Firewall Installation for Security Company
Overview
Business Problem
An increased use of IP based security software and hardware had left this security organisation with a poor quality and unreliable internet connection.
A solution was required that guaranteed an improved internet performance and uptime.
Exmos Solution
Exmos installed a Managed Stonegate Firewall solution which load-balanced multiple ADSL lines and implemented QoS to guarantee bandwidth to business critical applications.
Tools used
- Stonegate SMC
- Stonegate Firewalls
- Exmos Managed Firewall Service
Benefits
Improved redudancy on Internet Connectivity.
Abstract
As a UK wide security organisation, our client approached us requiring a new IT solution for their head office
which would allow them to maximise the security industry's increasing use of IP based security solutions.
As these IP based products could be managed centrally, access to the internet became a business requirement
and had to have a high degree of quality and availability.
Exmos were required to provide the hardware infrastructure that would maximise the benefits that the software
IP solutions offered and would allow for future company growth.
Business Problem
With multiple different software products connecting over the internet to many remote sites for security monitoring
and alerting, internet performance was decreasing and bandwidth issues had materialised.
This in turn led to trouble connecting to some of these sites effectively and this was unacceptable.
With increasing numbers of remote sites coming online, the solution was required quickly and
had to provide effective internet access so these security sites could be managed.
Exmos Solution
Exmos proposed a Managed Stonegate Firewall solution. This centrally managed firewall service allows Exmos to use its own Stonegate Management Centre (SMC) to manage all the firewall requirements and keeps the cost down for the customer.
Exmos monitors the firewall performance closely and produces monthly bandwidth usage reports.
The Stonegate Firewall package allowed Exmos to provide:
- Multiple load balanced ADSL/broadband internet links giving high bandwidth at a cost effective price. Different ISP's were selected to further reduce the risk of all ADSL lines dropping at once. Loss of a line does not mean loss of connectivity.
- Quality of Service (QoS) across all available internet connections. Stonegate's own internal Quality of Service engine
allowed Exmos to throttle traffic as required and guarantee bandwidth to the applications that
were remotely monitoring the sites.
- To further enhance security, all the servers running the remote monitoring applications were moved to a DMZ controlled by the Stonegate firewall. This allowed for all the publically available software, services and ports to be kept away from our clients LAN and ensure the security of their overall network.
Business Benefits
This final solution allowed for a high degree of internet availability and redundancy due to the
Stonegate load-balancing capabilities.
All traffic critical to the monitoring of remote sites is now
guaranteed bandwidth and uptime. From the installation of this Stonegate Firewall managed service to the
current date, an increasing number of remote sites have been added successfully and the quality of
internet access is still very stable and high.
Other forms of Internet link such as leased line and 3G are being reviewed to further reduce the reliance on the local
BT exchange.