Secure network and Unified Communications at CE ROVINARI

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Secure network and Unified Communications at CE ROVINARI

02 Aug Secure network and Unified Communications at CE ROVINARI

Posted at 13:17h in STUDII DE CAZ by Silvia 0 Comments

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Complexul Energetic Rovinari needed a solution that would increase the operational efficiency of the organization, reduce operational costs, and last but not least secure the informational flow, becoming critical.

Initial situation

In 2006, Complexul Energetic Rovinari had a communication and data infrastructure insufficiently developed to cover the needs of the company.

At the Heat Station premises there was a structured data network, certified Cat5e that provided the number of ports to connect all computers. Voice communications were provided through an Alcatel 4400 digital telephone switchboard. The number of backup ports was extremely small, only digital ports are available which required a four-wire connection and only for Alcatel phones. Internet access was done through a server running a proxy and a firewall.

On the other hand, at the EM Rovinari premises (mining) there was a structured network, fully loaded. The connection between this location and the network of the thermal power plant was made through an optical fiber. Voice communications were provided by a 1995 GoldStar switchboard. And in this case the number of backup ports was extremely low, and Internet access was made through a server on which a proxy and a firewall runs.

All Rovinari quarries, namely Pinoasa, Poiana (Rovinari Est), Garla, Tismana I, Tismana II and the main strip sector, had a minimal data network and the voice communications were provided by a telephone switchboard low capacity. None of these locations had access to the Internet.

In addition, the telephone links between all the entities listed above were made through Romtelecom, with no direct interconnection, generating significant costs and greatly complicating the administration and management of the communication system.

Solution

After a market study, CE Rovinari management found that only a Cisco-based solution could fully meet their requirements, both in terms of business needs and connectivity with the existing equipment they wanted to keep. The implementation partner was chosen CRESCENDO, Cisco Silver Partner.

The solution, perfectly adapted to the ever changing needs of the CE Rovinari, has been implemented in several stages, as follows:

Secure access between complex locations – VPN component
Securing and controlling users’ Internet access
Increasing Employee Productivity – Unified Communications Component

STAGE 1: Securing access between complex locations – Virtual Private Network (VPN)

In order to solve the problem of the lack of direct interconnections between locations, with a direct impact on the costs and on the management of the communication system, a solution has been chosen which ensures the secure interconnection of the CE Rovinari locations with the headquarter in order to exchange information inside the company. In the same time, the solution ensures the secure connection of mobile users who can perform operations using an Internet connection as if they were in the local network.

. And to increase the availability of links between locations, a redundant WAN solution was implemented using two transmission environments: the wireless environment for its own network and fiber optics through the Vodafone network.

Location Interconnection – Site-to-site VPN

Site-to-site VPN is an alternative to leased lines for interconnecting multiple LANs over a public network, ensuring security of communications between them. The connection between local networks and the public network is accomplished through dedicated VPN Gateway equipment.

Network communication takes place via virtual channels established between VPNs connected to an Internet service provider, VPN traffic associated with a site-to-site connection that is actually in communications between local IPSec-protected networks, using “Encapsulated Security Payload (ESP)”. To ensure high security with minimal performance impairment, 3DES / AES and SHA-NMAC encryption protocols were used to set IKE and IPSec parameters.

Connecting Mobile Users – Remote Access VPN

To connect mobile users, a VPN Concentrator-type VPN Gateway (XAUTH) based data encryption system with RADIUS accounts on the internal AD server has been deployed on the CE Rovinari VPN Gateway (ASA5510 Firewall).

Now, using a simple Internet connection (dialup, CDMA, GPRS, 3G, etc.), mobile users with Cisco VPN Client software can connect to CE Rovinari. The solution also includes the ability to connect to internal services without the need for a Cisco VPN client (client-less VPN) software, but only using an Internet browser. With WebVPN technology, users can connect from any location without the need for an installed VPN Client, with the possibility of connecting up to two simultaneous sessions (with upgrading rights).

After completing the VPN connection using Cisco IP Communicator, the user connects to the IP PBX and receives the assigned internal number. This creates the premise of the concept of “mobile office”. Practically, the user can collaborate with their business colleagues or business partners from anywhere with the ability to use all of the company’s internal tools (including the assigned ID / DID number).

STAGE 2: Securing and controlling users’ Internet access. Firewall component

Cisco ASA5510 Firewall, which combines VPN security and VPN services with innovative Cisco Adaptive Identification and Mitigation (AIM) technology architecture, was chosen to secure and control users’ Internet access. Its purpose is to protect both the internal network and the DMZ and the Extranet network against intrusions or intentional malicious attacks from the Internet.

CE Rovinari internal users now have Internet access in maximum security, and the internal network, DMZ and Extranet are protected against „denial-of-service” DoS or other unauthorized access. Additionally, through Anti-Spyware, Anti-Spam, Anti-Phishing, Real-Time Protection for Web Access, Mail and File Transfers, Full URL Filtering Capabilities with Categories, Scheduling and Caching and Mail Content Filtering has secured access at service level (email and Web Access) without compromising performance.

STAGE 3: Unified Communications Solution with High Availability

After realizing the interconnection of the sites and securing the data and communications infrastructure, there was only one step remaining: the integration of all communication channels. Cisco Unified Communications solution implemented at CE Rovinari creates a unified environment integrating IP, video and / or audio communications with the rest of the applications into a single, high-availability system. Compared with classical solutions where telephony, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, or data applications are offered separately, and not in a unified context, Cisco Unified Communication assures a reduction in response and workloads.

From a functional point of view, the solution presents the following components:

Call processing servers – Cisco Unified Communications Manager

Cisco Unified Communications Manager, the call processing component, enables users to be more efficient and faster in their activities. It also creates a unified workspace that includes applications, equipment, data network and operating systems. Being a scalable system, with distribution capabilities and high redundancy, Cisco Unified Communications Manager can simultaneously offer voice and video services. In order to meet the availability targets imposed by current industry requirements, the IP telephony system has enabled the implementation of a 1 to 1 redundancy design in a cluster system. This design implied the existence of a primary server and a secondary back-up server, both belonging to the same group, which determined the normal server performance, even if the number of calls increases considerably. Phone calls are distributed between the two servers, depending on the charge, avoiding call rejection if one of them is overloaded.

Redundancy is also present at the database level. In the context of the cluster created with the two Publisher and Subscriber servers, the last one has the role of taking over from the primary server tasks in the event of problems. In this regard, if the phones, registered with the primary server, lose their connectivity, they will switch to the second server. This is possible because of the configuration on the servers belonging to the CallManager group. Configuration on the Subscriber server reflects the configuration on the primary server (Publisher), therefore offering a high degree of redundancy and balancing the uniform call load on the two servers.

The chosen implementation design is “multi-site” type with centralized call processing. Thus, all remote locations (Tismana1, Tismana2, Poiana, Garla etc.) benefit from all the services provided by the unified communications system (IP telephony, data transmissions, applications, videoconferencing), even if they are not geographically in the same area with the cluster of CallManager servers. The phones located in any location are registered with the server at the Center, having as backup server the one located at the EMC Rovinari location. The phones can thus benefit from all the features configured on the servers without being in the same place.

If the fiber optic connection between Publisher and Subscriber servers is lost, the implemented solution allows you to make further calls. To achieve this high availability, a number of changes have been made on the servers from the cluster, creating two groups, consisting of one server. Thus, one group contains the Publisher server and the other contains the Subscriber server.

If server communication is lost, the group that houses the Publisher, located at the center, will serve the phones located both in the center and in the rest of the remote locations. The group made up of the Subscriber server will only serve the phones in EMC Rovinari. In this way, the communication services are still functioning without any impediments.

Voice routers

Voice Routers are another important component of the unified communications solution. They fulfill the following roles:

- Connects traditional voice equipment;
- Convert analog signals to digital signals and vice versa;
- Encapsulates digital voice signal in packets of data;
- Performs voice compression for transmission in the data network;
- Provides DSP resources for conferencing and trans-coding between various codecs.

The Voice Gateway of the Cisco ISR 2800 series has been used in the CE Rovinari headquarter. The architecture of this platform allows the evolution of remote locations, ensuring rich media collaboration and virtualization while minimizing costs. The Cisco ISR G1 series is based on multi-core processors, providing high-capacity DSP (Digital Signal Processing) to facilitate the provision of enhanced voice and video services, increased modularity, Gigabit Ethernet switching capabilities with POE standard. Cisco VG224 equipment has been installed in all CE Rovinari locations, equipment that enables the connection of 24 analog voice equipments to the IP telephony network.

IP Telephony

The IP telephones used in the EC Rovinari communication solution are part of the Cisco 7940 family of phones, having the following features:

- 5-inch (322 × 222 pixels), monochrome 4-bit gray display
- Native support for a variety of codecs (G.711, G.729) including the new G.722 wideband and iLBC codecs
- Full-duplex Speakerphone with automatic echo cancellation feature
- Dedicated buttons for features such as Messages, Directories, Settings, and Services
- Integrated 10/100 Ethernet switch that lets you connect a PC, reducing the need for additional wiring
- Dedicated port for connecting headphones
- Dedicated volume control
- Support for connecting extension modules

Benefits

Following implementation, CE Rovinari benefits from:

Interconnecting locations and connecting all computers to a structured network
Users now have access to the Internet, the Intranet and the internal service network in maximum security
The solution allows defining and implementing security policies that meet customer requirements
Improving Team Collaboration and Productivity by:
- Any member of CE Rovinari team now has the flexibility to get in touch with other people they need (clients, colleagues, business partners) in order to be more productive with a combination of voice, video, data, but also mobility (from anywhere in the country or abroad, from home, office or car, conference rooms, airports, etc.).
- Optimizing interactions between teams: Dynamic pooling of people, virtual groups and teams
- Accessing and sharing information on the desktop, on the go and on demand in a way as simple as making a phone call
- Convenient access to multiple devices: Turn mobile devices into company network extensions to increase employee productivity at any location
Costs reduction:
- Telephone and conference costs: VoIP telephony eliminates high costs for interurban and / or international calls as well as for leased lines
- Travel costs: Sessions / trainings can now take place without all the people involved gathering at a particular hour in a specific room Shorter, fewer but more productive trips will have a noticeable impact on the profit account and loss of the organization, both through revenue growth and cost reduction
- IT & C Infrastructure Management Costs: The enhanced voice and data network reduces the cost of moving, adding and modifying equipment

About the client company

The “Rovinari Energy Complex” SA, founded on April 1, 2004 through the reorganization of “Termoelectrica SA” and the National Company of Lignite “Oltenia” SA, has as its mission the production of electric and thermal power by using coal as primary fuel as well as carrying out the entire range of technical and technological processes in conditions of maximum safety, economic efficiency, care for people and the environment.

The activity is carried out in 5 perimeters of energy lignite exploitation grouped in 3 quarries: Rovinari (Girla and Rovinari-East perimeters), Tismana (Tismana I and Tismana II perimeters) and Pinoasa Career.

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