Aspire Ramps up Network Performance with Cisco DNA-Enabled Refresh
Industry: Pharmaceutical
Practice Area: Enterprise Networks
As an industry leader in R & D, this global pharmaceutical company excels at identifying and developing game-changing ideas and innovation for better patient care. The company markets a portfolio of leading brands and best-in-class products for the central nervous system, eye care, medical aesthetics and dermatology, gastroenterology, women’s health, urology and anti-infective therapeutic categories.
Challenge: A campus network refresh without business disruption
The client’s aging network switching and wireless environment no longer supported their business needs and lacked resiliency. Elements of the existing campus network switching infrastructure had reached end-of-life status, which meant the client no longer received technical support, hardware replacement when a device failed, or software updates. Additionally, the network had single points of failure as well as limited 10Gbs connectivity. With limited IT resources at that location, refreshing the legacy Cisco environment without disrupting business would require deployment expertise and coordination.
Solution: A foundation for intent-based networking
Aspire engineers performed an assessment of the existing infrastructure, identified flaws, and proposed a Cisco switching and wireless architecture designed to:
- Improve network performance and resiliency
- Deliver scalability and support for future demands
- Minimize potential for business disruption
Aspire’s Staging & Logistics Center in Eatontown, NJ played a key role in the project. The solution consisted of: Cisco ISR routers and ASA firewalls at the edge; forty Cisco Catalyst 9K switches at the core, distribution, and access layers; and 240 Cisco Aironet wireless access points. To execute the network refresh in a minimally disruptive manner, Aspire engineers staged, configured, and tested the equipment at the Staging & Logistics Center prior to shipping on-site. This project approach saved thousands of dollars in professional services costs and resulted in a seamless cutover with minimal disruption.
Results: A digital-ready network
The client achieved the following outcomes:
- Fully redundant core and distribution network architecture to provide fault tolerance down to the access Layer
- Long-term scalability to support existing and future 10GB/40GB/100GB bandwidth requirements
- Digital-ready network: Cisco Catalyst 9000 platform and DNA Advantage licensing provides enhanced capabilities to manage policy, automate IT tasks, gain visibility into wired and wireless networks, and identify security threats
