Bernoulli Networks has been called on to solve a variety of problems.
Problem: The office network and file server were slow.
Solution: We checked and replaced wiring. Outdated hardware was replaced with faster hardware. The file server was replaced with faster, more reliable server.
Result: Productivity increased. Staff spent less time waiting for the network. We were told they didn't know a network could be so fast.
Problem: Sending e-mail within the company was taking up to two hours to arrive during the work day. Staff thought mail was being lost and re-sending messages and files. People were waiting for important messages.
Solution: The single mail server was replaced with a cluster of servers designed to grow with the company.
Result: Productivity increased. People stopped phoning to ask "did you get my email yet?" Tech support got fewer calls about slow email. When the time came to add another mail server to the cluster the addition was easy and did not require down-time.
Problem: A high volume of junk e-mail was slowing down delivery and wasting the time of users. Tech support alone was receiving over a thousand junk emails every day.
Solution: We modified the network to refuse access from spammers. Spammers were not able to send e-mail to the company at all.
Result: Productivity increased. People had less junk email to delete. Tech support was very happy. Sending and receiving e-mail got faster.
Problem: The web sales system went down periodically, and the outage would occasionally go unnoticed.
Solution: We set up monitoring to detect when web sales went down. Support staff recieve notifications of the outage immediately.
Result: Downtime is minimized, leading to increased sales.
Problem: Frequent software patching required backing up a database during office hours. Performing the backup was complex and time-consuming. The nightly backups are too infrequent to preserve work done during the day, and backups are too resource-intensive to perform with greater frequency.
Solution: We built a one-click backup system, to allow developers to initiate backups at times of their choosing.
Result: Backups are simple to perform, encouraging staff to do them regularly.
Problem: Paper tickets to events required staff to manully read each ticket. This caused long lineups as patrons waited to have their ticket checked. It was also possible for patrons to copy their tickets to admit more than one person.
Solution: A wireless access point was installed in the theater. Wireless ticket scanners can now read bar-codes on patron's tickets. It is easier for staff to check tickets and copied tickes no longer work.
Result: It takes less time to check a ticket so patron wait time is reduced. Fraud is reduced.
Problem: A 26 km wireless connection went down. It was discovered that new construction in the path of the signal was blocking the signal.
Solution: We researched alternatives. Hills blocked alternative signal paths, and while relocating the antenna to the roof of the building would have worked, ongoing construction would eventually block that as well. We eventually decided to lease fiber to locations outside the city limits, bypassing current construction as well as any new projects that may begin in the future.
Result: The network now utilizes fewer wireless hops than before, resulting in improved performance and reliability. The fiber optic network we used is distributed throughout the province, so future expansion is no longer limited by what's economical with wireless backhauls.
Problem: An office was moving to a larger location. They had a mix of servers, Windows, and Mac computers. We had to minimize office down-time and tech support costs.
Solution: The move was done over the weekend. Before the move the new wiring was installed and tested. After the move each machine was tested for network access. Servers were tested for external connectivity.
Result: Staff came in on Monday and went straight to work without having to change settings or phone tech support.
Problem: Customers of a rural ISP were consuming more than their fair share of resources, increasing costs and degrading the performance of the network for other clients.
Solution: Software was written to track the bandwidth used by each customer and to generate reports.
Result: Problem users policed their own usage. Those that cut back improved the performance for other users, and those that continued their high usage levels now pay a premium.
Problem: A filtering appliance installed to protect a mail server from spam made it impossible to do policy enforcement. As a result, the mail servers were used to send junk e-mail, and complaints were registered with the Internet provider.
Solution: We worked with the appliance vendor to pass the needed information to the mail server by other means. A plug-in was written for the mail server, and the vendor made changes to the appliance.
Result: Policy enforcement worked again, and the complaints stopped.
Problem: Network changes were being delayed by the difficulty in getting accurate information about the current state of the network.
Solution: Analysis tools were created.
Result: The network changes proceeded much more smoothly.
Problem: Some applications don't provide strong authentication or encryption, and a VPN may not be practical.
Solution: An OpenBSD firewall was configured to do transparent layer 4+ tunneling.
Result: Network traffic is secured.