USE CASE CITY ADMINISTRATION

STORDIS GmbH // Rosenwiesstr. 17 // 70567 Stuttgart // Deutschland // T: +49 (0)711 34 21 58 0 // E: [email protected] // www.stordis.com STORDIS Limited // 18A Ley Court, Barnett Way // Gloucester GLA 3RT // UK // T: +44(0)1452 698 181 // E: [email protected] USE CASE CITY ADMINISTRATION

1. Overview Customer Profile

“Open Networking is the best choice for public institutions. The city of Dorsten is located in West in the Disaggregated solutions are versatile, flexible, scalable, and area/Münsterland (North Rhine-) and is home to besides allowing independence from proprietary vendors, they nearly 80,000 inhabitants. are significantly more cost-efficient than traditional solutions.”

Waldemar Scheck Head of Sales and Technology at STORDIS

Institution Industry Location Public Government City of Dorsten, Administration Germany

Hardware Software Traditional approach Disaggregated approach 43x Edgecore Networks Switch Cumulus Linux = = 6x Core Switch Switch OS closed & high costs flexible & cost-efficient

STORDIS GmbH // Rosenwiesstr. 17 // 70567 Stuttgart // Deutschland // T: +49 (0) 711 34 21 58 0 // E: [email protected] // www.stordis.com STORDIS Limited // 18A Ley Court, Barnett Way // Gloucester GLA 3RT // UK // T: +44 (0) 1452 937 373 // E: [email protected] USE CASE CITY ADMINISTRATION

2. The Challenge

“The planned reorganization of the administration network The network environment includes raised the question of how to handle the increasing costs for 49 switches, 6 of which function as license upgrades and training courses in the future, which core switches are difficult to estimate in advance. Although there was only one vendor involved, the management of the many different CLIs had become a problem of lacking resources. Insufficient fulfilment of service-level agreements in the case of downtime, missing documentation, and the increasing complexity of the need for individual configuration resulted in the decision to take approx. 600 IT workplaces a look at alternatives.

In this phase we came across the company STORDIS, who pointed out the benefits of Disaggregated Open Networking.”

approx. 1,000 integrated network devices

Stefan Marold Responsible for the administrative network of Dorsten

STORDIS GmbH // Rosenwiesstr. 17 // 70567 Stuttgart // Deutschland // T: +49 (0) 711 34 21 58 0 // E: [email protected] // www.stordis.com STORDIS Limited // 18A Ley Court, Barnett Way // Gloucester GLA 3RT // UK // T: +44 (0) 1452 937 373 // E: [email protected] USE CASE CITY ADMINISTRATION

3. Migration to Disaggregated Open Networking

In a test stage, a branch office of the city administration was re-equipped with 2 white box switches running the operating system Cumulus Linux to evaluate the system. It delivered optimal ease of use and various approaches to solve the existing administrative issues. Cumulus Linux is a leading open source operating system with features including “unnumbered OSPF/BGP” and “asymmetric EVPN Routing”, which enable a simplified automation of virtual environments.

Spine Spine

Leaf Leaf Leaf

STORDIS set up a concept for the migration of the entire network infrastructure of the city administration. The deployment of Disaggregated Open Networking allowed for a precise budget plan and underlined the savings potential of the transition. Based on this foundation, a procurement procedure initiated the realization of the project. The project started with the migration of the proprietary infrastructure of a branch office to a disaggregated network and was completed within 6 months. STORDIS supported and supervised the project during the whole process.

STORDIS GmbH // Rosenwiesstr. 17 // 70567 Stuttgart // Deutschland // T: +49 (0) 711 34 21 58 0 // E: [email protected] // www.stordis.com STORDIS Limited // 18A Ley Court, Barnett Way // Gloucester GLA 3RT // UK // T: +44 (0) 1452 937 373 // E: [email protected] USE CASE CITY ADMINISTRATION

4. The Result Main Achievements

“Automation simplified complex system management • Precise budget planning (cost transparency and cost processes, which encouraged the decision for a disaggregated efficiency, no hidden follow-up investments) network. A central git repository saves all configuration • Independency from legacy vendors and optional and shows all modifications transparently. CI/CD Pipelines transfer the modifications from the repository to the entire separation of hardware and software infrastructure.” • Standardized software and user interface • High performance, stability and redundancy to provide high availability and reduce the risk for downtime • Time savings with automation, simplified manageability, configuration and maintenance Stefan Marold • Future-proof network based on powerful switches with Responsible for the administrative network high bandwidth of Dorsten • Reduced complexity of the network infrastructure • Configuration and documentation of all devices in one location (central git repository) The cutover to the disaggregated solution provided the city • A flexible, scalable network with open structures, administration with a highly efficient, stable, routed network enabling a smooth exchange, integration and expansion environment, which meets the diverse and security-critical of hardware requirements of the administration in regards to applications and functions. • Significantly increased service and faster response time (professional support)

STORDIS GmbH // Rosenwiesstr. 17 // 70567 Stuttgart // Deutschland // T: +49 (0) 711 34 21 58 0 // E: [email protected] // www.stordis.com STORDIS Limited // 18A Ley Court, Barnett Way // Gloucester GLA 3RT // UK // T: +44 (0) 1452 937 373 // E: [email protected] USE CASE CITY ADMINISTRATION

5. Your Partner

STORDIS is your reliable partner for installation and maintenance of disaggregated network solutions. Our expertise is based on more than twelve years of experience working in the industry and we collaborate with leading hardware and software manufacturers. We offer a comprehensive portfolio of over 5,000 network products as well as professional services. Our services include individual consultation, on-site installation, extensive support and the development of customer-specific software solutions.

Consulting Installation Support Software Development We will find the best possible A team of highly skilled network Our professional support Our software engineers network solution for your engineers can support on- and engineers provide fast design individual, scalable business needs off-site installation services support to keep your and highly flexible Open business running Network solutions

ALLE ANGABEN ERFOLGEN OHNE GEWÄHR UND ANSPRUCH AUF RICHTIGKEIT.

STORDIS GmbH // Rosenwiesstr. 17 // 70567 Stuttgart // Deutschland // T: +49 (0) 711 34 21 58 0 // E: [email protected] // www.stordis.com STORDIS Limited // 18A Ley Court, Barnett Way // Gloucester GLA 3RT // UK // T: +44 (0) 1452 937 373 // E: [email protected] USE CASE CITY ADMINISTRATION

6. Network Automation explained

Network automation, or automation, is a process within the network conducted by a relevant software which automates repetitive tasks and functions. These repetetive tasks include configuration, management, operation and installation, as well as updating physical and virtual devices. Additionally, the software runs constant failure analyses and compliance checks, to monitor security standards, network status and performance, adjust the bandwidth and carry out regular tasks.

Ordering/ Physical Manually Install Manually Configure Production TRADITIONAL WAY Delivery Install Days/Week Hours/Day (Manual)

Automation Software

NEW WAY Ordering/ Physical ONIE CUMULUS Agent Pull Delivery Install Boot Install Install Config Production Days/Week Seconds/Minutes (Automated) Benefits • The deployment of automation reduces the failure rate and the maintenance costs significantly, while the network operates efficiently. • The automation software performs complex administrative tasks without the need for human interaction, while the network infrastructure can be extended and exchanged swiftly and easily • Less working hours for configuration, maintenance and operation of the devices due to reduced complexity of the underlying infrastructure ensures a saving in time and expense • Increased security and availability of the network environment due to elimination of errors caused by human interaction • Improved visibility and analysis due to internal documentation of all processes • The network is more agile when adapting to new conditions, testing new applications and solving problems

STORDIS GmbH // Rosenwiesstr. 17 // 70567 Stuttgart // Deutschland // T: +49 (0) 711 34 21 58 0 // E: [email protected] // www.stordis.com STORDIS Limited // 18A Ley Court, Barnett Way // Gloucester GLA 3RT // UK // T: +44 (0) 1452 937 373 // E: [email protected] USE CASE CITY ADMINISTRATION

7. Hardware and Software

Edgecore Networks Edgecore Networks is a worldwide leading manufacturer of high-quality bare metal switches and white boxes. Edgecore designs, develops and produces network access devices for telecommunications, complex server environments and high-performance data centers. Disaggregated network solutions unlock an advanced level of Open Networking. Edge computing, data center interconnect, network virtualiziation and software-defined networking meet the requirements of modern network infrastructures.

Cumulus Networks Cumulus Networks is a software company that created the switch operating system Cumulus Linux to significantly contribute to the progress of the industry. The Linux distribution allows for accelerated adaptation to innovation, and smoothly manages, upgrades and monitors network environments of any scale. Cumulus Linux supports more than 100 different hardware platforms of renowned manufacturers, reduces the complexity of the network and includes additional security application. It also supports third-party automation tools to enable various purposeful features, including automation, monitoring and analysis.

Red Hat® Ansible Automation The automation software Red Hat® Ansible Automation efficiently enhances the network. Ansible is easy to access and enables acceleration of complex processes and orchestration of the entire application lifecycle regardless of where it is deployed. It handles repetitive processes, automates the configuration of the ecosystem, supervises and validates the existing network state, and runs continuous compliance checks for network errors. Ansible is compatible with hundreds of devices from numerous legacy vendors.

STORDIS GmbH // Rosenwiesstr. 17 // 70567 Stuttgart // Deutschland // T: +49 (0) 711 34 21 58 0 // E: [email protected] // www.stordis.com STORDIS Limited // 18A Ley Court, Barnett Way // Gloucester GLA 3RT // UK // T: +44 (0) 1452 937 373 // E: [email protected]