Meeting Mission Critical Goals with Private Networks

The armed forces all face a similar challenge: how to use technology to provide war fighters with the most reliable, up to date information, anywhere and at any time. As Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration, John Grimes, noted, “we can leverage information at the right time to allow decision makers to make better operational decisions faster.” Most organizations know information (and a lot of it) is available to them to help increase efficiency and productivity, but making it actionable, while remaining secure, is the hard part due to legacy systems and cumbersome networks.

According to a video case study, the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) extended Grimes’ challenge of leveraging information and asked the forces to build a “network that gives war fighters infromation with surety, reach and speed.” So what does this mean in practical terms?

• Surety- Information is highly protected and available to appropriate forces
• Speed- Information is rapidly adaptable to mission needs/requirements
• Reach- Information is available globally to US forces

In addition to the above, DISN’s top priority for their network was not surprisingly, interoperability. In order to meet these challenges, DoD networks have to support existing operations while scaling to support additional data flows. Like many other organizations, DoD was running multiple, parallel networks. However, these are difficult to manage and often create more work for your already overwhelmed staff. In 2003, Ciena’s CoreStream Agility was selected as the optical transport system for DISN. With the help of this new technology, they were able to configure one secure and reliable network for its many services and employees.

Whether supporting time-critical financial transactions, sensitive healthcare record storage or secure military communications, today’s IT infrastructure must do more than ever in an environment of increasing security threats. Moreover, in a time when government agencies need to do more with less, an agency’s network is fundamental to meeting mission goals. Government officials are quickly realizing the importance of having visibility into network operations and a trusted, secure connection that allows your employees to be connected and productive.

On June 20, Ciena is hosting a free online session to discuss how many agencies, from U.S. Department of Defense to NASA, are implementing assured Private Optimal Networks to increase productivity and meet mission-critical goals. In an era of increasing budget constraints and growing demand for network bandwidth, many government agencies are wrestling with the choice of building dedicated, private networks or continuing to buy network services on an incremental basis. However, transitioning to a Private Optical Network isn’t as daunting as you might think. Register to attend a free online session on June 20 at 2PM ET in which Ciena will discuss why many agencies are moving to Private Optical Networks to address:

• Supporting multiple, high-bandwidth services
• Greater network security
• Rapid turn-up time for new services

You can learn more and register for the free training here.