Government
Education - School District
Non-Profit
Financial

GOVERNMENT

The system administrators at this government agency were too busy. They had ideas, lots of them, for making their network more efficient, but not the dollars, time or manpower for such a large undertaking.

Their thoughts ran to utilizing existing network management tools to reduce time spent deploying software and to better manage their software licenses and assets. Their existing network was high maintenance, with limited utilization of automation, no remote access and few written network management and security policies.

To make the best use of their available resources, the administrators first needed to make sure they completely understood their network. The first step was to work with Networks 2000 to complete a Technology Assessment Profile (TAP) to review the state of their network. Their director of technology and his entire staff were involved in the initial information gathering meeting with Networks 2000.

Networks 2000 performed an analysis based on the data they gathered and delivered a report on the status of the client's network. Major issues that came out of the TAP included:

• The need for additional storage
• Tape backup issues
• A cabling mess in their network room
• Server reliability issues
• Network management problems
• Hardware service- troubleshooting

The TAP results gave this government agency a great place to start. Networks 2000 worked with them to identify, budget and plan the upgrades in a manner that made the most of their available resources and worked within their timeframe.

In this situation it made sense for Networks 2000 to perform most of the work. This allowed the client to focus on other technology issues within their organization.

There is a lot to accomplish, but plans for the upgrades continue on schedule. So far, the work that has been completed by Networks 2000 includes:

• Assisting with the creation of technical specifications for a LAN switching and cable RFP given out to bid.
• Increasing Cluster storage space as a temporary measure until a Storage Area Network can be implemented to provide scalable storage.
• Installing a new Proliant server and SQL 2000 server enterprise for a new SQL-based accounting package.
• Review the Microsoft exchange server configuration and reconfigure settings to restrict mail relay.
• Recommending other hardware upgrades for servers that required them, .i.e. installation of additional memory, etc.

EDUCATION - SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Director of Technology for a 20-site school district, each site with its own Novell server, contacted Networks 2000 for assistance. Their network engineer was leaving and taking his network expertise with him.

Networks 2000 stepped in immediately to handle critical issues, providing almost daily, on-site network support.

Before this occurred, the director had already decided to take a look at the overall health of their network. They had been hit recently by computer viruses and several unplanned network crashes.

Networks 2000 had the answer. In a meeting at the District office with the director and the network engineer, a Technology Assessment Profile (TAP) was administered. Networks 2000 explored every aspect of their network, including:

• Management
• Security
• Data Storage
• Disaster Recovery

Soon after, Networks 2000 delivered the final result, a top to bottom analysis of the school district's network, then worked with the director to establish an implementation plan based on the district's most critical needs, their budget and resource availability. The list was extensive, but within the first few weeks Networks 2000 had significantly reorganized and secured the network by performing the following:

• Increasing server reliability and established redundancy by upgrading to Novell NetWare 5.1 from 4.2 and creating replication servers.
• Reconfiguring Novell NDS from two trees to one to ease network management issues.
• Improving the tape backup performance by installing a second DLT tape drive to rework their backup strategy. By adding remote data replication (a Novell Replication Service product), tape backup is now performed from one location, making it faster and more reliable.
• Upgrading Norton Anti-Virus to the latest version, 7.61, and setting up much needed automatic updates to significantly decrease their problem of unplanned server downtime.
• Implementing an email virus gateway server to scan email for viruses before they reach the email server.
• Upgrading primary server hardware and all servers with the latest operating system patches, fixes, and firmware.

Additional recommended upgrades include:

• Additional network infrastructure changes, such as: increase the number of IP addresses, implement DNS/DHCP-to reduce internet bandwidth usage by keeping DNS queries within the network and reduce the complexity of IP address management.
• Improve Internet access performance through implementation of a web-caching device.
• Improve overall network security and network management.
• Develop a more workable Disaster Recovery Plan.
• Create and maintain network documentation.
• Implement a Storage Area Network (SAN).

The director of technology was amazed at how many specific improvements came out of such a quick assessment. He is very happy with all the support given to him by Networks 20000. Within a very short time, their multi-location WAN has become much more stable and easier to manage. The upgrades continue.

NON-PROFIT

This non-profit organization looks out for the rights of children. This requires their 75 users be situated at several different locations, including a number of individuals who work from home. They needed a secure, reliable way for employees to log in remotely and access confidential information.

However, with the need for remote access came a number of others areas that needed to be addressed first.

Their 2 servers (NT4 and NT4 with Exchange 5.5) weren't as reliable as they needed to be, and there were a number of issues with their network management, one of the biggest being security. With the extreme confidential nature of their work, they needed a secure network. For added security, they had discussed bringing the web site in-house to host. That brought up additional questions. Was this a viable option? Did they have the internal support necessary to maintain it?

At this point, the client realized they needed outside assistance. Not only to ensure all the major areas were covered, but someone to develop a phased approach to execution and to perform some of the work.

Networks 2000 provided this assistance when they came in to complete a Technology Assessment Profile (TAP). A TAP was the right thing to give them a "big picture" understanding of their network. The assessment was performed on-site, in an interview with their director of technology and network administrator.

The results of the TAP were eye opening. The client saw a number of large holes in their network. Much more than what they'd discovered on their own. Some of the bigger issues included:

• Security: the need for secure website hosting, password policies, implementation of a firewall and transfer of information between remote locations.
• Lack of network management.
• The potential for viruses entering the internal network. Implement device to scan other internet protocols for viruses before entering the internal network.
• Client server upgrades. The benefits of upgrading their servers to Windows 2000 from NT 4.0 and to implement application distribution utilizing Microsoft's Active Directories features.
• Improvements to their Exchange server configuration.
• Determining whether it was beneficial, or even possible, to create a customized database, or to continue using the existing Application Service Provider.
• The best way to implement a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

After receiving these results, the client realized that the task was large, but not daunting with the assistance they would receive from Networks 2000. Networks 2000 took away a lot of the pressure by helping set a list of priorities and a timeline for completion.

Implementation has begun and tasks completed so far include:

• Reconfiguration of the firewall for increased network security.
• Establishing a roadmap for the client to create an access care management database (running on SQL) internally, with guidance from Networks 2000.

This client has been very satisfied to this point, and the implementation continues following the schedule created to address the client's budgetary and business needs.

FINANCIAL

This financial organization with a 1400-user network had been working with Windows 9X desktops and a Windows NT Server. Realizing they needed to upgrade their operating system, they made the decision to migrate to Windows 2000 Professional.

Networks 2000 worked with the client to provide consulting and design services to determine the best method for migration. The network operating system was Novell Netware 5.1, so it was necessary to consider the Novell client, customer applications and network configuration when determining the process.

We proposed the most effective method for the client to upgrade their workstations utilizing as much time saving technology as possible. The customer then used this information to work with in-house personnel to perform the workstation upgrades themselves.

Options recommended to this client included:

• Automate Windows 2000 upgrade using answer files
• Ghost and Altiris for imaging
• Microsoft Sysprep
• Novell Zenworks imaging and deployment methods
• Compaq utilities to aid workstation upgrades