NSW Government. Wireless services (WiFi) Standard

Transcription

1 NSW Government Wireless services (WiFi) Standard May 2014

2 CONTENTS 1. CONTEXT Background Purpose Scope and application 2 2. STANDARDS GOVERNANCE Standards to support the ICT Service Catalogue Managing standards Data Standards Developing standards Implementing standards Reference Documents 3 3. POLICY STATEMENT Definitions Key principles 5 4. STANDARD Minimum requirements Implementing a WiFi Service 6 DOCUMENT CONTROL 8 1

3 1. CONTEXT 1.1. Background Developing whole of NSW government ICT technical standards is a key initiative of the NSW Government ICT Strategy 2012, driven by the ICT Procurement and Technical Standards Working Group. This Standard has been developed through these arrangements. Wireless (WiFi) technology is not merely pervasive, but is increasingly the first choice of the public and private sectors alike. The benefits of utilising WiFi technology are clear: it provides the flexibility, choice and adaptability needed in the contemporary workplace. NSW Government agencies must be in a position to fully leverage the potential advantages of WiFi technology, including the benefits of public WiFi networks. Sourcing WiFi services from the cloud will ensure that agencies are able to consume WiFi in a scalable way, and to smoothly transition to next generation technology without designing costly internal solutions. The purpose of this standard is to set out the minimum business and technical requirements that apply to public wireless networks used by NSW Government agencies. The standard will be used as a tool for assessing services for addition to the NSW ICT Service Catalogue, supports the use of WiFi services that are designed to meet modern workforce needs, and promotes the use of WiFi services which can be used by multiple agencies if required Purpose This Standard sets out the business and technical requirements for sourcing WiFi on an as a service basis. It details the issues that need to be considered so each agency can identify the available options that best suit their business requirements. The Standard has been developed to assist agencies to procure, develop, deploy and take full advantage of the benefits of wireless technology. It provides important guidance to assist vendors to review their services for alignment with the NSW Government s expected baseline and ideal requirements of the NSW Government Scope and application This standard falls within the framework of the NSW Government ICT Strategy. It applies to all NSW Government departments, statutory bodies and shared service providers. It does not apply to state owned corporations, but is recommended for their adoption. 2. STANDARDS GOVERNANCE 2.1. Standards to support the ICT Service Catalogue 2

4 2.2. Managing standards Standards are enduring and should not require modification as technology changes, however there is scope to modify them through the governance arrangements if necessary. Given the nature of this standard it is intended that an annual review will occur Standards are designed to add value, augment and be complementary to, other policies. The standards leverage principles defined in the NSW Government ICT Strategy, the NSW Government Cloud Policy and Data and Information Management guidelines. This framework does not override nor circumvent the responsibilities of an agency nor any employee regarding the management and disposal of information, data, and assets. Standards in ICT procurement must address business requirements for service delivery Data Standards This standard should be applied with data and information management standards in accordance with Premier s Memorandum M Digital Information Security Policy. NSW Government agencies must carefully consider their obligations to manage government data and information. Contract arrangements and business processes should address requirements for data security, privacy, access, storage, management, retention and disposal. ICT systems and services should support data exchange, portability and interoperability Developing standards The ICT Procurement and Technical Standards (PTS) Working Group is chaired by the Department of Finance and Services and includes senior representation from across the NSW Government clusters. Agencies engage with the PTS Working Group concerning services for inclusion in the ICT Service Catalogue. The PTS Working Group has the leading role in reviewing and endorsing the technical standards developed in response to agencies requirements. The PTS Working Group is supported by three sub groups responsible for the areas of telecommunications, software and hardware. The sub-groups are responsible for initial development and review of standards relating to their areas of responsibility (such as hardware, software or telecommunications). The ICT Leadership Group, comprising Chief Information Officers and senior business managers from across government, is responsible for final approval of technical standards Implementing standards Procurement NSW facilitates the implementation of the standards by applying them to the goods and services made available through ICT Services Catalogue. The Standards are also available on the ProcurePoint web site Reference Documents This document has been informed by the following internationally recognised standard: The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) suite of standards for Wireless Local Area Networks, including: o ac 1 Very High Throughput Amendment o n Amendment o u Protocol ac is fully backwards compatible with n and g 3

5 Agencies should also have regard to the below statutory rules, NSW Government policies and standards: AS/NZS ISO Risk management - Principles and guidelines Electronic Transactions Act 2000 Government Information (Information Commissioner) Act 2009 Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 M Digital Information Security Policy NSW Government Open Data Policy NSW Government Cloud Services Policy and Guidelines NSW Government ICT Strategy NSW Government ICT Technical Standards Mobility Framework TPP Internal Audit and Risk Management Policy for the NSW Public Sector Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 NSW Procurement: Small and Medium Enterprises Policy Framework State Records Act 1998 Copyright Act 1968 Copyright Amendment Act POLICY STATEMENT 3.1. Definitions Access point type - An entity that contains one station (STA) and provides access to the distribution services, via the wireless medium for associated STAs. Access point path - Path between two tunnelled direct-link setup (TDLS) peer stations (STAs) via the AP with which the STAs are currently associated. Application Software designed to assist end users to carry out useful tasks. Examples of applications may include the Microsoft Office suite of products or smartphone applications such as Google Maps. Beamforming An advanced signal processing technique that controls the direction of WiFi transmissions as well as the reception of radio signals. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) - Any electronic device owned, leased or operated by an employee or contractor of and agency which is capable of storing data and connecting to a network, including but not limited to mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, laptops, personal computers and netbooks. Data - Any and all information stored or processed via a WiFi network. Encryption The conversion of data into an encrypted format so that it cannot be understood by unauthorised users. Mobile Device Management (MDM) Solution which manages, supports, secures and monitors mobile devices. <Note: <Agency> will conduct risk assessments to determine whether their environment requires the implementation or not of such a solution. Implementation should ideally be done as a Service in accordance with NSW Government policy>. Quality of Service (QoS) The performance of a computer or telephony network, measured by bandwith, service disruptions, and error rates. Verification A means of checking that data is accurate, consistent and has not been corrupted. 4

6 3.2. Key principles The purpose of this Standard is to assist NSW Government agencies to source and apply public WiFi networks, and to provide access arrangements to those networks. The Standard assists suppliers to understand the NSW Government s expected standard requirements for WiFi. Alignment with international best practice: The underpinning purpose of sourcing as a service is to allow agencies to access and consume the best off-the shelf ICT services in a scalable and flexible way, rather than procuring or developing bespoke solutions that fail to keep pace with new developments in technology. Rather than designing a new series of bespoke technical requirements for WiFi technology the NSW Government will rely on the best practice specifications contained in the IEEE suite of standards (see Part 4). WiFi services advertised and sourced via the NSW ICT Service Catalogue must align with IEEE802.11n: Next generation Wireless LAN Technology at minimum, with the ability to transition to alignment with IEEE ac within a reasonable period. Public WiFi networks must align with the requirements of the IEEE u Protocol, or must have the capability of transitioning to alignment with IEEE u within a reasonable period. Ideally, public wireless service providers will be certified through the Wi-Fi Alliance s Wi-Fi Certified PassPoint. In addition, the following overarching principles apply to WiFi networks for use by NSW Government agencies: Mobile and flexible: The wireless network must support the modern business environment, including flexible work practices such as activity based working and hot desking. The service must support guest, public and private access, including access for BYOD devices. Vendor/ operating environment agnostic: The WiFi network should be accessible via a wide range of device and operating environment types. Devices such as laptops, mobile devices (including agency supplied and BYODs), printers, protectors, lighting systems, security cameras and IP telephony should be able to connect to, and access the network. The network should also be fully compatible with widely used operating environments. Fast: The WiFi service should be fast and should have the capability of maintaining fast speeds for a large number of users. As a general guide, the service should be capable of speeds aligning with IEEE802.11n at minimum. Reliable, scalable and dynamic: The wireless network must be reliable, scalable, and able to adapt to dynamic changes in traffic type and volume without causing disruptions to the user or server experience. Handover between access points should be seamless. Ideally, the service should incorporate the beamforming signal processing technique to improve performance, reliability and range. Supports applications and advanced functionality: The WiFi network should be able to support traditional data and multimedia applications such as Voice over IP (VOIP), videoconferencing and instant messaging. The WiFi network must also support advanced WiFi functionality such as specialist handling of voice, video, presence and printing from providers such as Apple, Cisco, Microsoft and IPFX. Authentication and access operation: The WiFi service should grant access to the network based on user and device identity, with reference to multiple MDM, LDAP and Network Management systems. Information capture and recording: The WiFi service must provide sufficient live information to enable diagnosis and to resolution of location, connection and performance issues. The WiFi service must also capture sufficient information for accurate, complete and fully auditable logs suitable for financial management and information security purposes. 5

7 4. STANDARD 4.1. Minimum requirements As outlined at Part 3, the NSW Government will rely on the best practice specifications contained in the IEEE suite of standards. Table 1 below summarises, at a high level, the expected technical features expected in a baseline and an ideal WiFi service: Table 1: Expected technical features Alignment with relevant IEEE standard QoS Access types Baseline Layer 1 Internet Layer 2 Data Layer 3 Real time VOIP and video Guest Private Public Mobile device support IOS Android Blackberry Window Verification (User) Local Back to home VoIP Video Broadcast Streaming Seamless handover between access points Encryption Beamforming Ideal Layer 1 Internet Layer 2 Layer 3 Data Layer 4 Voice Layer 5 - Video 4.2. Implementing a WiFi Service Agencies should align their WiFi service implementations with known best practice. Generally, implementation should incorporate the following processes: Service initiation Prepare the site survey and plan infrastructure, including connecting the relevant service provider and tenant carriage service to primary and secondary data centres. Review projected tenant requirements and prepare an initial and projected capacity plan setting out the expected traffic types, volumes, peak and off peak periods. Install and commission infrastructure and build documentation, including the connections between the service and existing tenant infrastructure. 6

8 4.2.2 Service Operation Apply ITIL Service Management practices and processes. These include: a 24 hour a day service desk facility; incident and problem management processes; capacity monitoring and management; and regular hardware and software maintenance. Authentication and access management o Apply the appropriate access policies to connections based on user and device identity. o Depending on the agency s requirements, public customers may be provided with guest access for public customers, while BYOD devices may be provided with restricted access and QoS. o Access to the network should be based on user and device identity, by reference to multiple MDM, LDAP and network management principles. Shared WiFi Service Operation: o Enable shared WiFi service operation through the provision of data services in line with the relevant service level agreement and capacity plan. o Where the agency has local infrastructure, provide access to local network resources, where the agency has local infrastructure. o Where the agency has no local infrastructure, provide a tunneled service back to the primary or secondary data centre. Real time operational data o Share real time operational data with the tenant s service desk to enable the tenant to identity users, connection times and types, authentication and the application of access policy. The data shared should include: Reporting user location information from a single list of users/devices traffic volume and throughput data by user and/or device user troubleshooting information (for example, log data). o Maintain, monitor and validate access log history for security reporting and remedial action. o Deliver reports that support accounting and chargeback by tenant, device type and user. o Support data accounting per application flow and/or user and device. 7

9 DOCUMENT CONTROL Document history Status: Final Version: 1.0 Approved by: Procurement and Technical Standards Working Group Approved on: 22 May 2014 Contact: John Thomas, Director, ICT Services, ICT Policy, Office of Finance and Services Telephone: (02) Review date This standard will be reviewed in 12 months. It may be reviewed earlier in response to post implementation feedback from Departments. 8