A Firewall Replacement shouldn’t wait until the technology gets outdated.
There’s the old adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is not the case with technology – especially when it comes to network security. Learn why a university, with a tight budget and a two-year-old firewall, contacted TEC Communications and took preventative action to enhance their cybersecurity.
In the higher education space, internet needs are always growing. Classes are frequently collaborative environments between businesses, research centers, and the classroom. Many universities have campuses in different locations. Dorms are now fully wireless and students expect high-speed internet. Their visiting parents, as well as visiting scholars and sports teams also expect network access. International dialogue, individually and campus-wide, is normal. The demands on higher education networks are expanding.
This university contacted TEC Communications to analyze its current performance while giving the university the infrastructure to meet its future needs. Initially, the university upgraded their internet bandwidth – from 900Meg to 3Gig. The existing infrastructure was not going to support the speed they needed. In this instance, it was like going from an iPhone 4 to an iPhone X. Adding more speed was not going to fix the issue. TEC reviewed the university’s existing infrastructure while listening carefully to their future needs, expectations, and hopes.
Similar to Going From an iPhone 4 to iPhone X
How did TEC’s engineers, sales team, and the university’s IT professionals create the transition?
Core architecture, mission-critical devices, classroom needs, and bandwidth usage outside of learning and education (such as gaming and music streaming) were analyzed. Here are a few questions we addressed:
- The firewall was the cornerstone for Internet entry and exit, impacting every network user. What were the needs (load) of remote VPN connects and everyday users?
- How much bandwidth would be needed to accommodate connections from the Internet to the Core and all services that are connected to the path?
- Who would consider xBox an integral application on the network?
- Which devices had to be operational or experience very limited downtime during the upgrade process?
Results. No downtime. Better Speeds and Feeds.
The two-year-old Cisco Firewall was converted to a Cisco Next-Generation Firewall with Firepower services. This transition provided the network infrastructure to allow greater Internet traffic. While the existing firewall was capable of speeds to 1Gig, the new firewall allows internet speeds up to 10Gig. It’s ready for learning, gaming, music streaming, and device access. The Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) also enhances security measures as the University requirements continue to grow and change.
More Advantage than Just the Obvious
The University continues to be pleased with the firewall, but they also realized the following benefits:
- Cisco provided a single vendor solution for both the security features in the NGFW as well as a single vendor to the base architecture fabric. Now, the University has access to Cisco’s comprehensive threat intelligence and the core foundation on which it runs.
- TEC and Cisco provided flexible finance options which allowed the University to select a longer-term solution. Cisco, TEC, and the university are partners.
- The University considered all their options, but none were as robust or as carefully aligned with the University’s goals, as the TEC and Cisco solution.
Learn more about a seamless, layered cybersecurity approach in TEC’s “Proven Approach to Cybersecurity” ebook. This free download gives you insights on preventing, educating, and protecting your network from cyber-attacks.
