Improving COMMS from Afghanistan

Imagine: What was the need, and what was the real problem?

With much of the company operations being in Afghanistan, a hostile and downright inhospitable environment, the Executive Director was looking for a company that could operate in hostile regions and identify and rectify internet communications with their home office in Singapore.  In addition, the company was experiencing massive growth due to their success in these regions.  There were many reports and other information critical to the operations of the business that were not reliably being transmitted.  In addition, because of the harsh environment and long periods away from home, it was essential that Internet service be improved to support better communications with employees’ family and friends.  After an initial audit of the system, many different real problems were identified, ranging from poor wiring to oversubscribed VSAT services.

Ignite: What solution did the team implement?

The executive director and CIO partnered with Insyndia to implement a multi-phased plan to improve communications.  With limited satellite bandwidth identified as a primary issue, Insyndia implemented many approaches to improve the service.  The first was to move the Internet closer to the end user, which was accomplished by deploying proxy cache boxes that allowed many components from commonly visited sites to be stored locally so they don’t need to be downloaded over the VSAT multiple times.  In addition, a number of their VSAT connections were oversubscribed, so Insyndia investigated tier 1 providers and helped establish a direct connection, removing many layers between the satellite and the ground.  Lastly, the network was being abused from a security standpoint with many different types of attacks both internal and external.  Insyndia worked with SonicWALL to implement firewall and security management appliances at over 20 sites.

Inspire: What were the results and benefits of the implementation?

Using a steady and multipronged approach, Internet service in country has drastically improved, allowing for much better communication and control of critical data.  This has led to a quicker response time to respond to an ever-changing situation and better overall Internet experience.  Insyndia is continuing to help our partner improve their communications both in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Bottom Line: Why did the effort matter?

• Improved Communications in Afghanistan
• Better Security of Critical Data
• Better End User Experience in Country