NETCOM-ESTA Wireless
Solutions/Offerings
This section identifies the solutions offerings and descriptions for services available through this contract.
- Wireless System Requirements Analysis and Concept of Operations
- Wireless Design Specification
- Wireless Lan Surveys
- Wireless Enterprise Architecture and Legacy Network Integration
- Modeling Wireless Computer Networks
- Wireless Security Assessment and Implementation
- Wireless Systems Deployment, Configuration, and Tuning
- Wireless Vulnerability Assessment
- Secure Wireless Deployment (both FIPS 140 and Type-1)
- Wireless Monitoring and Network Performance Management
- Wireless Spectrum Management
- Wireless IP Telephony including Voice Over IP (VoIP)
- Video Conferencing over Wireless IP Integration
- Extend Existing Wired Architecture to Wireless
- Extend Existing Wired Architecture to wired Architecture Using Wireless Transport
- Wireless Enterprise Architecture and Legacy Network Integration
- Wireless Security Assessment and Implementation
Wireless System Requirements Analysis and Concept of Operations
Northrop Grumman IT shall assist in providing engineering services to analyze and document functional and operational customer enterprise-, system-, or project-level requirements. Northrop Grumman IT will assist in the development of Concept of Operations (CONOPS) documentation with a focus on the analysis and documentation of the users wireless system performance and functional requirements. Modern object-oriented and systems engineering analysis tools and processes will be used to develop the user requirements documentation. Northrop Grumman IT will collect and analyze the requirements of the target Government wireless or enterprise system. The requirements analysis process will be applied to the specific customer needs and will be used to define the appropriate design concepts necessary to meet the customer’s operational scenarios. Northrop Grumman IT will assist in the analysis of personnel, engineering expertise, and customer domain experts to develop and refine a comprehensive operation requirement analysis model. Specific tasks to be performed include:
- Identify stakeholder needs in the areas of wireless operations, technology, services, products, and required interfaces
- Collect appropriate user wireless functional and performance requirements
- Document operational concepts to meet identified user requirements
- Document functional and performance requirements
- Allocate requirements to user operational scenarios
- Assist the appropriate customer documentation (Operational Concepts Documentation, Requirements Analysis Model, and Requirements Specification)
Back to TopNorthrop Grumman IT shall assist in the development of a High-level System Design Specification for the specific Government wireless system infrastructure components necessary to meet the Government customer wireless system requirements. Northrop Grumman IT will fuse requirements collected through system analysis processes or as delivered to Northrop Grumman IT from the customer existing requirements documentation. Northrop Grumman IT shall assist in the development of the performance specifications and network architecture and identify design standards to be included in the baseline specification documents. Northrop Grumman IT will assist in the Design Concept Specification that will include high-level concept diagrams, network diagrams, description of general implementation concepts, specification of trade space of applicable technologies, and specification of equipment and standards necessary to meet the operational needs of the customer. Specific assistance to be provided include:
- Develop design concept architecture and implementation drawings
- Develop network topology and implementation diagrams
- Develop network traffic analysis and planning specifications
- Develop and specify network security components, processes, and procedures
- Identify appropriate technology and vendor specifications including trade studies and rationale for architecture and implementation recommendations
- Identify appropriate industry standards and rationale for standards implementation
- Identify and document specific system performance requirements met by the system architecture and implementation
- Assist the appropriate customer documentation (Wireless System Design Specification)
To establish the feasibility of any wireless LAN (WLAN) or radio frequency (RF) project, Northrop Grumman IT offers two types of surveys–a WLAN or WAN survey. A WLAN survey takes into account the radius around one or more Access Points and the structural components of the facility to determine coverage. A WAN survey involves verifying a clear line of site between points, consulting topographical maps, and global positioning systems to pinpoint locations and to evaluate needs relating to mounting equipment and towers. A number of documents are generated from this survey including a Bill of Materials, requirements for tower and antenna siting, and a plan to implement.
Wireless Enterprise Architecture and Legacy Network Integration
For customers intending to provide mobile services for existing operational enterprise networks Northrop Grumman IT shall assist the customer in the development of a high-level wireless enterprise architecture. Northrop Grumman IT shall use our extensive experience in management and implementation of large-scale government telecommunications architectures to properly identify the architectural elements necessary to extend the customers enterprise to mobile and wireless devices and wireless backbone infrastructure elements. Northrop Grumman IT will apply existing experience in information technology and communications [land mobile radio, VSAT, WLAN, 3rd Generation (3G), and next generation (4G)] technologies to outline and document appropriate wireless enterprise architectures according to the customers desired mobile requirements. Northrop Grumman IT will assist in all tasks necessary for the strategic planning and design for a secure mobile communications enterprise architecture. The output of this effort is intended to assist the customer framework needed to document customer stakeholder requirements.
- Identify supporting enterprise requirements and operational plans
- Identify and document the existing network baseline
- Identify specific uses of VSAT and terrestrial technologies within enterprise architecture
- Identify solutions for interfaces with legacy network, communications, and application components
- Analyze the existing network application and traffic
- Develop and document the High-Level Enterprise Architecture drawings and concepts
- Specify candidate wireless technologies
- Specify traffic, security, and enterprise application architecture elements
- Develop business case and cost analysis for enterprise architecture
Modeling Wireless Computer Networks
Using Northrop Grumman IT-developed interfaces among proven, well-respected industry tools, our engineers use a unique integrated tool suite to develop optimum wireless enterprise architectures. We are proficient in using:
- Popkin’s System Architect our core architecture instrument
- OPNET’s Modeler, which, provides modeling and simulation support for both wired and numerous types of wireless networks
- DOORS and Requisite Pro, which, are used for complete requirements traceability
- Rational Rose, which, is used to facilitate application development by developing class and use case Unified Modeling Language and code
We collectively call this capability ENSITESM. Our ENSITESM suite facilitates timely development of enterprise architectures. We perform integration of requirements, processes, data, applications, and system and networking components. Benefits to the Government customer include:
- Reduced total cost of ownership
- Management of technical investment
- Technical foundation for wireless IT strategy
- A plan from which products can be procured
- Identified information needs, solutions, and standards
- The most effective, efficient wireless systems possible
Wireless Security Assessment and Implementation
Northrop Grumman IT shall accomplish for the appropriate agency a wireless security implementation plan that ensures use of all wireless devices within the customer infrastructure are properly secure and protected according to industry, DoD, and security standards. Northrop Grumman IT will identify and mitigate the risks associated with wireless networks including assuring proper authentication, authorization, and auditing (AAA) of users. The business focused approach reviews the underlying requirement for wireless networks, the policies and procedures established in support of the technology, and the technical vulnerabilities present in the deployment. The wireless security assessment service includes:
- Review of the wireless deployment strategy, policies, and procedures
- Review of the wireless network architecture, configurations, and standards
- Review of the wireless deployment strategy, policies, and procedures
- Identification of both signal leakage and deployment of unauthorized access points in the enterprise
- Penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in the WLAN architecture, access points, and wireless LAN clients
- Risk-level classification and impact analysis of deploying WLAN technology and development of what-if scenarios to assess the impact of a compromise
- Documentation with recommendations to mitigate risks associated with deployed WLAN infrastructure
Wireless Systems Deployment, Configuration, and Tuning
Northrop Grumman IT engineers will assist the Government with wireless system deployment by:
- Creating the test plan for your wireless network
- Providing support during test execution
- Generating and delivering a design validation report that includes recommendations for an approach and change edited test document(s); and observations regarding test results
Northrop Grumman IT will provide on-site WLAN experts who are familiar with the planning and design of a wireless solution to help ensure that our validation process verifies that the design can be implemented in the production environment. Our Project Manager provides a single point of contact for WLAN design issues that may arise during the project. This ensues the use of Northrop Grumman IT's best practices and expertise.
The WLAN Implementation Plan Review assists your team with WLAN’s configuration by:
- Review of new hardware deployment plan
- Review of configuration templates for network components
- Integration in routing infrastructure
- Review of test plan for initial turn-up
- Access point specific templates—security, RF, SSID, etc
- Templates for other network device types
- Generation and delivery of an Implementation Review Report with recommended changes to overall deployment plan and specific configuration templates
This process minimizes deployment time and service disruptions and streamlines deployment processes so that unnecessary bottlenecks are eliminated, thus improving productivity. More importantly, it reduces configuration errors significantly.
The Northrop Grumman IT Team will support tuning of your WLAN's ongoing network performance and optimization requirements by making available to you the following activities and capabilities both during implementation and following implementation:
- Quarterly solution-level meeting to review a written report delivered to your staff
- High level operational assessment report detailing:
- Recommendations for tuning product configuration
- Recommendations for proper test procedures
- Recommendations for changes in scripts, command changes in wireless and wired devices, quality of service adjustments, and assessment of changing requirements that necessitate shifting staff skill sets
- Recommendations for new standards and protocols
- Recommendations concerning nonstandard platforms
- Ongoing consultative support throughout the contract period made available to:
- Report on network alerts
- Discuss design changes
- Prepare for the quarterly solution-level review
These actions help you lower total cost of ownership by preventing technical issues through proactive support focused on keeping the WLAN running at optimal capacity. This simplifies network expansion and optimization by providing ongoing network configuration updates and recommendations ensures optimal expansion planning through proactive design consulting and application technology expertise, provides faster network evolution through proactive operational consulting that identifies new capabilities in provisioning and network management and offers lower operational costs and less business interruption by helping you identify how to respond to performance degrading events and resolve issues faster.
A complete solution is provided including hardware, data, poles and antenna, and fallback systems. The design will fully describe what components and configurations are necessary to satisfy the requirements. Through the design process, a design specification that highlights the chosen design elements and provides a diagram indicating the placement of access points within the facility will be produced. In larger implementations, it may take weeks or months to fully define enough technical detail to accurately specify a solution. These larger projects will usually involve modeling, simulation, prototyping, or pilot testing as part of the design to ensure that the right choices have been made and the requirements are fully realizable.
Wireless Vulnerability Assessment
WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 are increasingly working their way into enterprise networks. Road warriors are taking advantage of wireless "hot spots" at airports and hotels. Teleworkers are dropping wireless gateways behind DSL and cable modems at home. Once employees get hooked on the convenience of high-speed wireless, they become advocates for WLAN access back at the office.
Studies by Gartner Group and INT Media Research speculate that "rogue access points" have already infiltrated one in five enterprises. The Government is not immune from this phenomenon. Northrop Grumman IT is experienced in providing vulnerability assessments for our Government customers. We can find these rogue access points and significantly improve security of your networks. We can additionally provide proven, approved solutions that will still meet the customer’s requirements in a safe effective manner.
Left unchecked, unauthorized WLANs can rip gaping holes in your network's security perimeter. Non-authorized visitors and neighbors can join your network by associating with these rogue, unconfigured access points. Opportunistic stations may "borrow" high-bandwidth access to the public Internet. Hackers could infiltrate your network, spy on your activities, or use your unauthorized wireless access points as a springboard to spam or attack you or others.
Secure Wireless Deployment (both FIPS 140 and Type-1)
For many agencies, WLANs are becoming a key component of their IT infrastructure. WLANs have moved into mainstream use by providing greater efficiency and accuracy to users of mission-critical applications. As the user base grows and mobile applications become increasingly mission critical, the need for effective security and management of these networks becomes a top priority. Yet for all of their benefits, wireless networks introduce significant risks and challenges to IT management. WLAN technology uses a notoriously weak encryption scheme inappropriately called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). On a busy network, WEP can be cracked in a matter of hours.
Wireless vendors have responded with more advanced solutions such as Microsoft's 802.1x/EAP and Cisco's Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP). For sensitive but unclassified LANS, Northrop Grumman IT provides FIPS 140-compliant solutions that protect the WLAN. These technologies are a crucial part of any secure wireless deployment; they provide only part of the required security infrastructure. In cases where classified data will be carried over the WLAN, we must use a Type-1 NSA-approved encryption device.
Wireless Monitoring and Network Performance Management
Northrop Grumman IT is focused on enabling deployment of 802.11-based WLANs by Government agencies. As 802.11x WLAN technology gains popularity because of its low cost and productivity benefits, information technology managers charged with installing 802.11 wireless systems are concerned about how to monitor wireless network activity and how to secure the existing 'wired' network from unauthorized access via the wireless network.
Using numerous commercial off-the-shelf tools, the Northrop Grumman IT Team brings security to WLANs by providing real-time monitoring of wireless networks that shows all wireless device activity. These products can detect attempts at unauthorized access, automatically block intrusions, send alerts to the network administrator, and record information about the intrusion. Wireless network operational data is also collected and can be used to evaluate many aspects of wireless network performance.
Northrop Grumman IT shall assist in wireless spectrum consulting services for Government customers, intended to support the allocation, application, and negotiation of the appropriate necessary RF spectrum for the appropriate project implementations. Northrop Grumman IT will gather the appropriate technology spectrum options and tradeoffs and assist the customer in selection of the appropriate DOD, civil, and commercial spectrum necessary to meeting customer wireless implementation requirements. Northrop Grumman IT will assist the Government customer in interfaces to organizations responsible for spectrum management including DoD location and facility spectrum managers, National Telecommunications Information Association (NTIA), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Wireless IP Telephony including Voice Over IP (VoIP)
IP is fast becoming the universal transport for all voice, data, and video communications worldwide. IP telephony is the two-way transmission of toll-quality voice communications over a packet-switched IP network (TCP/IP Network). In a private intranet or a WAN environment, it is generally known as voice over IP or VoIP. IP wireless telephones enable users to use a full-function portable telephone in areas such as medical and other locations where the use of a mobile telephone is desirable, yet banned on safety grounds.
Because a wireless IP telephone operates under IEEE 802.11, the wireless LAN standard, they can be used in any WLAN cell generated by any IEEE 802.11-compliant access point with an attached voice protocol converter. One of the many benefits of using wireless IP telephones is the cost of the wireless access point is then shared between the datacomms and telecom applications.
Northrop Grumman IT can add voice to a wireless Ethernet link with the addition of a VoIP gateway. Typically used where data and voice is required in a remote building or buildings and a wireless data link is installed between buildings. By installing an IP gateway connected to the telephone PBX switch and to the LAN, an additional VoIP unit is installed onto the LAN of the remote areas and provides connectivity for POTS telephones. Typical units are supplied as a 2-port, 4-port, and 8-port and these may be stacked.
Video Conferencing over Wireless IP Integration
Video conferencing is more than just video. Today's video conferencing systems include the delivery of video, audio, and information sharing capabilities in a two-way meeting environment. The use of video conferencing as an integral part of business communications has increased dramatically in recent years.
Northrop Grumman IT provides wireless capabilities that allow for flexible system design. If you utilize 802.11 wireless video conferencing, you get native mobility for taking video throughout the workplace without needing dedicated ISDN or LAN connections. One minute a system can be deployed in a conference room, and a few moments later in a lab or even field location for creating a videoconference room without requiring ISDN or LAN jacks installed in each location. The 802.11 group of standards is rapidly gaining acceptance and is only being offered in newly introduced video conferencing systems.
Extend Existing Wired Architecture to Wireless
Network Expansion - Putting wireless into buildings that remain unwired, increases the reach and capacity of existing wired networks. Northrop Grumman IT will provide the expertise to accomplish wireless expansion of current wired architecture into previously unwired locations by providing a site survey and by developing a configuration and deployment plan while ensuring that security is maintained.
Extend Existing Wired Architecture to wired Architecture Using Wireless Transport
A wireless link can be added to virtually any Ethernet network where a remote network workgroup exists and there is no feasible way of providing a wired connection to the Ethernet backbone between two or more buildings. This type of transport is typically used where voice, video, and data is required in a remote building or buildings and a wireless data link is the only way for the network to be installed between buildings.
Wireless Enterprise Architecture and Legacy Network Integration
For customers intending to provide mobile services for existing operational enterprise networks Northrop Grumman IT shall assist the customer in the development of high-level wireless enterprise architecture. TASC shall use our extensive experience in management and implementation of large-scale government telecommunications architectures to properly identify the architectural elements necessary to extend the customers enterprise to mobile and wireless devices and wireless backbone infrastructure elements. TASC will apply existing experience in information technology, communications [land mobile radio, VSAT, WLAN, 3rd Generation (3G), and next generation (4G)] technologies to outline and document appropriate wireless enterprise architectures according to the customers desired mobile requirements. TASC will assist in all tasks necessary for the strategic planning and design for secure mobile communications enterprise architecture. The output of this effort is intended to assist the customer framework needed to document customer stakeholder requirements.
- Identify supporting enterprise requirements and operational plans
- Identify and document the existing network baseline
- Identify specific uses of VSAT and terrestrial technologies within enterprise architecture
- Identify solutions for interfaces with legacy network, communications, and application components
- Analyze existing network application, traffic
- Develop and document High-Level Enterprise Architecture drawings and concepts
- Specify candidate wireless technologies
- Specify traffic, security, and enterprise application architecture elements
- Develop wireless business case and cost analysis for enterprise architecture.
Wireless Security Assessment and Implementation
Northrop Grumman IT shall accomplish for the appropriate agency a wireless security implementation plan that will assure that use of all wireless devices within the customer infrastructure are properly secure and protected according to industry, DoD, and security standards. TASC will identify and mitigate the risks associated with wireless networks, including assuring proper AAA of users. The business-focused approach reviews the underlying requirement for wireless networks, the policies and procedures established in support of the technology, and the technical vulnerabilities present in the deployment. The wireless security assessment service includes:
- Review of the wireless deployment strategy, policies, and procedures
- Review of the wireless network architecture, configurations, and standards
- Review of the wireless deployment strategy, policies, and procedures
- Identification of both signal leakage and deployment of unauthorized access points in the enterprise
- Penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in the WLAN architecture, access points, and wireless LAN clients
- Risk-level classification and impact analysis of deploying WLAN technology and development of what-if scenarios to assess the impact of a compromise
- Documentation with recommendations to mitigate risks associated with deployed WLAN infrastructure.