Building an Enterprise Fiber Network for a Local Government, An Architectural Design Blueprint and the Five Elements

Building an EnterpriseFiber Networkfor a Local GovernmentTHE FIVE ELEMENTS OF ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

By E. Rey Garcia, MPA Candidate, UTRGV / PAFF 6315 Management of Government Information Systems, Fall 2015, Module 1

September 20, 2015

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Background Undertaking a mission of building a fiber network, requires careful planning, design, and execution. Such a project connects all employees from all remote locations and allows for a fully secured user experience to information stored on the main servers of the organization’s data center. It requires a knowledgeable research and design team that is well-informed of all technical aspects of the project and have studied all literature, methodology, and all relationships between variables to encompass a network that is fully operational, secured via encrypted firewall(s), and compliant with the organization’s infrastructure. It must also meet the industry’s demands, the users’ needs, and is within the organization’s apportioned budget. Finally, in order for such a Public Management Information Systems (PMIS) to succeed, the design team must address the five stages of maturity as outlined by the Government Accountability Office (2003).

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What is a Public Management Information System (PMIS)?

Public Management Information Systems (PMIS) store, analyze, collect, and display information for public sector organizations and provide public administrators with a map of the key players and processes they need to be aware of if they are to be successful in making IT decisions in the public sector. Such systems must be responsive to a multitude of stakeholders, such as elected officials, citizens, business, and interest groups.

Most local governments don’t have the budgets to hire full-time programmers to develop and maintain a PMIS, but rather look to government vendors who sell or lease such information systems, along with maintenance contracts that include training, support, and updates.

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What is an MPLS Fiber Network?

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Fiber Network is a protocol or special set of rules that end points in a telecommunication connection use when they communicate. Protocols specify interactions between the communicating entities and are used for network acceleration and regulation of traffic flows or data transfer to assure a certain level of performance and quality of service.

MPLS Networks use IP addresses, either (IPv4 or IPv6), to identify end points and intermediate switches and routers. This makes MPLS networks IP-compatible and easily integrated with traditional IP networks.

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Data Routing Processesof an MPLS Fiber Network

Fiber Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Network allows most packets (units of data) to be routed between an origin and a destination on the Internet or any other packet-switched network and forwarded at Layer 2 (the switching level) rather than having to be transmitted to Layer 3 (the routing level). Each packet gets labeled on entry into the service provider's network by the ingress router, through which data enters a network from another network. All the subsequent routing switches perform packet forwarding based only on those labels—they never appear as far as the IP header, which enables the delivery of electronic data. Finally, the egress router, through which data leaves a network for another network, removes the label(s) and forwards the original IP packet toward its final destination.

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MPLS Fiber Network - Simple Layout

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Why a Fiber Network? An MPLS Fiber Network will serve as a Public Management Information System (PMIS), used to transmit data to and from remote locations allowing employees to securely access, store, analyze, collect, and display information from a central location, from the primary servers, from the central data center of the organization.

Financial Benefits: The fiber project eliminates wasteful spending on legacy wireless networks that are both unreliable and lack the ability for redundancy of data. The new fiber network costs approximately half of what is currently being spent on the dated legacy wireless connection(s).

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): The fiber project will use an ERP vendor who provides a system that is flexible and integrates across the existing infrastructure, has scalable options of 1.5Mbps to 1Gbps and the intelligence to deliver high performance, Layer 3 routing over a fiber backbone.

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Fiber = Cloud Computing The fiber network will allow the primary servers at the central data center to serve as an internal cloud; thus, allowing for cloud computing, where all users share interoperable data from a centralized location.

All users, both internal and remote, will work from thin client computers over a virtual cloud network. All data will be accessed and stored in the main servers at the main data center.

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The Four Layers to Enterprise Architecture

There are four layers to enterprise architecture in government that must be met in order to develop a five element enterprise fiber network.1) Access Layer – is used to allow all remote users (city employees), to

have access to the main servers via secure fiber network; thus allowing for all data to be interoperable.

2) E-Government Layer – provides a one-stop shop for government services, allowing city employees access to public information for all citizen requests.

3) E-Business Layer – identifies the IT tools used through existing applications and their integration with the existing infrastructure.

4) Infrastructure Layer – identifies the technologies used to operate and manage the fiber network and lays out the foundation for all other layers to function.

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Element/Stage One: CultureElement or Stage One creates an awareness via discussion of the enterprise architecture within the organization. It addresses the values, management type, and employee attitudes. The proposed design team evaluates the current infrastructure. How do remote users access data from the main servers? Is the data current? What type connection do users use? Will a new fiber connection benefit and compliant with the values and standards of the organization’s culture? Who are the stakeholders? Will management support, adapt, and enforce the use of a fiber network? What are the costs? Solicit input from staff, listen and be receptive for suggestions and recommendations.

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Element/Stage Two: Competencies

Element or Stage Two builds the enterprise architecture foundation, and the organization recognizes that enterprise architecture is an asset for the organization. In stage two, skills and aptitudes are assessed, responsibilities are measured. The Information Technology Department will serve as the conceptual design team. SmartCom Internet of McAllen, Texas will serve as the development team. Together both will serve as the design and development team, to lay the framework and methodology that the project entails, identify all users and locations affected, all software, hardware, and licensing needed, the estimated costs of the project, and time allotted to develop the fiber network.An awareness campaign with the support of management is launched to inform employees and the public that the fiber network architecture is essential for the daily operations of all city-wide employees and that it will streamline all information to a central location.

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Element/Stage Three: ProcessElement or Stage Three development and scope of the architecture product is defined according to Enterprise Architecture Framework (EAF), which outlines the five stages of maturity.Management and its continual support are used to measure performance, information/data, service application, and technology aspects of the design and development team and the layout of the fiber network.Operational aspects are used to measure progress of the fiber layout against the plans of the design and development team, while addressing any variances from the plan.

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Element/Stage Four: TechnologyElement or Stage Four is the stage of completion of the enterprise architecture and the support and approval of the product. As the completion of the fiber network reaches the final stage, the design and development team must work to identify what buildings and workplace facilities will be networked and what equipment (both software and hardware) will be needed to connect the remote users to the primary servers at the central data center.

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Element/Stage Five: FrameworkElement/Stage Five the leveraging and measurement of change in the organization. The role of management through every stage must be evident to identify and propose investments, in accordance to EAF.Power relationships must be overcome and a single authority must be identified to manage the fiber network. The IT Department will be the single authority.Formal communication channels must follow the organization’s policies and hierarchical chain of command. Allowing for the IT Department to be the primary liaison with the vendor.Informal networks may be established once a partnership relationship has been established between the IT Department and SmartCom Internet.Trust and credibility must be earned by both the IT Department and SmartCom Internet.Communication must be kept exposed between all users, the IT Department and SmartCom Internet.

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The Benefits of an MPSL Fiber Network

Allows state-of-the art fiber connection and replaces dated legacy systems.

Allows the organization to covert at half the cost of a legacy system. Allows for internal cloud computing and streamlines workflow Allow for Interoperable data in a centralized location. Allows for server redundancy during disaster recovery phases. Allows for easy management and inventory of infrastructure for IT staff. Allows little to no downtime for all users. Allows the flexibility to scale and customize according to the needs of the organization.

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References MPLS IP VPN - SmartCom Telephone, LLC. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2015, from http://smartcomtelephone.com/business/networking-services/mpls-ip-vpn/

What is MPLS and GMPLS? (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2015, from http://www.metaswitch.com/resources/what-is-mpls-and-gmpls

What is Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)? - Definition from WhatIs.com. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2015, from http://searchenterprisewan.techtarget.com/definition/Multiprotocol-Label-Switching