Data Certainty to the Edge

Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E) embarked on a substantial upgrade to their field area network. The multi-year, $100 million USD project was challenged by significant data lapses. The project team was unable to diagnose and resolve the root causes in the field, putting in jeopardy the entire project. Conxx Engineering by Komodo Systems were contracted to identify and resolve the edge data lapses saving BG&E thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Electrical Towers

Conxx Engineering brings decades of network monitoring, issue triaging, and problem resolution, along with GridObserver®, a purpose built tool for complex network monitoring and management. Actionable intelligence is provided through operational predictability and real event correlation to identify where anomalies happen and to provide a precise location and layer in the OSI stack. Conxx Engineering fully maps the network in hours with automation capabilities of key networking tasks, i.e., configuration of critical and complex network elements such as MPLS Routers and IPSec Tunnels.

Case Study: Baltimore Gas & Electric

Size: 3,100 Employees

Location: Baltimore, MD

Industry: Electric and Natural Gas Utility

Customers: 1.2 Million Electric Customers; 650,000 Gas Customers

Challenges

  • Significant lapses in data collection on the Field Area Network (FAN) prevented acceptable network performance measures.
  • Finger pointing between the project team, vendors and BGE.
  • Neither the vendor nor BGE had sufficient information to identify the source of the problems.
  • Troubleshooting options were severely limited due to the 900MHz SCADA backhaul.

Solution

  • GridObserver network modeling platform was installed.
  • The platform monitors network elements and the network system, including relationships between all devices of different manufacturers.
  • Conxx Engineering evaluated both the physical and virtual relationships within the network model to identify anomalies within those network relationships.
  • Aggregated all monitored data in a single platform

Results

  • Problem identified and an automated remediation solution configured.
  • Data certainty achieved with each of the 80,000+ elements at the edge of the network.
  • Project was turned from near failure to resounding success.
  • Reduced truck rolls due to automated problem resolution feature.

Discussion

Equipment at the bitter edge of a network is a challenge to monitor. Frequently, there is insufficient bandwidth to monitor through the normal processes allowed by pinging or SNMP. Yet, the applications at the edge of the network are critical to day-to-day services.

The BGE Field Area Network (FAN) consists of over 80,000 endpoints. Traditional network design, combined with hardware and bandwidth limitations, causes typical monitoring systems and techniques to be insufficient to triage the significant problems of sporadic data collection.

GridObserver (GO) solved this problem by modeling the entire FAN. The model showed exactly which conversations were failing and identified the source of the issue.

In the BGE network, GO simultaneously listens to tens of thousands of conversations in a ‘crowded room’. Through network modeling the platform determines when a single conversation ceases, and which side has ceased to communicate.

Additionally, each conversation has a different pattern. GridObserver embedded AIOps evaluates both volume and changes in conversation patterns, identifying anomalies that may be occurring in each instance.

GridObserver not only identifies issues but can be configured to automatically correct communication problems with equipment at the bitter edge. This Automated Problem Remediation allowed BGE to minimize truck rolls and significantly increase the reliability of the FAN network.

GridObserver is the superior AIOps platform with comprehensive NMS capabilities adding value to any critical network. Industry leading network modeling capabilities combined with automation and actionable intelligence deliver unmatched value and measurable Return on Investment.

Interested? Contact us today to get the conversation started.

Komodo Systems has developed advanced AIOps, network and airspace management and monitoring systems to address the complex needs of utilities, carriers, oil and gas, government, and other critical infrastructure networks to provide the greatest visibility into the network health from core to edge. Komodo also provides comprehensive professional services for systems implementation and network engineering and ongoing support. Komodo is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and maintains a regional office in Cumberland, Maryland.