Subject: Cyber Operations Support
The Challenge:
Sentar SMEs were presented with a tactical challenge in providing endpoint management, endpoint monitoring, and backup/disaster recovery support, consisting of over 255,000 military users geographically distributed worldwide. This task was complicated by the requirement to provide a fully compliant endpoint management, network analysis, and backup capability for a mixed-use network consisting of Apple IoS devices, Android devices, Windows workstations and servers, and various models of Linux workstations and servers. This capability needed to meet latency requirements and conform to limited bandwidth requirements of ships at sea and forward operating bases in austere environments.
The Solution:
Sentar evaluated numerous competing products, performing thorough analysis-of-alternatives and trade space studies, before deciding on a blended/hybrid approach. This hybrid solution integrated IBM’s BigFix and Microsoft’s SCCM solution to provide patch management, endpoint management, backup/restoration, software baseline updating, and system monitoring capabilities for all client solutions, geographically distributed worldwide. The solution provides a fully compliant endpoint management, network analysis, and backup capability for a mixed-used network consisting of Apple IoS devices, Android services, Windows workstations and servers, and various models of Linus workstations and servers. Sentar was able to successfully design and test a large-scale approach that meets operational requirements, functional requirements, and performance requirements. By rolling several products into a single, unified architecture, Sentar was able to design a single dashboard for checking patch status, backup status, and performing endpoint monitoring for all the clients’ systems worldwide.
The Mission Impact:
Operational Risks Minimized:
By using a hybrid approach, Sentar was able to leverage the associated package strengths with various platforms (i.e., use SCCM for Windows devices, use BigFix for Linux devices, etc.), while minimizing operational risk as well as bandwidth requirements and observed latency.