Hello! I’m Cezar, part of the team that supports Luton Council’s network infrastructure.
Outside work, I enjoy spending time with my family, travelling and attempting to fix my bike… which somehow never actually gets fixed. I try not to take work home with me, although it’s not unusual to stumble across network cables in my spare room while I’m labbing yet another project idea.
Looking back
The team has been as busy as ever recently.
Over the last few weeks we have continued delivering our WiFi replacement project. One thing I didn’t expect was how heavy some of these new WiFi 7 access points would be. I always assumed the protocol was heavier because of all the extra throughputs. It turns out the hardware is as well! 😊
Jokes aside, the upgrade is already making a difference. Users should see faster, more reliable wireless connectivity, with performance getting closer than ever to a wired connection. We have also been able to extend GovWifi to additional council sites, making it easier for visitors and staff to connect securely. Read more about GovWifi.
The team has also been replacing network switches at several locations, including Kingsway Depot. It was great hearing positive feedback from depot colleagues at the recent staff conference. It’s easy to get caught up in cables, configurations and change windows, but hearing how reliable connectivity helps people do their jobs is always rewarding.
On my side, I’ve been continuing work on our NAC project, which will give us greater visibility and control over devices connecting to the network and help strengthen security across our sites.
It’s all good
We have been receiving some encouraging feedback from users where the new equipment has been installed.
The updated wired and wireless design is delivering@
- better coverage
- fewer connection drops
- a more consistent experience overall
Our monitoring tools are also showing improved network performance, helping staff get to the systems they need with fewer interruptions.
We have also invested in a new network monitoring platform which will soon go live. This will:
- give us much better visibility across the network
- help automate certain tasks
- make troubleshooting issues much quicker
At the same time, we are continuing discussions with our technology partners about the future of our network infrastructure. We’ve completed several proof-of-concept exercises to help us understand what’s possible and make informed decisions about where we go next.
It’s complicated
One of the biggest challenges in technology is balancing usability, security and complexity.
There are always multiple ways to deliver a solution, and it’s easy to focus on the technical side while forgetting the people who’ll actually be using it. That’s why feedback from colleagues and other teams is so important.
The goal is always the same: deliver something that’s secure, reliable and straightforward to use. Security and data protection have never been more important, but neither should they become barriers to getting work done.
If there’s one process I keep coming back to, it is this:
- document everything
- listen to feedback
- keep things as simple as possible
Looking forward
Next week, we are aiming to migrate the corporate WiFi service onto our new NAC platform. This will create a solid baseline for the next phase of the project.
We have also received the equipment needed to build a pilot site for our future backbone network. Once that’s in place, we’ll be in a much better position to assess our options and plan the next stages of our network refresh.
As always, plenty to do, but it’s exciting to see these projects starting to come together.
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