Case Study | Gendarmerie Nationale

Gendarmerie Nationale, the French national police force with militarystatute, select an Allied Telesis range of approved equipment for theirnetworking solution, equipping more than 4,000 sites.

Customer ProfileThe Gendarmerie Nationale is the French national police forcewith a military statute.The Gendarmerie Nationale has manyfunctions, including local policing and criminal investigations, andmilitary responsibilities such as maritime safety and airportsecurity.They also participate in important ceremonies, such asthose involving heads of state or government.

In today's complex environment, a defence organization like theGendarmerie requires a comprehensive network solution thatreplicates best practices, and adapts quickly and easily foremerging threats.With a range of locations for headquarters andbranch or divisional offices, their network had to provide a secureinfrastructure. It also had to be capable of rapidly disseminatingmultiple information types - including voice, video and data -providing real-time connectivity for maximum missioneffectiveness.

The range and scope of the Gendarmerie operations are everincreasing, and they can expect to be involved in multiplesimultaneous operations.This requires adaptable and agile forces,able to deploy rapidly to take on a range of operational tasks.

Customer RequirementsAt present, 4300 sites are already equipped with networks,providing access to the national intranet for 104,000members of the Gendarmerie.

Resilience is an absolute necessity for the Gendarmerie.Real time, reliable situational awareness facilitates planning,and ensures the successful execution of operations.

A considered approach to network security was required inorder to achieve the optimum balance between protectionof information, and the availability of that information.

The Gendarmerie required a flexible and integratednetwork solution, allowing their systems to work seamlessly- without any negative impact on their missions.Theirnetwork had to be scalable in terms of both size andgeographical reach, in order to meet the dynamic needs ofthe Gendarmerie.

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Case Study | Gendarmerie Nationale

A Typical Solution

Equipment used in the solution above

• Core Switch - SwitchBlade SBx908®

• Edge Switches - AT-8000S, AT-8500• Routers - AR750S, AR440S• Media Converters - MC600

In each principle site, an Allied Telesis SwitchBlade®

switch has been installed at the network core.TheSwitchBlade provides feature rich, resilient switchingtechnology capable of dealing with multi-casting forstreaming video, and network control and security. Theability to prioritize network traffic and control bandwidthsupports converged applications that include both video anddata.

A number of Allied Telesis 8000S series layer 2 Fast Ethernet switches are implemented at the edge, ensuring high

reliability and enabling simplified management for higher portdensity applications. Also implemented are a number ofAllied Telesis AT-8500 series layer 2 managed switches, whichprovide features such as advanced attack detection andsuppression capabilities for increased security.

The AT-AR750S routers at the edge provide extensiveIPSec-based VPN capability, which allows offices and remotetele-workers who require secure access to the network tobe interconnected.The AT-AR750S offers significant advancesin processing performance, Quality of Service (QoS), routing,remote connectivity, and security. Also implemented are anumber of AR440S routers, providing secure AsymmetricDigital Subscriber Line (ADSL) leased line routing. Using theAR440S' ADSL technology as the primary WAN interface,with its extensive security capabilities, enables secure datatransfer.

www.alliedtelesis.com Allied Telesis Case Study: Gendarmerie Nationale| Page 3

SAPHIR 3G

Branch Offices Branch OfficesRouter

Servers

Router

Router

Firewall Firewall

Firewall

AR750S RAS

AR440S

AT-8500

IPSec

IPSec

150 x

100 xAT-8000S

AT-SBx908

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MC600 Series Media Converters allow Ethernet or FastEthernet to be transported simultaneously with voice overthe existing telephone cables.

Benefits of the new network solutionResilienceThe SwitchBlade x908 switches provide feature rich, resilientswitching technology capable of dealing with multi-casting(for streaming video), network control, and security.

High AvailabilityHigh availability in the core of the network is also providedby the SwitchBlade switches, which feature built inredundancy in switching capacity, control and power supply,and guarantee maximum uptime and throughput of networktraffic for access to critical applications and online tools.

ScalabilityA wide choice of XEM modules is available for 8 bay SBx908SwitchBlade chassis, providing options for connecting to arange of network equipment, as well as a high capacity forfuture expansion.The availability of 10GbE XEM meansfuture high bandwidth applications can be readily adopted.

Enhanced FunctionalityThe new network allows users the convergence of voice,video, and data.The Gendarmerie can now utilize thenetwork for information sharing efficiently and effectively,whether they are locally connected or connected to thenational intranet from a remote location.

The use of Layer 3 switches in the network core hasallowed the network to be segmented using Virtual LANs(VLANs). Some of the advantages of using VLANs are thatusers can be grouped together according to theirnetworking needs - regardless of their actual physicallocations - and that users have the appropriate access toresources.

Improved EfficiencyReal time, reliable situational awareness facilitates planningand successful execution of operations.With such a wide

Case Study | Gendarmerie Nationale

ranging scope of operations across France, theGendarmerie's new network solution means considerableimprovements in efficiency, with resultant cost benefits.

SecurityAt the network edge, the Allied Telesis AT-8500 Seriesmanaged switches provide a strong focus on securityfeatures, and are able to detect a number of different Denialof Service (DoS) attacks. Automated user login providescontrolled access to the network using 802.1x portauthentication

Secure remote connection to central resources is facilitatedby the Allied Telesis AR750S and AR440S routers VPN(Virtual Private Networking) capabilities. The VPNconnections encrypt all data between the central andremote sites.

Key decision factors Allied Telesis' long standing relationship with theGendarmerie Nationale has provided a solid understandingof the Gendarmerie's networking requirements, and enabledAllied Telesis to successfully secure a number of contractsover the years. Product training, hands-on support andoutstanding service have all been instrumental in the successof the relationship. The most recent contracts were securedin conjunction with APM France and Siemens. Siemens arewell known in the networking industry and highly regardedfor their level of skill and experience.

Another key decision factor was Allied Telesis wide portfolioof products. The available range meant the Gendarmeriewere able to be confident of meeting a complex set ofrequirements from one vendor.

"The network solution perfectly met the Gendarmerie'srequirements for functionality, performance, quality, and reliability;and the optimum market positioning satisfied the budgetrequirements.Thanks to the reliability, support, warranty andservices provided by Allied Telesis, the annual OPEX formaintenance has decreased for the Gendarmerie since thissolution was implemented"

Future plansAs part of the ongoing infrastructure update, there are plansto add additional capabilities in the future, such as Powerover Ethernet (PoE) and IPv6, to keep the Gendarmerie'snetwork at the leading edge.

Incorporating Power over Ethernet Included in the Allied Telesis product range are devices thatsupport the IEEE 802.3af protocol PoE. PoE is ideal forpowering a vast array of computing devices over existingLAN cables, without the need for separate powerconnections. PoE provides benefits such as cost-saving,simplicity of installation and high availability. Common usesare for wireless access points and VoIP phones.

Evolving from an IPv4 to IPv6 networkAllied Telesis have taken a proactive approach to supportingthe IPv6 evolution, enabling future-conscious customers likethe Gendarmerie Nationale to purchase equipment that willevolve with them as they move towards IPv6. Today, AlliedTelesis' routers and Layer 3 switches provide comprehensivesoftware support for IPv6. They support the fullimplementation of IPv6 networking and facilitate thetransition from IPv4 to IPv6.

IPv6 will ensure that the Defence Information Environmentcan meet the requirements of its users both now and in thefuture. IPv6 has features and functions that can allow usersof the Defence Information Environment to manageinformation in ways that are not possible using IPv4.

The large address space, inbuilt security and mobilityfunctions offered with IPv6 will be important enablers forinformation sharing amongst future defence forces. Seamlessinformation exchange is a vital capability in today'senvironment, and any breakdown of the informationexchange mechanism between the defence forces has thepotential for catastrophic consequences. Withcommunication becoming increasingly IP-based, transitioningto IPv6 will ensure both improved functionality and ongoingreliability.

Featured Products

SwitchBlade®

AT-SBx908

Layer 3 modular switch

8 XEM bay capacity

Up to 192 Gb or 16 x 10Gb ports in Stacked Mode

AT-8000S/24

24 port Stackable 10/100TX L2 switch with 2 active SFP

bays (unpopulated) and 2 standby 10/100/1000T ports

(RJ45)

AT-8524M-xx

24-port 10/100TX L2+ Switch with

2 expansion bays

AT-8550/GB

48-port 10/100TX L2+ Switch with 2 active

GBIC bays (unpopulated) and 2 standby

10/100/1000T ports (RJ-45)

AT-AR750S

Modular VPN Router 2x WAN 10/100BASE-T ports, 2x PIC

slots, 5 x LAN 10/100BASE-T ports, 1x Asynchronous

console / modem port

AT-AR440S

1 x ADSL port, 5 x 10/100BASE-T ports, 1x PIC slot,

1x Asyn

AT-MC601/2

Extended Ethernet™ over VDSL

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www.alliedtelesis.com© 2007 Allied Telesis Inc.All rights reserved. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. All company names, logos, and product designs that are trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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About Allied Telesis Inc.Allied Telesis is part of the Allied Telesis Group. Founded in1987, the company is a global provider of secure Ethernet/IPaccess solutions and an industry leader in the deployment ofIP Triple Play networks over copper and fiber accessinfrastructure. Our POTS-to-10G iMAP integratedMultiservice Access Platform and iMG intelligent MultiserviceGateways, in conjunction with advanced switching, routingand WDM-based transport solutions, enable public andprivate network operators and service providers of all sizesto deploy scalable, carrier-grade networks for the cost-effective delivery of packet-based voice, video and dataservices.Visit us online at www.alliedtelesis.com.