1. Julius Charles Hubbard
Technology Consultant
jchubbardjr@gmail.com
www.slren.org
NETWORK ARCHITETURE PROPOSAL
Sierra Leone Research and Education Network - SLREN
SLREN 2016 Conference
Njala University, Njala Campus, 28-29 July 2016

2. The Objective
 Working together for sustainable national development
 Critical for building a network-literate population that will serve as
the foundation for the knowledge based economy in Sierra Leone.
 Provide platform for collaborative research with partners
 Serves as springboard for innovation; education, healthcare, and
governance
 Build a highly reliable, agile, simply and visible networkfor connecting
distributed SLREN members and partners.
 Managed Secure MPLS backbone with restricted Internet access

3. • MultiProtocol Label Switching over Fibre optic cable system linking
members and partners.
• MPLS enables enterprises and service providers to build next-
generation, intelligent networks.
• Deliver a wide variety of advanced, value-added services over a single
infrastructure.
• MPLS is perfect for the demanding new requirements of cloud
computing, ensuring it continued success in the enterprise.
“(Indeed) the need for cloud applications, including VPN to communicate effectively over the WAN will become
increasingly critical in network selection, a fact that plays to the strengths of MPLS VPNs.”
Secure MPLS Backbone
3

4. MPLS Architecture Diagram
Shared resources experience regardless
of location on the WAN
Reduction in time to deploy new technologies
Ubiquity of carrier-provided MPLS networks makes it a required consideration for an organization building a WAN.
Control operational costs; convergence of
services onto a single, centrally managed
infrastructure
Provide sufficient performance and reliability.

5. MPLS Network Design
5

6. WAN Optimization
6

7.  SLREN shall provide the following services:
 Fiber optic connectivity linked to WACREN
 Bandwidth Supply & Management
 Network Management
 Backbone Transmission
 Middleware & Information Security
 Border Gateway
 Protocol (PGP)Peering
 Multi-media / Video Conferencing
 Capacity Building
SLREN Services

8. Who stands to benefit
 There are several higher education institutions and independent
research institutes in Sierra Leone involved in undertaking research.
 Notable among these major centres of research;
 Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI)
 Rokupr Agricultural Research Centre (RARC)
 Njala University
 Fourah Bay College
 Institute of Marine Biology and Oceanography
 Geological Survey Division
 Institute of African Studies
 The government and people of Sierra Leone
8

9. Campus Network
MPLS
NETWORK
Public / Private
Education Campus

10. Campus Network Challenges
 Many are not structured properly and can’t
effectively utilize high bandwidth connections
 Many make heavy use of NAT and firewalls
that limit performance
 Many are built with unmanaged network
equipment that provide no ability for
monitoring or tuning the network
 Many don’t run any network monitoring
10

11. Campus Network Rules
 All users are connected at the campus
network level
 Minimize number of network devices in any
path
 Use standard solutions for common situations
 Build Separate Core and Edge Networks
 Provide services near the core
 Separate border routers from core
 Provide opportunities to firewall and shape
network traffic 11

12. SLREN Implementation Plan
Project Deliverables 2016 2017
No Qrt1
1
Qrt
2
Qrt
3
Qrt
4
Qrt
1
Qrt
2
Qrt
3
Qrt
4
1
Get commitment and buy-in-at government &
institutional level
x
2 Building a membership base x
3
Create a governance structure - ownership,
board, legal framework.
x
4
Establish a secretariat - the operation, with
premises, staff, equipment
x x
5 Produce a business plan - funding, fees, x x
6
Design and acquire network backbone
infrastructure
x x
7 Addressing last mile connectivity needs. x x x
8
Engaging stakeholders - awareness raising and
training in competencies.
x x
9 Develop core services x x
10 Establish connectivity to regional & global RENs x x

13. END GAME
SLREN VISION:
To develop and leverage high
quality information &
telecommunications infrastructure
and services for the Sierra Leone
research and higher education
community for national
development