<img src="https://secure.leadforensics.com/97241.png" style="display:none;">

 Multi-Site Network Visibility Across Four NHS Hospitals 

 

Summary

 The NHS Midlands Region, which operates four hospital sites, successfully deployed Network Critical’s SmartNA-PortPlus™ Network Packet Brokers (NPBs) to address critical infrastructure challenges. These challenges included fragmented visibility of “east-west” traffic and the overloading of existing security tools. The PortPlus established a centralised, intelligent “visibility layer” across all four sites, allowing the network team to aggregate, filter, and load balance high-density traffic. This solution not only optimised the performance of their current security hardware but also provided a future-proof path for network speeds up to 100G. 

The Challenge,

 The region faced three main infrastructure hurdles: Visibility Gaps: Network teams could not effectively monitor “east-west” traffic between the four sites, leading to potential security vulnerabilities. Tool Overload: Existing monitoring and security tools (Firewalls, IDS, DLP) were becoming overwhelmed. Scalability: The requirement for a future-proof solution capable of handling evolving speeds (1G/10G/25G to 100G) without needing a “forklift upgrade.”

The Solution

The deployment of the SmartNA-PortPlus NPB established a centralised visibility layer that enabled the network team to aggregate, filter, and distribute traffic intelligently.

Key technical capabilities deployed included: Aggregation: Consolidating traffic from multiple segments into a single stream for monitoring. Advanced Filtering: Using “Smart” features to send only relevant data to specific tools, optimising their performance. Load Balancing: Distributing traffic to ensure no single security tool became a bottleneck or single point of failure.

 

The Results

 The deployment of the SmartNA-PortPlus provided the following benefits: Enhanced Security: Closed “east-west” traffic visibility gaps, reducing potential security vulnerabilities across the four sites. Optimised Tool Usage: Extended the lifespan and effectiveness of existing monitoring and security tools by providing them with only the relevant, filtered data they need. Future-Proof Scalability: Provided a platform ready to handle growth to 100G speeds without requiring a costly and disruptive infrastructure overhaul. Centralised Control: Established a single, intelligent layer for complete visibility and management of the multi-site network traffic.

About Network Critical

Network Critical is an industry leader in network access technology. Our quality 1/10/25/40/100G modular TAP and Packet Broker solutions ensure that our customers have continuous network visibility. Network Critical products eliminate any concerns of downtime and our unique scale-out capabilities enable simple, cost effective expansion, as network and port density requirements grow.  

On the other hand, the health of your network is always secure with Network Critical products. Our wide range of solutions not only provides 100% network visibility without packet loss. But in addition, it protects network infrastructures with the latest generation Zero Trust technology. 

With over 20 years experience, a number of industry “firsts” and a reputation for excellent customer service, Network Critical’s solutions are widely used in global networks in a wide range of industries including finance, telecommunications, government, energy and health care.