like when it’s operating at ‘normal’,” says Reigate and Banstead’s Lewis. “This has allowed us to add new technologies and services with full confidence that the network will operate efficiently and we don’t have any nasty surprises.”
For independent charity The Hollybank Trust, which provides residential care for children and adults with profound and multiple disabilities for life, the network has become an essential part of school and home life for its residents across West Yorkshire. Brian Boullier, head of information, communication and assistive technology at Hollybank Trust, uses pioneering technology, often delivered through the network, to give residents the opportunity to do things for themselves.
“Full monitoring is essential to the wellbeing of our network,” says Boullier. “WhatsUp Gold gives us a live topographical map of all our connections so we can monitor the availability of VPN connections between our six sites as well as internet connectivity.”
Traditionally, organisations have used reactive network management tools such as HP OpenView, CiscoWorks and Tivoli for managing network infrastructures. However, these tools are not going to be sufficient for the next generation of real-time networks with increased intelligence and software residing at the heart of the network. Proactive, policy-based, automated management tools will be required to meet the demands of high availability and performance while reducing vulnerability and guaranteeing regulatory compliance.
Next on the agenda for Hollybank Trust is centralisation and virtualisation. “We have a new £2.5m building project that will include a new server room,” says Boullier. “Reducing our servers through virtualisation, implementing thin-client technologies and centralising management are going to make the job easier and improve services to staff and residents.”
Network management strategy
Network managers from the private and public sectors tell Linda More how they have geared up their organisations to meet the needs of today and tomorrow
Delivering savings
Networks today are not only about delivering services, they are being asked to pay their way and contribute to cost savings. For Hertford College, the unusual design of a new building rendered mobile phone use within the premises impossible.
“The new building essentially created a ferric cage where mobile signals couldn’t get in or out,” says network services manager Dan Hidlebaugh. “So we took our wireless network and tied it into our telephony using voice over wireless technology from Agito.”
The result is 100 per cent mobile coverage throughout the building, including presence information, enabling staff to be easily located and a saving of £3,200 each month on billed mobile minutes.
“When students are on campus they can use their mobiles without charge, so teaching staff are now developing educational materials and learning environments that make use of mobile interaction – the network is offering exciting possibilities,” he says.
Enterprises are beginning to realise the advantages that can be gained by employing intelligent infrastructure management to free up valuable network specialists, using them for more strategic work that will further the aims of the business, such as the design and provisioning of services or the development of next-generation networks.
The next-generation network will integrate Ethernet with Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) to deliver an IP-centric, carrier-class network that can support rich multiple services that combine VoIP, unified messaging and personal communication services as well as carrying standard data and video. Whether traffic flows over fixed copper, fibre or a mobile infrastructure will no longer be of concern to the user or the administrator. These networks will be more intelligent and offer new features through software residing in the network.
Neil Hooper, infrastructure manager at high-end fashion brand owner Aurora, already deploys one of the latest generation of networks as part of the connection between 1,474 stores across 45 countries. Outsourced and managed by Vodat, the European MPLS broadband network is shared by all the brands.
“We run selective outsourcing so my team can focus on different elements of the IT role within the business without worrying about the network,” says Hooper. “I don’t need the network specialisms in-house – Vodat frees up time so we can concentrate on our strategic role in the business.”
Self-healing networks
Self-diagnosing and self-healing network systems may seem like science fiction but with the increasing complexity and distribution of network infrastructure, autonomic computing, used in conjunction with an intelligent infrastructure, has the capability to address some of the burdensome network management challenges facing companies today. Constantly monitoring and analysing activity across an IT infrastructure for behaviour that is outside of the expected, autonomics, together with the intelligence embedded within the infrastructure, can then implement corrective actions that return the system to its normal state.
“We are looking to reduce the amount of human effort involved,” says Lewis. “The aim is to create a single system with intelligent alerts so that it can operate with fewer people.”
Network management strategy
Network managers from the private and public sectors tell Linda More how they have geared up their organisations to meet the needs of today and tomorrow
South Yorkshire Police excels at detection
Working from 90 police stations including 11 major sites, South Yorkshire Police force protects Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, employing more than 5,500 staff including 3,100 police officers.
A technically advanced force that has embraced technology to make law enforcement more effective, South Yorkshire Police relies heavily on its extensive high-performance, converged network. According to Adam Hill, network infrastructure architect, the force recognised five years ago that a converged network was the way forward.
“We made a conscious decision to build a multitude of rings operating at gigabit speeds around South Yorkshire ensuring absolute connectivity between all our police personnel, the national Criminal Justices Extranet and to the general public via a complex wide area network,” says Hill.
To ensure that the network and its applications are available 24 hours a day, the IT team needed an effective yet relatively low-cost network and application monitoring platform. The force chose Network Instruments Observer Suite, together with 14 network probes and a Gigastor large-scale recorder for capture and analysis of every network event.
“This setup continually sniffs the network for faults, providing feedback and analysis as well as highlighting areas where performance is impaired or where failures are likely to happen if left unaddressed,” says Hill. “It’s great for retrospectively investigating incidents as well as monitoring quality of service and giving us a near real-time view of traffic patterns.”
The monitoring system was instrumental in the replacement of thousands of telephones within the force with a VoIP system. “There has been a huge cost benefit to the force in the removal of fixed telephone lines,” says Hill. “Without Observer I would have struggled with the installation and tuning of the VoIP installation.”
Hill’s current project is the evaluation of the impact of introducing IPCCTV onto the network and again the Observer system is beneficial in monitoring and managing traffic flows.
“We’re using multicast – not a new technology but one that is coming of age – to allow us to stream and distribute video data within the police force without drastically disrupting overall bandwidth,” says Hill.
The result is that South Yorkshire Police is one of the best technically supported forces in the country and is saving thousands of pounds on phone bills and inter-site transport as well as enabling manpower resources to be focused almost entirely on the needs of the constabulary and the public it serves.