Networks found in the public sector are just as important as those in the private sector. To help these networks, Allot (News - Alert) Communications offers a traffic management solution made up of NetEnforcer, Service Gateway and the NetXplorer - which give an “all-encompassing view” of a network. It allows managers to locate and fix obstacles on a network, as well as to monitor and manage the network. The solution is particularly important for networks used by government offices, which are known, too, as public sector networks.
Many public sector networks are interconnected through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and private Wide Area Networks (WANs). These networks have many of the same goals as those found in the business sector, and some challenges that are more frequently found in the public sector. For example, government IT budgets are sometimes more limited than IT budgets in the private sector. In addition, limited resources may mean consolidation of network applications and information sources into centralized data centers. There are such difficulties faced by these networks as degraded performance, constraint on network resources, impaired infrastructure, and help-desk costs.
Also, without proper management there could be a bottleneck. In addition, government networks may often have several remote sites connected via a WAN, which offers database access and the ability for employees to collaborate on information. Problems can arise here. Privacy and regulatory requirements are important to security concerns, as well.
It also has been found that congestion on a public sector network is more likely to take place either at the ingress and egress points to the Local Area Network (LAN), and within the data center. Network services are delivered through a single traffic pipe. That can lead to congestion and inefficiency, as well. Network traffic needs to be prioritized to avoid congestion.
Network managers require tools to give them visibility into the traffic found on the network. Allot's traffic management devices use Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology to offer network visibility at the application level. Integrated LDAP support offers visibility and control down to the individual user level.
In addition, the solution gives customizable graphs and reports on how the Internet, WAN and data center pipes are being used. Among the items that can be monitored are: bandwidth distribution, popular applications, and volume of allocated bandwidth.
Allot's NetEnforcer and Service Gateway (News - Alert) solutions also provide enforcement of quality of service policies. Network managers can come up with policies about the amount of bandwidth for specific applications during certain hours. Applications accessed through the Internet are prioritized. Also, there is efficient utilization of bandwidth, so there are lower costs.
As far as security, Allot ServiceProtector is an anomaly detection system (ADS) which provides identification and mitigation of attacks. ServiceProtector gives intelligence to block or isolate malicious and unwanted traffic. It is used with the Allot Service Gateway platform and Allot NetEnforcer devices. Allot security solutions quickly identify DoS/DDoS attacks, and Zero Day attacks. ServiceProtector also detects bots that may be generating outgoing spam, worm propagation and port scanning.
In addition, Allot WebSafe provides URL filtering which can block access to blacklisted content at the network level.
Allot solutions can identify different types of traffic on a network and can enforce QoS policies, particularly when it comes to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and video traffic. Allot Clearsee gets statistics from traffic. The data are used in reports related to QoE, new revenue streams, revenue share models, network operations, troubleshooting, and user retention.
In total, Allot provides needed tools to let public sector networks perform at a much higher level.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi