Multi-Tenant Fibre Internet Connectivity

 

The Challenge

The client, operators of a service office building, were providing Internet Connectivity to all their tenants, but were experiencing extremely slow internet connectivity at peak times with frequent disconnections in service.  Due to the issues the tenants were experiencing, many tenants were migrating off the central system and installing their own ADSL Internet Connections into the building, but due to Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) not being available in the area, they were not getting the speeds required to run their businesses.

With the tenants growing rapidly, and a large number of dedicated ADSL connections being installed, the building operators were struggling to keep up with the demand, and the tenants were complaining about the service on a daily basis.  The client wanted to solution which would provide a centralised fast and reliable Internet Connection to all tenants, which would resolve all the issues everyone was experiencing.

What We Found

We initially attended site and conducted a full audit of the current estate, and reported back to the building operators.  

Following our audit, we found that the cabling within the building was degraded and a number of connections were damaged.  In addition, it was discovered that there was no isolation on the central network, meaning that all tenants were connected to each other without any security boundaries being set.

The Internet Connection was running on a 10Mb Dedicated Fibre Ethernet Circuit, which was being fully utilised.  In addition, we found that when certain tenants were downloading large files and utilising large amounts of bandwidth, other tenants were suffering.

The Solution

To begin, over the course of two weekends, we came onsite and repaired/replaced any damaged/failed cabling within the building, ensuring that tenants would be getting the full benefit of the network, once installed. 

Working with the client, we then designed and implemented a new centralised network which would not only meet the requirements they had now, but would allow them to grow moving forwards. 

We installed a Brocade Switch Stack, initially with 3 x 48 Port Switches, providing 144 useable ports from the point of installation.  This ensured that all tenant devices could be connected without the need of additional switches in the central server room, or within the tenants own office space. Due to the switches being stackable, this also ensured that should tenants which to connect more devices at a later date, another switch could be added to the existing stack.

Working with one of our trusted partners, we then installed a 100Mb Fibre Ethernet Internet Circuit, which was running on a 1Gb bearer.  This not only provided a quicker internet service into the building, but due to it being on a larger bearer, allowed the connection to be increased at any time, without the need for more fibre to be ran into the building, saving on cost and time in the future. 

A new Fortinet firewall was purchased, which was connected to the new Internet Circuit.  The firewall was configured with Quality of Service (QoS) to ensure that the connection was distributed fairly between tenants, and that any one tenant couldn’t degrade the service for other tenants within the building. 

Working with the client, we then held a meeting at their offices for their tenants to attend, to discuss and explain the new network and Internet Service provided by the building operators.  We then worked with each tenant individually to demonstrate the system, and assist them migrating across with minimal disruption. 

The Result

Working with a small number of tenants to begin with, word of the increased speed and reliability was spread around the breakout areas of the building, and within a month of installation, all tenants within the building agreed to move, and were successfully migrated across.  Some of the larger tenants within the building opted to have increased speed to themselves (100 & 200Mb dedicated), which we were capable of delivering due to the larger Fibre bearer being installed.

As a result of the changes, all tenant complaints were resolved, no further outages occurred, and as the serviced office building was one of the only buildings in the area to provide office space with High Speed Internet Connectivity, it led to an increase in enquiries and office occupancy.