Government Technology - August 2007 - (Page Insert2)

The Harris County Alcatel-Lucent solution also centralizes all county network management. “This approach really allows us to become network-centric and do network-centric management,” Jennings said. “We’re not dependent on multiple management stations to review only portions of how the network flows.” He said centralization enabled a more comprehensive, proactive approach. “We can manage outages from a single location,” Jennings said. “We can see and do trend analysis, allowing us to adjust bandwidth to meet our needs. In the same center, we can also watch security, and if a security issue happens or if we see a trend in bandwidth out of the norm, we can do online diagnostics to stay ahead of the problem, instead of trying to react to it.” That proactive approach saves the county money through increased productivity. It keeps government work from stalling by avoiding battles with security threats after they do their damage. The Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 9000 Chassis LAN Switch family supports multi-layered security, enabling sophisticated hardware- and software-based solutions that can be integrated with policy-based management and other technologies, such as the OmniVista 2770. The OmniSwitch 9000 family security features include: • User authentication • Virtual local area networks (VLANs) • Quarantine VLANs • Access control lists • Authenticated switch access • Encryption for secure management (SSH/HTTPs/SNMP v3) • Denial of service protection Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista 2770 works with existing security solutions, such as intrusion prevention systems, to proactively and defensively identify and isolate viruses and network attacks before they devastate the network and automates the response for self-healing. Alcatel-Lucent Access Guardian provides identity-based network access to enable enforcement of device and network security policies, resulting in increased privacy and availability of communications. Limitless Potential Harris County can scale its network infrastructure to meet a broad array of needs, due to Alcatel-Lucent’s open standards foundation. The solution works with any system an agency adds, saving technicians from navigating various proprietary obstacles And the network’s flexible and scalable bandwidth enables endusers to reliably operate the numerous tools, such as VoIP and transactional applications, that rely on the network even during user traffic spikes. The county Information Technology Center can dramatically multiply the bandwidth capacity of network switches without replacing them. Technicians merely upgrade the switch interface to allow more bandwidth to pass through the switch. “We’re trying to be very proactive as far as providing way more bandwidth than necessary, as well as putting in networks that can support anything that’s requested, whether that is voice over IP, video or data,” Bryant said. The solution included Alcatel-Lucent’s mobile user functionality, network switches and virtual local area network (VLAN) tagging, which allows multiple bridged networks to transparently share the same physical network link without leaking information between those networks. “In the justice building and the juvenile justice building, we allow the attorneys to have wireless Internet access but at the same time, have no access to our network,” said Bryant. The VLAN capabilities enable the ITC to easily establish normal network functionality at temporary locations under limited network conditions, which is vital while responding to emergencies. The solution proved critical during Tropical Storm Allison, when the ITC connected more than 2,000 relocated employees across eight different buildings in three days. “Because we have static IP addresses, we could utilize VLAN tagging, enabling us to extend one subnet across multiple buildings, and do it over a weekend, without pulling one piece of cable,” Bryant said. Jennings said the solution’s equipment and technical support were pivotal components to making the county network ready for any challenge. “We have the reliability and support of the equipment because it is quality manufactured equipment, and AlcatelLucent includes an in-house FE in the maintenance contract to help us manage and maintain that equipment as well as provide training for the network staff. We have redundancy because we keep spare parts onsite. We also have redundancy engineered into the equipment.” The inherent security, open standards and scalability of the county’s converged information utility empowers the government to meet any technical challenge. “This puts us in a proactive position,” said Bryant. “It also puts us in a position to say ‘yes’ to anything our users request. We know we’ve got enough bandwidth. We know we’ve got the security. We know we’ve got reliability. We know we’ve got quality of service, and that allows us to support whatever requirements departments come up with. For example, if they want to upload video from squad cars, we can do it. We can use existing hardware. We don’t have to go buy or reinvent a network to do this.” Alcatel-Lucent delivers complete, best-in-class communications solutions aligned with the most challenging mission imperatives of government, and tailored to business needs. Alcatel-Lucent: serving those who serve the public in an always-on world. For more information visit http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/government or call 877-425-8822 This Government Technology Solution Spotlight was sponsored by Alcatel•Lucent. © 2007 e.Republic Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/government http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/government

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - August 2007

Contents Point of View The Big Picture The Last Mile Letter to the Editor GT Spectrum Up Close Vanishing Act Way Back Machine Fast Track to Nowhere Best of Both Worlds Texting 911? GIS to Go Neighborhood Watch Two Cents Products Signal: Noise Government Solutions

Government Technology - August 2007

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