Managed Router Service

Transcription

1 data sheet Nextgen Group s Managed Router Service (MRS) provides professionally managed and maintained WAN infrastructure at the customer site. Your company is free to focus on core business with the knowledge that your network design, performance and availability are optimised. Service overview Nextgen Group s Managed Router Service (MRS) allows customers to outsource design, implementation, management and maintenance of their Wide Area Network (WAN) infrastructure. The MRS offering is designed and supported utilising timetested tools, systems, processes and procedures that incorporate: Professional services including design and installation, Management and monitoring service, Network equipment supply and maintenance. Best practice Nextgen Group s MRS product uses industry best practices to deliver the highest quality of service management. Nextgen Group operates a 24x7x365 Service Management Centre (SMC) that monitors the national MRS network infrastructure. It is backed by four levels of support staff that includes a call centre, Layer 2 (Ethernet) and Layer 3 (IP) engineers, MRS subject matter experts and a national team of technicians undertaking on-site work. Managed CPEs Nextgen Group Service Management Centre Nextgen Group s Managed Router Service (MRS) The Nextgen Group SMC has clearly defined guidelines for service incident management, including escalation procedure. Tailored solutions Customers Nextgen Group Customer Care Nextgen Group MRS covers all aspects of an outsourced service while providing flexibility in selecting various components required by your business. The combinations of available service components include: Equipment supplied by Nextgen Group or the customer, Lease or purchase of network equipment supplied by Nextgen Group, Secure bundle (where the solution includes an internet connection) or Non-Secure bundle (where the solution does not include an internet connection), Manage, monitor and maintain the customer s WAN including the network equipment. Nextgen Group will consult with the customer to offer a management solution that best fits their individual business needs. Key features End-to-end monitoring and performance management Security and change management Design, delivery and commissioning Equipment supply and maintenance Flexible finance options Key benefits Flexible and scalable The Nextgen Group MRS is designed around your business needs today and into the future. Increased productivity Reduces customer resources required for wide area network management allowing you to focus on your core business. Business continuity Nextgen Group proactively monitors, identifies and diagnoses infrastructure issues to expedite restoration and reduce downtime impact to your business. Single point of contact Nextgen Group s Service Management Centre operates 24x7x365 providing a single interface for support and management of your Nextgen Group network.

2 Professional services Technical design Nextgen Group assists in gathering the appropriate information relevant to your business requirements. This information is used to form the basis of your business specific technical design document which details the physical and virtual connectivity between the managed network devices; WAN topology WAN IP address subnets WAN VLAN ID s LAN interface settings (speed and duplex) Routing protocols Staging and delivery Prior to delivery, each device supplied by Nextgen Group will be staged using configuration generated from the technical design. Devices not supplied by Nextgen Group will need to be audited for compliance with the minimum hardware and software specifications required for Nextgen Group s MRS. These devices will be configured remotely to comply with the technical design. Onsite installation and commissioning Nextgen Group s skilled resources will attend your site to physically connect the device. The device will then be tested to confirm visibility by Nextgen Group s Service Management Centre (SMC). Management and monitoring Service Desk and incident/problem management Nextgen Group Service Management Centre s (SMC) service desk provides the primary interface for all aspects of the MRS Service in alignment with best practice methodologies. Customer notifications will be sent to the designated contacts provided by you. The following table describes the service components: Incident/problem management Incident detection Proactive incident and fault detection on devices specified by alert group and severity. Incident recording Incident diagnosis and troubleshooting Incident diagnosis and troubleshooting All detected alerts and service requests are recorded in Nextgen Group s management system when diagnosed as a valid request. This includes confirmation of authority of the person raising a fault ticket. All detected alerts and service requests are recorded in Nextgen Group s management system when diagnosed as a valid request. This includes confirmation of authority of the person raising a fault ticket. Nextgen Group support engineers contact the customer for assistance with diagnosis and troubleshooting to isolate and categorise the incident. The severity level is also confirmed at that time based on the impact of the incident. Notification management Incidents are notified to customer contact via processes as determined by the Customer Notification Matrix. Incident resolution Every incident is closely managed until resolved to minimise impact on the customer s business. Monitoring The following table outlines the various monitoring services provided as standard with a Nextgen Group MRS: Service components Availability monitoring Operational (up/down) monitoring of devices and WAN side ports based on SNMP polls taken every five minutes. Performance monitoring Real-time performance monitoring of the router s CPU and Memory utilisation based on SNMP polls taken every five minutes. Threshold monitoring Monitors user defined thresholds based on CPU and memory utilisation of the router. Configuration management The MRS is supported utilising systems and processes that store, support and record information relevant to your devices in a Configuration Management Database (CMDB). The following table describes the service components: Configuration management Configuration database and diagrams Management of configuration files The centrally maintained database stores information on interface, hardware, software and configuration information on all supported devices. Diagrams can be made available to illustrate this information. Weekly updates are performed on configuration files. The updates detect configuration changes by comparing files to previous versions. This update provides version control for backup and restoration purposes and can be used in the event of an incident.

3 Capacity management and reporting Nextgen Group MRS offers a comprehensive set of reports via our customer portal to aid your network analysis and ease decision making in the context of your business requirements. The following table illustrates the service components offered: Capacity management and reporting Capacity and Performance Management Threshold monitoring and notifications Ad hoc reports Statistical information assessing performance of the network is available for customer access. The portal provides historical graphs and service performance reports. Metrics used include availability, utilisation, accessibility, errors, congestion and volume. The performance report is sent to the customer as a PDF document, monthly or on a request. Performance thresholds are set-up on request and are used to manage and improve the network capacity planning process and reduce likelihood of possible future faults. Threshold monitoring for threshold events based on the event exceeding the median value of the previous three SNMP polls (at 5 minute intervals). Threshold events are assigned severity values of critical events, major events or informational only according to the three threshold levels minimum, average and maximum. Threshold event notification notification is provided according to the Customer Notification Matrix of critical or major threshold events. Ad hoc reports are available on request. Requests can be made to assist in the understanding of specific issues or change requests that may effect system resources including general performance reviews, network security audits and similar professional services. Nextgen Group reserves the right to charge for special non-standard reporting requirements. Change management services Nextgen Group is able to perform simple changes to the devices via remote connectivity. This ensures a reduction of risk for change related incidents and increases service availability and efficiency. The Nextgen Group MRS includes up to 10 simple Remote Moves, Adds, Changes and Deletions (MACDs) per customer per month, three of which may be performed outside standard business hours. Non-Chargeable MACDs are: Add/edit passwords of customer s Read Only Accounts. Add/edit description of interfaces or subinterfaces. Changing speed and duplex settings. Add/edit ip-helper address for DHCP. Changing the configurations location address for SNMP. Enabling/disabling CDP on the LAN side of the MRS device. Changing clock settings on the MRS device. Adding/deleting secondary IPs on LAN side of the MRS device. Examples of Chargeable service requests: Any changes on routing protocols. Any changes with Access lists and route maps. Any changes with QoS settings (shaping and policing). Upgrading the speed of the links. New design or redesign of QoS. Any changes with WAN IP address. Changing routing protocol at the customer LAN. Implementing load balancing or Active/standby modes. Implementing any route filtering. Note that this is an indicative list and not an exhaustive list. For service requests not listed in this document please check with your Account Manager. All MACDs are required to be logged by the customer with Nextgen Group s SMC. All non-chargeable MACD requests will be fulfilled within 2 business days of the service request acknowledgement received by Nextgen Group s SMC.

4 Customer Portal Reports Availability Aggregate bandwidth (Mb/s) across interfaces Interface 6 Interface 5 Interface 4 Interface 3 Interface 2 Interface 1 CPU usage (%) Sample Portal Reports

5 Security management Nextgen Group MRS includes comprehensive security controls around every customer managed device. Key areas covered by security management are: Development and maintenance of network security policies, responsibilities and reporting structures. Asset classifications and control documents. Customer specific security policies. Nextgen Group control all changes to the configuration of the devices, by doing so, it alleviates the risk associated with changes that can create incidents. Login access to all network devices can be provided to ourcustomers in a read-only mode on request. Networking equipment supply Nextgen Group MRS includes optional networking equipment supply. Customers can choose from equipment purchase via up-front payment, equipment rental on monthly instalments (subject to credit check approvals) or use their existing equipment. Our customers can take advantage of the various payment options available for funding the MRS solution. This allows customers to work around any Opex constraints. Functionality and future business requirements are taken into consideration when choosing from a range of, leading brand, routers providing you with the flexibility to optimise your business investment. Maintenance Engineering services Support engineers perform on-site troubleshooting (when required) to restore the service by implementing a workaround or permanent resolution to an incident or problem. Spare parts availability Nextgen Group has access to extensive spares in over 50 warehouse locations nationally. This ensures shorter restoration of incidents by reducing dispatch times. Before replacement parts are dispatched to the customer site with the support engineer, Nextgen Group SMC performs an analysis to determine which parts are required. Maintenance software releases The MRS solution provides maintenance software releases throughout the lifecycle of the supported product. The maintenance software releases on products are generally undertaken in fault situations as a workaround, rectification or permanent resolution to an incident or problem. Service level targets Component Service implementation Fault response Service restoration device replacement Service coverage hours Description Timing of delivery and commissioning of all managed devices will be determined based on the individual customer s business requirement and communicated to the customer. Nextgen Group will contact customer within 30 minutes of fault occurrence on device or network. For CBD and Metro locations replacement target is 4 hours. For regional and rural locations next business day replacement target applies, measured from the initial diagnosis of the fault by the Nextgen Group SMC. 24 hours x 7 days x 365 days per year. Nextgen Group MRS feature matrix Feature component Available with following data services Topologies supported Reporting Portal metrics Allowable Remote Moves, Adds, Changes and Deletions (MACD) services Management link support Description Nextgen Groups National VPLS Fully Meshed Network traffic volume CPU utilisation Packet discards and buffer misses and errors Bandwidth utilisation Availability and reachability Add/edit passwords of customer s Read-Only accounts Add/edit description of interfaces or subinterfaces Changing speed and duplex settings Add/edit ip-helper address for DHCP Changing the configurations location address for SNMP Enabling/disabling CDP on the LAN side of the MRS device Changing clock settings on the MRS device Adding/deleting secondary IPs on LAN side of the MRS device Via separate VPLS logical circuit to one main site or main and second site for backup.

6 Customer engagement process Customer obligations in respect to procurement and provision of Nextgen Group MRS. Professional services including Design and Installation services The customer must: Provide site address and site contact details (including floor and customer supplied rack locations as applicable) for MRS installation. Provide any details that may be required during the design process and review and approve the technical design document. Provide minimum suitable working environmental conditions for every device as specified by the manufacturer including but not limited to power, temperature and humidity. Ensure that any customer-supplied equipment meets the minimum specifications (as stipulated by Nextgen Group), which are required for supply of the MRS. Make available appropriately skilled resources that can assist with resolution of any technical issues that may relate to Nextgen Group s MRS and access service while a Nextgen Group resource is attending the customer site and providing installation or maintenance services. Equipment Management and Maintenance Service The customer must: Provide sufficient and accurate information when logging a service request. Follow the service request logging procedures issued by Nextgen Group from time to time. Retain and quote the service request number to assist reference details of the service request in subsequent interactions. Ensure that service requests are raised by a person who is authorised to do so. Provide a nominated contact(s) for technical support. When requested, provide Nextgen Group support engineers with access to a customer s site, during the required on-site visit. Arrange for support engineers to be given access to the customer s site to perform the on-site engineering services in respect of the MRS. Arrange for Nextgen Group to be provided with any equipment that might reasonably be required to gain safe access to the customer site. Provide guidelines, instructions and/or other information to Nextgen Group regarding its activities at the customer site and any equipment and/or facilities located at a the site, for safety and hazard minimisation purposes. Provide details of any required MACDs at least three business days prior to the day the MACDs are to be implemented. Provide a minimum of two hours notification for emergency MACDs within business hours, defined as: Implementation of work-around solutions to restore connectivity to a site, Roll-back of MACDs which have resulted in an adverse affect on the network performance or reliability, and Re-configuration of backup configurations to provide extra bandwidth during a fault situation. Nextgen Group. We go further. Nextgen Group is a leading supplier of network connectivity, data centre facilities and cloud services to Australian businesses, government agencies and telecommunication service providers. We re committed to our clients success and focus on understanding their business and objectives to deliver tailored networking solutions that deliver meaningful results. Phone info@nextgengroup.com.au Web Version 1