Meshed Private Wide Area Network

 

The Challenge

The client, a communications company, were provisioning a private radio network for their public sector client, which would be used across 9 military sites.  The system would need to be securely and reliably connected to each site, allowing the private radio network to continue functioning if one, or several sites went offline.

The system would be private, with no public or internet access, meaning the system could only be managed onsite.  With entry approval taking up to a week at a time to be approved, we had to ensure the failover system had to be automatic and reliable.  

The Solution

Working with the client, a number of private E1 lines were installed between all the sites to provide connectivity.  We then commissioned a Wide Area Network mesh of Cisco Integrated Service Routers using distance vector routing protocols. 

The OSPF routing allowed the client to use the preferred, shortest route between each router, and allowed automatic failover to other routes, dependant on which lines or routers were offline, keeping the system online even in the event of a number of failures across the network.

A local monitoring solution was then implemented, allowing the local teams to identify any faults, so it could be investigated as quickly as possible.

The Result

The resilient network was installed along side the private radio systems, allowing teams at each site to communicate reliably and securely.  12 Months after installation, no downtime was experienced and the client added an additional site to the system.