Sussex HIS Enhances Network Reliability and Security with Infoblox Appliances
Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- Europe
Country
- United Kingdom
Product
- Infoblox-1550 appliances
- DNSone
- Keystone
Tech Stack
- Microsoft Active Directory
- Infoblox NIOS operating system
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Customer Satisfaction
- Digital Expertise
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems
- Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Sussex Health Informatics Service (HIS) is a UK-based organization responsible for the IT infrastructure and services of various National Health Service (NHS) sites across Sussex. The organization plays a crucial role in ensuring the seamless operation of healthcare services by providing reliable and secure IT solutions. Sussex HIS is committed to enhancing patient care by centralizing and modernizing its IT infrastructure, which includes networking, security, and application delivery. The organization oversees a Community of Interest Network (COIN) that connects over 270 NHS sites in Sussex, providing a Gigabit-speed WAN for efficient communication and data exchange. Sussex HIS is focused on implementing innovative solutions to improve the reliability and manageability of its network services, ultimately supporting the delivery of high-quality healthcare services across the region.
The Challenge
The Sussex Health Informatics Service (HIS) embarked on a major overhaul of its IT infrastructure to centralize IT services for all its customer organizations. This required a unified approach to networking, security, and application delivery to enhance patient care across Sussex. A key component of this initiative was the Community of Interest Network (COIN), which provides a Gigabit-speed WAN linking core node sites to over 270 NHS sites in Sussex. The COIN was intended to provide common network services, including a single global Microsoft Active Directory repository, and serve as the backbone for future IP Telephony services. However, the consolidation and centralization of network services posed significant challenges. Microsoft Active Directory, which relies on DNS and DHCP services, was previously deployed on Microsoft Domain Controllers. The loss of these services could result in downtime for Microsoft application services and impact non-Microsoft applications utilizing DNS services. To achieve the required reliability and manageability, Sussex HIS aimed to migrate all sites to a resilient appliance-based platform.
The Solution
To address the challenges faced by Sussex HIS, Khipu Networks recommended the deployment of Infoblox-1550 appliances. These purpose-built appliances provide a unified platform for DNS, DHCP, IP address management (IPAM), and other services such as network time. The Infoblox appliances offer a migration path and high availability features to ensure core network services remain available. The Sussex HIS team successfully deployed eight Infoblox-1550 appliances over three consecutive days without any network downtime. This deployment allows for seamless migration of sites onto the centralized network as needed. Infoblox, a Microsoft Partner with a Gold Management & Virtualization competency, has developed an integration pack for Microsoft Server 2012 that automates IP address provisioning across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. The appliances are based on the security-hardened Infoblox NIOS operating system, which enhances security by allowing no root access and presenting no unnecessary open ports. Infoblox appliances are easy to install and manage, with features such as high-availability, delegated management, logging, and auditing. They can be linked into robust grids for centralized management across a distributed enterprise. The integration with Microsoft Active Directory makes Infoblox appliances an ideal choice for offloading DNS and DHCP services from Domain Controllers.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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