Connect Channel
Multi-site office network transformation: design, rollout, connectivity, security, media storage and post-production setup
- Client
- Connect Channel
- Location
- South Africa · multi-site
- Period
- Jul 2016 – Sep 2016
The brief
The brief went far beyond replicating the previous work environment. Connect Channel needed a more robust network and a significant increase in read and write speeds to and from every server, across multiple sites, without interrupting production schedules.
The constraints
- The outgoing environment could not sustain concurrent high-bitrate media traffic, so editing and transfer work contended for the same capacity.
- Multiple offices had to behave as one network, with predictable connectivity between them rather than isolated islands.
- Read and write performance to shared servers was the limiting factor on production throughput.
- Cutover had to happen around live broadcast and production commitments.
How we approached it
Design before hardware
We sized the network for sustained concurrent media streams instead of headline link speeds, then specified switching, cabling and storage against that load profile.
One network, many sites
Site-to-site connectivity and consistent addressing, routing and segmentation so staff moved between offices without changing how they worked.
Storage that keeps up
Shared media storage with project-level access, tiering for active versus completed work, and throughput tested under real editing load.
Security built in, not bolted on
Segmented media, office and guest traffic, perimeter controls and access policies applied as part of the build rather than afterwards.
Post-production setup and support
Edit suites commissioned, workflows validated end to end, and onsite technical support through the first production cycles.
Scope delivered
- Multi-site network design and documentation
- Structured cabling and core switching
- Inter-site connectivity and failover
- Firewalling, segmentation and access control
- Shared media storage and archive tiering
- Post-production suite setup
- Commissioning, handover and ongoing support
Outcome
- Substantially faster read and write performance to and from servers under concurrent load.
- A single, robust network across sites instead of separately managed offices.
- Editing and transfer traffic no longer competing for the same capacity.
- A documented environment the team could operate, extend and support.
Bring us the next one.
Tell us the environment, the constraint and the deadline. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right team for it.