Tales from the front: More about running crypto over an IP Network

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: CAROLYN DUFFY MARSAN'S ISP NEWS REPORT
10/19/05
Today's focus: Tales from the front: More about running crypto
over an IP Network

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* How Nlets' upgraded network is performing
* Links related to ISP News Report
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Tales from the front: More about running crypto
over an IP Network

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan

Last time, we learned how the International Justice and Public
Safety Information Sharing Network (known as Nlets) upgraded
from frame relay to IP and why Nlets officials chose AT&T as its
ISP and Cisco as its equipment provider. This week, we'll find
out how well the upgraded network is performing.

"We're very happy with the network," says Frank Minice, director
of operations for Nlets. "We're happy with the support we get
from Cisco and AT&T."

Top-notch support is critical for Nlets, which is one of the
most demanding networks imaginable.

As noted previously <http://www.networkworld.com/nlisp8208>,
Nlets interconnects 18,000 local, state and federal law
enforcement and public safety agencies. More than 559,000
devices are hooked up to Nlets, and over 1 million law
enforcement and criminal justice personnel use those devices to
access data over the network.

Prior to the upgrade, Nlets' network was unable to support
encrypted traffic. Nlets decided to upgrade to IP in response to
an FBI mandate that all networks accessing its data needed be
encrypted by 2005. The upgrade cost around $500,000.

It took seven years for Nlets to migrate to IP, with two of
those years spent rolling out encryption services. Today, Nlets
carries more than 41 million transmissions per month that are
encrypted end-to-end using the AES standard.

With the upgrade completed, Nlets is enjoying the benefits of
its new network architecture.

"We have not seen any increase in bandwidth demand because we're
running encryption," Minice says. "We use a Cisco offering
called VPN Accelerator that runs the encryption off the regular
memory of the router onto a separate piece of equipment. It's
almost like having another memory processor there just to do the
encryption. Because of that, we did not see any significant
increase in bandwidth utilization."

Nlets officials recommend that network managers who are moving
to encryption buy flexible routers with expansion capabilities.
"One thing we liked about the Cisco routers is that they are
really flexible," Minice says. "You want to have a device that
you can expand without having to replace the unit."

Nlets officials also recommend running non-encrypted and
encrypted services simultaneously during the transition phase.
"It's nice to be able to take a stepped approach and have both
services running at the same time," Minice says.

One plus of the new Nlets architecture is that it features a hot
site in Idaho in case the main operations center in Phoenix
isn't working. The Idaho center features redundant equipment.

"A disaster for Nlets is any outage," Minice says. "If a backhoe
took out a line in Phoenix, then we would cut over to Idaho.
We've had two cutovers this year. We've been able to come up
within a matter of minutes, which we could not have done if we
weren't on an IP infrastructure."

Next on the Nlets agenda is to migrate to XML and Web Services
to automate information sharing with federal and state law
enforcement agencies. Nlets also is experimenting with VoIP.

"We are extremely proud that Nlets has made Cisco the central
core of its system," says Morgan Wright, global industry
solution manager for justice and public safety with Cisco. "When
lives are on the line, this is as big of a deal as it gets. The
dollar value doesn't matter as much as the users."

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Cisco finally brings security push to LAN
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlisp9024>
2. Nortel replaces CEO Bill Owens
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlisp9172>
3. Help Desk: When the Windows VPN doesn't work
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlisp9173>
4. Microsoft cuts costs of virtual servers
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlisp9174>
5. WiMAX just around the corner
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlisp9175>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Carolyn Duffy Marsan

Carolyn Duffy Marsan is a senior editor with Network World and
covers emerging Internet technologies and standards. Reach her
at <mailto:cmarsan@nww.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter sponsored by Nortel
Building the Mobile Enterprise Online Expo

The workplace is changing rapidly. Employees need to be
untethered from their desks while remaining connected and
accessible. This online event helps you solve your enterprise
mobility challenges by bringing together industry leaders,
including Nortel's CTO and CIO and RIM's VP Enterprise Systems,
to discuss the hottest topics in enterprise mobility. Broadcast
live to your desktop on Nov. 8, 2005. Register today!
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=117399
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the ISP News Report newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/isp/index.html Wide Area
Network Research Center:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/wan.html
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Webcast - Identify, prevent and adapt. Can your network do that?

Too much security and your business stops. Find out what steps
others are taking to protect information by establishing
standards, setting up policies and processes, and creating
assessment technologies. Learn more.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=117483
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE

Network World New Data Center: Spotlight on Advanced IP

Piecing Together the Next Generation IT Architecture. This 5th
installment in a 6 part series takes a look at at On-demand
services, automated management, and management technologies.
PLUS, see how two IT Execs are plotting their way to an all
IP-world. This NDC issue has it all, click here to read now:

<http://www.networkworld.com/supp/2005/ndc5/>
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