Phase I:  The WAN Infrastructure

The creation of a Wide Area Network (WAN) is the first phase in the rearchitecturing of Life Steps Foundation's IT infrastructure.  Upon completion of this phase, LSF will be able to implement new, cost-saving technologies while continuing to provide a cost-effective, expandable and secure means of sharing and transmitting information to its internal and external partners and affiliates.

SBC has been retained and contracted to provide LSF with the maintenance and management of this service through their product called PremierServ.  The NVPN (Network-based Virtual Private Network) is operated over the new MPLS (MultiProtocol Label Switching) technology which will allow LSF to provide quality of service (QoS) levels for technology to be deployed in subsequent phases of this project, such as IP Telephony/VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and e-learning initiatives using video applications.

This WAN, connecting 11 satellite offices, will be a Frame Relay transport to the NVPN hosted at SBC's state-of-the-art Internet Data Center (IDC); 7 virtual offices will connect to the NVPN network via local DSL or Cable broadband connections.  The design of this network is such that it is agile, flexible and scalable.  The creation of new programs/sites will be easily integrated into our existing network, as will new affiliates once we have moved into the new Self-Sufficiency Model (SSM).  The bandwidth required at each location is adjustable and can increase and decrease depending on the performance required to support customized or program-specific applications.

LSF will have a dedicated Project Manager responsible for handling all issues relating to the function, maintenance and operation of the WAN.   SBC's network is extremely reliable and many organizations, such as hospitals and banks, already employ their services.

The hosted environment at the IDC will provide LSF with a centralized point of administration and management for all applications. The servers will be fully managed and monitored with predictive monitoring to correct potential failures before they occur. This solution is also scalable and flexible to fit with LSF now and in the future. Collaboration between all locations and centralized control of sensitive data is extremely important to LSF.  By utilizing the IDC, LSF will create a disaster recovery solution that is robust and able to be implemented in a very timely manner. In the process of consolidating many of the existing servers to managed servers at the IDC, LSF will realize a reduction in cost and an increase in availability by all locations and users.

IDC features include:

• Focused on multi-server complex implementations
• Dedicated project manager for each installation; pre and post configuration consulting, and a technical account manager assigned to the customer.
• System administration, patch testing and performance tuning
• 99.99% (4 9s) availability SLA ; customer notification within 15-minutes of validation for any core IDC component failure. (see attachment for details)
• Predictive Monitoring (for not only full monitoring but analysis on potential areas of future concern) and Reports included; access to the customer portal with full reporting capability; 24x7 certified on-site staff, and all servers racked in the SBC platinum data center.

To learn more about SBC's datacenter click here.  To view and online virtual tour of the IDC click the following format:  Windows Media Player | Real Player | Quicktime

Phase I timeline
Additional Resources (login required)

Phase II (coming soon)