Navy Builds Future Network Environment
The next generation of the U.S. Department of the Navy’s (DON’s) shore-based enterprise network is expected to employ both industry and government best practices. The DON will start with the Navy/Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) as the foundation. As the largest corporate intranet of its kind, the department considers NMCI a strategic asset. However, it plans to increase the security and military command and control through the successor to the NMCI, the Next Generation
The NGEN acquisition process is underway. NGEN stakeholders have been collaborating for the past two years to define requirements, develop concepts of operation, and prepare for the network, operational and work force changes that will drive the transition from the current network of 700,000 users in 360,000 seats to the NGEN environment. One of the key transition planning elements was the decision to use an open-standard information technology services management framework for NGEN. The DON will organize NGEN service responsibilities using the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) version 3 framework.
With the implementation of NGEN, the DON will introduce a consistent set of processes to provide warfighter, business, scientific, educational and administrative information technology capabilities across the fleet and Marine Corps forces. The ITIL framework will drive operations, design, transition and strategic investment decisions.
“NGEN is currently building the transition plan to ensure continuity of operations for the current NMCI environment, develop the DON network operations and systems engineering work force, and create a U.S. Defense Department-managed NGEN ITIL services framework that will coordinate efforts of the military, civilian and contractor team,” Rear Adm. David G. Simpson, USN, says. Adm. Simpson established the NGEN System Program Office (SPO) in November 2008; Rear Adm. John Goodwin, USN, becomes director of the NGEN SPO and assistant chief of naval operations (ACNO) for NGEN this month.
The ITIL framework will serve to align the department’s internal organization and functions so that the transition to NGEN is clearly mapped using ITIL and captured in sufficient detail so industry understands its support role. This framework will provide a standard for NGEN that is consistent across the enterprise. It will bring a tested, rigorous, efficient service delivery model to the government-operated network, Adm. Simpson notes.
Service strategy focuses on identifying opportunities where information technology services are valued as an organizational capability and a strategic asset that can meet internal or external customers’ requirements. Service design involves inventorying the activities and processes necessary to execute a design responsive to the strategy. NGEN released its draft service design specifications document in December 2008, and allowed industry to review and provide comments until early January. Service transition concentrates on implementating service design activities and creating a production service or modification of an existing service. Service operation monitors the activities that are required to operate the services and maintain their functionality as defined in service-level agreements with the customers. Finally, continual service improvement focuses on the ability to deliver continual improvement in enterprise information technology services.
Both the Navy and the Marine Corps will have designated process owners for each of the high-level NGEN processes. The Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) and the Marine Corps Network Operations and Security Center (MCNOSC) will be the NGEN service operations planning leads. These organizations will have command and control responsibilities for shaping the end-to-end provision of network service, working closely with the supporting military, government and contract team.
The NGEN SPO will lead planning for information technology services strategy; the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, the Marine Corps Systems Command and the DON chief information office will lead planning for information technology services design. NGEN and NMCI project managers will lead planning for information technology services transition.
“Naval information technology networks must have exceptionally high levels of agility and flexibility in order to keep pace with evolving mission challenges and emerging threats in cyberspace. Strong central governance is required to ensure that decisions impacting a wide range of DON stakeholders can be made quickly, in response to changes in the network environment,” Adm. Simpson says. “Decentralized execution is critical to achieving our goals.”
In parallel with the development of the DON’s information technology services framework for NGEN, both the Navy and the Marine Corps will continue to aggressively prepare the environment to accomplish NGEN warfighting goals. Reduction of legacy networks has been the primary focus of the NGEN preparation efforts. The Navy has used the Cyber Asset Reduction and Security initiative to consolidate its non-NMCI network environment (NNE), improving the security.
In the past two years, the Navy has succeeded in shutting down or migrating service from about 750 Navy networks. This leaves 470 non-enterprise networks in the Navy, and the CNO’s goal is to eliminate or migrate 200 more by the end of 2009. This initiative will ensure networks are secured behind an approved, centrally managed information assurance/computer network defense suite under the operational command of NETWARCOM. It also will facilitate deployment of Defense Department-mandated security solutions and overall improve the security for the NNE. In addition, these improvements will facilitate automating the process for creating security accreditation documents, will improve the quality of paperwork, and will significantly reduce the time and manpower required to complete the risk assessment and acceptance decision making.
As the Department of the Navy nears completion of network consolidation in 2009, the focus will shift to reduction of applications, servers and data centers. All of the Navy’s public-facing Web sites are in the process of being consolidated to a Defense
In addition to bringing standards to Navy Web sites, this work will reduce operations security indicators. Parallel actions are underway that include technical solutions for Navy portal consolidation. These reductions will help the DON ensure that information technology dollars are invested wisely in services that support mission-critical activities and improve operational readiness, security and interoperability while reducing information technology infrastructure costs, Adm. Simpson notes.
