Zero to 400: TrialCard Shifts to Work from Home Network in Just Two Weeks

可靠，安全地将远程用户连接到应用程序和服务并不是一项琐碎的任务。在当今世界，新的现实是，企业必须准备支持“从任何地方”模型，或者至少支持越来越多的远程用户。This means, it’s critical that businesses not only architect the network appropriately, such that it assures the quality of experience for IT and takes into account the rollout and management and the end user in terms of application performance, but also that the implementation is second to none.

In this blog, I will detail a use case from a technical perspective for call center agents – specifically, businesses with agents that utilize zero clients. This scenario is based on Aruba customer试验卡that needed to react quickly and efficiently to support an immediate transition to a remote workforce in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. TrialCard literally extended its SD-WAN deployment to 400+ remote call agents and went live in less than two weeks, without disruption to their business. You are probably familiar with client-based VPNs, as many enterprises have these software solutions in place today. But there are times when these solutions will not fully address the user performance requirements or hardware needs that dictate a physical demarcation point.

Unlike traditional PCs or even thin clients, a zero client contains an extremely limited set of compute and software options. Most do not run a traditional OS, but simply contain firmware programmed to point the client towards a data center server. In a normal branch or call center, the zero clients are connected to a trusted LAN. The call center will likely then have one or more high-speed WAN links for connectivity to the data center. This configuration is straightforward for IT staff to deploy; while maintenance and patching tasks are simplified. However, when the workforce is mandated to decamp traditional office settings and begin working remotely from home offices these former benefits pose a new challenge: How to extend a LAN-like high quality of experience network into employee homes?

SD-WAN provides a possible solution. Using zero-touch provisioning, theAruba EdgeConnectSD-Wan Edge设备可以快速部署到代理商的房屋中。家庭用户只需将其零客户端插入EdgeConnect设备。From the perspective of the zero client, it appears to be connected to the corporate LAN.

EDGECONNECT以业务意图覆盖的形式强制执行软件定义的应用程序路由策略。标准化的QoS策略确保VoIP和VDI流量获得适当的处理，而安全策略则阻止了任何不需要的应用程序。所有这些都允许Aruba的行业领先路径调理能力与统一WAN优化配对。这些组合功能为家庭用户提供了无法轻易匹配的工作的经验。

Indeed, forward-thinking Aruba enterprise customer TrialCard has done exactly this. At the outset of confirmed US cases of the COVID-19 virus this distributed enterprise took proactive steps to protect their call center workforce and business. As a company that takes medical-related phone calls, it was not an option for them to suspend business during this crisis. Nor would poor quality phone calls or slow applications be acceptable.

试验卡IT团队立即开始与供应商联系，并与当地的Aruba帐户团队联系。考虑到紧迫性，Aruba团队可以在测试设备上快速转折吗？值得庆幸的是，本地系统工程师能够在下一个工作日安全地交付测试装备。然后，该客户必须考虑其选择。考虑了传统的VPN客户，但由于上述原因，很快被排除在外。

在漫长的一天结束时，试验卡选择了Aruba Edgeconnect SD-Wan平台。一个关键因素是EdgeConnect的易于部署和proven track record of protecting voice并优化关键业务应用程序。然后，客户能够以分阶段的购买方法快速移动，并在一周内交付的前100个单元。

Aruba能够帮助TrialCard利用其现有的分支机构SD-WAN创建一个外部SD-WAN，能够支持数百名现在从其家中工作的远程呼叫代理。在收集其他必要硬件的过程中，客户利用模板和ZTP配置文件Aruba Orchestratorto complete first phase deployments for agents within seven days.

同样重要的是，现在所有这些新代理商都从家庭办事处部署的是IT员工对每个宽带连接的健康的可见性。乐队提供丰富的内置报告功能，无需额外收费，可以为每个用户的经验质量提供强有力的见解。此外，EDGECONNECT SD-WAN EDGE平台提供了调节克服某些降解实例的路径的能力。

In congested networks, some packet loss is expected. This is often the case with home broadband services. Real-time applications like voice and video are particularly susceptible to packet loss that severely impacts quality. Modern codecs compress VoIP payloads and are extremely intolerant to packet loss. Loss of greater than 0.5 percent of a VoIP UDP stream can cause a noticeable drop in call quality. This loss usually occurs upstream and is out of the control of remote workers.

In less than a calendar week, TrialCard went from placing an order to deploying 300+ agents. Even more incredible, if the hardware shipping times are subtracted this customer brought online an average of 100 EdgeConnect appliances each day. That’s an unprecedented ramp-up “curve.” The goal of this project is to enable as many as 600 agents to work productively from home, enabling TrialCard to deliver uninterrupted service to their customers through this healthcare crises. Going from 0 remote workers to 400 in less than two weeks of work is nothing short of incredible. And the team isn’t finished, it plans to add an additional 200 sites in the coming weeks.

无论您的公司在数字化转型之旅中找到自己的位置，我们都知道连接是基本的。诸如大流行之类的不可预见的事件毫无疑问，您的连接需求必须包括快速启用远程劳动力以保持业务连续性的选项。

更深入

Watch this on-demand webcast要了解如何将远程劳动力安全地连接到数据中心或云中的业务应用程序。

Watch this on-demand webcast要了解TrialCard如何扩展其SD-WAN以支持400多名远程工人，并在两周内居住，同时保持业务生产力和连续性。

This blog was originally published by Silver Peak, which was acquired by Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.