Case Study: Build a Secure, Scalable Network for a MA Community Bank

People in a community bank

The Challenge

A Massachusetts community bank engaged Protocol Networks to do the following:

  • Perform a review of their existing infrastructure and provide recommendations on best practices as it relates to architecture and configuration.
  • Create up-to-date documentation on all the assets in the environment
  • Identify a solution to the issues they were experiencing with their DNS, as it had a limited amount of space in their current IP range

The objective was to align their network with their business requirements and provide strategic support to reconciling any discrepancies.

The Solution

Our team completed the following tasks to resolve the challenges:

  • Manual review of all the configurations, reviewed traffic patterns and provided recommendations on misalignment
  • Identified areas for remediation to resolve sporadic issues the bank was experiencing
  • Provided an in-depth report with recommendations on how to align the IT Infrastructure with the overall goals of the bank – provided a new architecture design that included best practices for redundancy, scalability and a robust and flexible network
  • Documented all aspects of the infrastructure & provided a detailed network diagram of all applicable switches, routers, firewalls, servers & storage

Following the completion of the initial assessment, the MA bank engaged Protocol Networks to address the recommendations. The recommendations were broken up into multiple phases:

Switch Upgrade (Cisco)

Firewall Upgrade (Cisco)

Server/Backup (Dell VRTX & VEEAM Backup Solution) Upgrade.

Each phase focused on upgrading legacy equipment and architecting the overall design to support the bank moving forward. Each phase was led by one of Protocol Networks’ senior engineers and was overseen by one of the principals of the organization. The multiphase upgrade and remediation approach took place over the course of 18 months, with great care taken to not disrupt the functionality of users and technologies at the bank. The methodical approach to upgrades ensured that, as changes were made, they were thoroughly tested, and support was provided in the event of post-deployment issues or questions.

The Benefits

After the initial assessment and subsequent stages of upgrades, the MA bank now has a redundant, scalable and flexible network that aligns with their corporate business needs and goals. The IT team has an infrastructure that is both modern and easy to manage internally. Training was provided on new technologies deployed, and Protocol Networks provides ongoing monthly support. With proper documentation of the infrastructure, the bank can more easily identify their assets, has easier asset lifecycle management and has satisfied the needs of both state and federal regulators. By implementing these industry best practices, they have had smoother audits and have been able to provide ample documentation to regulators.