The workplaces of the city of Frankfurt are integrated into the city administration’s Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). Around 700 kilometers of optical fiber, 2,200 kilometers of copper cable and a transport network based on IP/MPLS ensure the nationwide availability of IT services and applications in the city area.
Ports
network components
The network is based on around 3,000 active network elements – including routers, switches, firewalls and WLAN equipment from a wide range of manufacturers – and has almost 90,000 ports. Because of this heterogeneous infrastructure, the city used a variety of different solutions for network management/monitoring.
As a result, the processes were sometimes inhomogeneous and protracted, and the results were not satisfactory. To address the issue, the city of Frankfurt planned to procure a multivendor network management/monitoring system for monitoring and partial cross-vendor configuration of the network equipment in use.
The city conducted a call for tenders throughout Europe and ultimately chose a solution package from DICOS, a consulting and software company that is a partner of Broadcom’s Expert Advantage program.
“The goal was to standardize processes and consolidate different platforms”
Stephan Seeger,
Head of the Network Planning and Development Team.
The core component of the solution is DX NetOps Spectrum, which is used as the central tool for network management/monitoring. In addition, DICOS supplied all other hardware and software components of the solution and also takes/took over maintenance. The metropolis at the heart of Germany attached importance to a complete solution from a single source in order to establish a cooperation of short paths and to be able to clearly assign responsibilities.
DICOS guaranteed compliance with our tight rollout plan as well as the required service and training. In addition, the price-performance ratio was right.
Stephan Seeger, Head of the Network Planning and Development Team, City of Frankfurt
Managing a network with different types of equipment can be demanding in terms of resources and can lead to errors, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We provide personalized and non-binding consultations to explore possible solutions for your network management needs.
Today, the IT team benefits from a unified network management and monitoring system that has been installed redundantly in both data centers of the city of Frankfurt
DX NetOps Spectrum handles all configuration management for all network assets. An alerting system with escalation levels based on the respective service times informs about potential problems and obstructions at any time, which allows the IT team to react much faster and facilitates compliance with SLAs. “With DX NetOps Spectrum, we now cover the entire range of network management and monitoring in our network,” Seeger explains. “In this way, many steps can be automated.”
A complete solution for your network management: the comprehensive DX NetOps solution fits perfectly into your IT system and takes your network monitoring to the next level.”
By standardizing network management with DX NetOps Spectrum, the Frankfurt network team was able to significantly optimize routine processes. Important functions are now consistently available on all platforms of the multivendor network. Thanks to “Root Cause Analysis” and “Fault Isolation”, DX NetOps Spectrum automatically displays the dependencies of subordinate or superordinate systems and simplifies troubleshooting.
"Previously, we had to model these dependencies manually, which was tedious, error-prone and, above all, time-consuming. As a result, multiple alarms often occurred in the past - due to the lack of automatic event correlation logics - which made troubleshooting more difficult. Thanks to DX NetOps Spectrum, we now work with a uniform network management/monitoring system at all levels and can perform our tasks much better than before."
Stephan Seeger, Head of the Network Planning and Development Team, City of Frankfurt
DX NetOps Spectrum has significantly improved transparency and visibility in the network of the city of Frankfurt. By automating processes, error detection and correction has been accelerated and often even allows proactive action – this significantly increases the availability of the network or reduces the impact of disruptions.
Consolidation unifies administration processes, unlocks synergies and thereby increases the efficiency of the administration team.
Secure and future-oriented network management: that’s why we come to the office every morning. Our customers rely on tailored solutions that meet the latest IT standards and benefit from long-lasting, functional systems. Whether it’s installation, operation, automation, or support requests, at DICOS, you can reach experts who prioritize your system.
The IT solutions from Broadcom (formerly CA Technologies) deliver all the functions that modern network management needs. We have been implementing DX NetOps for our customers for more than 20 years and know the opportunities and challenges. Feel free to talk to us about your setup.
