HPE JC100A Quick Start Guide

Case Study

Achieving 100% network

Objective

Refresh and simplify the Rabobank
branch oice network serving 600 bank
locations with minimal impact on network
availability, and in a way that lowers the
bank’s total cost of ownership for the
network

Approach

Engaged HPE TS Consulting to create an
HPE Networking open-standards-based
access layer solution that is interoperable
with Rabobank’s existing Cisco MPLS
core infrastructure

IT Matters

• Upgraded Rabobank’s branch oice
network design to support a multi­vendor infrastructure compatible with
Rabobank’s existing core infrastructure

• Helped Rabobank achieve a future­proof network infrastructure—including
interoperability—through open
standards

• Enabled Rabobank’s IT team to use
existing tools to centrally manage the
branch oice network

• Prepared Rabobank to implement
network virtualization at the branch
oice level

Business Matters

• Created an infrastructure that provides
more network services at the branch
level to support the use of cloud-based
applications, and to ensure a high level
of security

• Completed network migration of 600
oices in six months, and with minimal
downtime

• Lowered total cost of ownership by
using open-standards-based HPE
technology

• Reduced overall network power
consumption and carbon footprint

interoperability

Rabobank Nederland chooses HPE
Networking and cuts TCO in half

Rabobank is a Netherlands­based cooperative bank with
over 10 million customers
and 50,000 employees.
HPE Technology Services
Consulting worked with
Rabobank to implement a
network solution that cut
Rabobank’s TCO in half.

Goal: Refresh the branch
oice network; lower TCO

Rabobank is one of the three largest banks
in the Netherlands. With more branch
oice locations and ATMs than any of its
competitors, the bank is able to fulfill its
mission to be “Close to the Customer.” Three
years ago, the bank decided to update the
Cisco network that provides LAN and WiFi,
building automation, security solutions,
and PCI solutions support for payment
devices to its distributed branch oices. The
bank wanted the network migration to be
completed within half a year with minimal
impact on network availability. It wanted
to be able to provide more services to its
branch oices. And, in the end, it wanted a
significantly lower total cost of ownership for
the network.

Case study

Rabobank

Industry

Financial Services

“HPE enabled us to extend the security zones from the data center into the

branch oices using our existing Cisco MPLS core infrastructure. Using just
one switch, they were able to deliver MPLS CPE functionality in a single
box.”

— Jim Habernickel, Manager IS CD Distributed Networks, Rabobank Nederland

Page 2

Bringing interoperability and
new skills to a closed system

In designing the new branch oice network,
Rabobank faced two challenges. First, the
bank’s current network design required it to
use only Cisco hardware. Secondly, the bank’s
network engineers were trained and certified
for a Cisco infrastructure and had no specific
knowledge of an Hewlett Packard Enterprise
(HPE) network.

A common concern among all businesses is
the ability to introduce new vendor hardware
into an existing network. Rabobank wanted
its network core to remain with Cisco and
to build the access layer with HPE. To
address these concerns, HPE Technology
Services (TS) Consulting first assumed all
responsibility for delivering the solution
Rabobank was looking for. It then conducted
extensive stress testing, development
and, eventually, installation of the HPE
5800 Top of Rack Switch Series capable of
interoperating within the Cisco MPLS core.
Successful interoperability enabled Rabobank
to simplify its infrastructure by using a single
HPE 5800 series switch to enable end-to­end connectivity. It could now progress to
the HPE “branch-in-a-box” design, unlocking
considerably lower TCO overall.

In short, HPE TS Consulting reduced risk for
customers who are taking the very delicate
step of changing vendors and moving out of
their technology and technical comfort zone.

“We were very impressed with how responsive
the HPE TS Consulting team was, and how
capable they were of delivering an enterprise­level solution to our interoperability concern,”
says Jim Habernickel, Rabobank’s manager
for IS CD Distributed Networks. “Thanks
to the support we got from the Consulting
Services team, we were able to achieve 100%
interoperability with the existing Cisco core
infrastructure.”

Lower CapEx, OpEx

Rabobank’s decision to include HPE
Networking as its second vendor paid
o. First, because the new infrastructure
eliminated the need for separate branch
routers and switches, Rabobank was able
to lower its capital expenses. Secondly, with
its systems engineers now managing a less
complex, easier-to-maintain network made
up of fewer components, Rabobank saves on
operating expenses as well—while increasing
customer satisfaction.

Within Rabobank’s six-month time frame, the
access layer at all 600 branch locations was
replaced (at the rate of about four oices per
evening) with very little impact on network
connectivity. The HPE Networking branch
solution now provides Rabobank with a
stable infrastructure capable of delivering
more bandwidth, virtually zero downtime,
and security solutions able to defeat even the
most sophisticated intrusion attempts.