A Large Public University

The Partner

Nexum, Inc. is an Elite Infoblox partner whose security and networking expertise helps secure global networks for organizations across multiple verticals worldwide. As an Elite partner, Nexum has a deep understanding of Infoblox technologies and has a high degree of business commitment and technical enablement for the Infoblox solution set. Nexum meets its customers’ needs through a holistic, value-based approach that includes best-in-breed products, professional services, Nexum-branded manufacturer support, authorized training, and monitored and managed security services.

The Customer

Nexum’s customer for this engagement was a large public university.

The Challenge

The university had already purchased a broad variety of products for its multi-platform network but lacked a unified management approach. Some of the software it had already purchased was unused, other products were only used as point solutions, and some of the installed products were not used to their full capability.These included already purchased Infoblox products such as Netcordia, which the university could have used for network configuration and change management.This purchase was made before the Infoblox acquisition of Netcordia.

Now known as the Infoblox Automation Change Manager, this product employs embedded expertise and customizable templates to execute basic and complex changes, which would have helped reduce manual processes. Instead, the university manually updated its 800 routers to a new iOS version.

Inefficiencies like this were amplified by constraints on how much time the university’s IT staff had available to manage ongoing operations and implement new projects. With fewer hours available, projects to consolidate network infrastructure services, implement tighter change control, and ensure compliance were put on hold. Available IT staff were also not sufficiently trained on the tools the university already owned. Firewall configurations from long-departed staff were not well documented, making changes even more perilous. Luckily, one major change in IT staffing worked to the customer’s own advantage.

The Solution

A management change at the university opened fresh discussions about how to improve their IT infrastructure. Working in concert with their Infoblox account team, Nexum mapped out the university’s biggest issues, existing product mix, and strategic direction. This led to a proposal with strategic recommendations to help the university follow a single architecture, consolidate its product mix, train its staff, and implement these solutions.

Specifically, combining SDN DDI services with NetMRI provided the university with an unexpected and powerful combination that consolidated functions and provided a flexible and complete management ecosystem. To address the loss of organizational knowledge about the configuration of the firewall, a Security Device Controller was also installed.

Nexum called on the services a local Infoblox engineer to install the solution. The project required consolidating two existing Infoblox Grids into a single Grid, and some database optimization was also required.

As an Infoblox Authorized Training Center (ATC), Nexum has facilities that deliver Infoblox technical courses presented by certified Infoblox instructors. The university’s IT staff took the needed classes to come up to speed on the installed solution.

The Results

As an Infoblox Authorized Training Center (ATC), Nexum has facilities that deliver Infoblox technical courses presented by certified Infoblox instructors. The university’s IT staff took the needed classes to come up to speed on the installed solution.