Ice-breaking ships & ground-breaking technologies

Port of Tallinn | Transport & logistics | Estonia

Sea ports have always been at the forefront of technological progress. Tallinn, the most important port of Estonia and the beating heart of one the world's most advanced digital society, is no different – in part thanks to the networking solution provided by Extreme and partner OIXIO!

Tallinn is one of the fastest flourishing sea ports in Europe, meeting an ever-increasing demand for its services due to its success as a growing hub for cruise ships, ferry passengers, subsea, ice-breaking activities, off-shore construction works, real estate, and – last but definitely not least – cargo transport. As far as both cargo and passenger traffic are taken into account, Tallinn could be considered the biggest port on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

Port of Tallinn in numbers

Port of Tallinn has grown from a traditional infrastructure operator to a modern and multi-faceted development and services enterprise. The state-controlled company has set in motion a 2021-2025 strategy that’s focusing on fulfilling its vision to become the most innovative port in the Baltic Sea region and, as a result, develop the competitiveness of Estonia as a maritime country.

A harbor for innovation

Estonia itself is considered a safe harbor for innovation, having nurtured a cutting-edge high-tech industry for the last two decades. For example, on 29 September 2017, the Tallinn Passenger Port (a.k.a the Old City Harbor) saw the implementation of the first live public 5G network in Europe to connect with Tallink cruise ships at the port.

And the examples don’t stop there. OIXIO, the largest provider of IT infrastructure in Estonia and a partner of Extreme Networks, has accompanied the Port of Tallinn for almost 30 years now. One of the most recent works include the modernization of the Port’s core network.

“There is no room for even the smallest interruptions”

“The volume of the transferred information is growing rapidly, especially given the fact that the core network is also used for video streaming. The number of security cameras is increasing, and so does their image resolution”, says Reimo Salumets, IT Infrastructure Architect at the Port of Tallinn. “All that brings great pressure on the network bandwidth, requiring higher performance from the core network”.

Reimo Salumets has been working at the Port of Tallinn since 1997. Today, he is leading a group of system administrators responsible for maintaining and developing the organization’s entire IT architecture, with two specialists dedicated to running the network.

“Wi-Fi is also evolving at an ever-increasing pace. There is already talk of Wi-Fi 7 which is set to quadruple its current speed, not unlike the devices connected to the wireless networks. Today, 10 Gbps is already the usual connection speed for servers, storage and backup devices. However, 40 Gbps is becoming a common sight, and if anything, the speeds are only increasing”, Salumets adds.

The IT Infrastructure Architect at the Port of Tallinn also admits that due to the organization’s model of operation, the network must work at all times.

“15 years ago no one would bat an eye if everything went down for 5 minutes. A similar situation today would lead to sheer panic. You must be able to count on the network’s availability, everything must be redundant, because in today's world there is no room for even the smallest interruptions”, Reimo Salumets explains. “The IT infrastructure is many times more complex than it used to be, and the people who are familiar with technology are a valuable asset to the company”.

Enhanced network performance, easier maintenance, unwavering reliability

How to achieve better performance and easier network management through more automation, with enhanced security as a cherry on top? That’s easy – you go for the best, market-proven Shortest Path Bridging technology on the market!

“In cooperation with OIXIO, we chose to implement Extreme Fabric Connect enabled switches for the new core network to get the most out of the IEEE 802.1aq. Solutions that support open standards are always a preferred option for us”, Reimo Salumets explains. “We were confident that we could trust this Extreme Networks solution and build a core network based around it. For us, it was the best choice on the Estonian market, and the value provided by the specialists and support services from Võrguvara, the company that would eventually become OIXIO, was equally important”.

You must be able to count on the network’s availability, everything must be redundant, because in today's world there is no room for even the smallest interruptions

Reimo Salumets, IT Infrastructure Architect, Port of Tallinn

Reimo Salumets and the IT team at the Port of Tallinn didn’t need to wait long to see the benefits of implementing the new solution.

“The throughput of our new core network is relatively difficult to estimate, the links between devices are ten times faster than with the previous solution, but because full mesh connections have been used, the increase in core throughput is significantly more than ten times”, says Salumets.

However, an enhanced performance is not the only benefit stemming from the implementation of Extreme Fabric Connect.

“Compared to the previous technologies that we used, the new solution makes our lives much, much easier. The Extreme Networks Fabric solution has an extremely high level of automation, which significantly reduces the administrative resources required to manage and expand the network”, the IT Infrastructure Architect at the Port of Tallinn adds.

Innovations on the horizon

As part of the next stage of modernization, the Port of Tallinn plans to implement all the features of Extreme Fabric Connect to increase the security of their core network.

“I do not see this world becoming any more ideal. If anything, the cybersecurity threats will only become more and more advanced and difficult to detect. Enabling fully secure network access is definitely our main area of focus for this year”, says Reimo Salumets.

The Port of Tallinn is looking to further enhance the network security and operational efficiencies by leveraging a complete suite of applications: ExtremeCloud IQ – Site Engine, ExtremeControl, and ExtremeAnalytics. The first item on the list may be used as an end-to-end network management tool for the entire infrastructure.

We were confident that we could trust this Extreme Networks solution and build a core network based around it

Reimo Salumets, IT Infrastructure Architect, Port of Tallinn

“By leveraging the ExtremeCloud IQ – Site Engine’s ZTP+, or Zero Touch Provisioning Plus functionality, Reimo Salumets and his team will be able to deploy both new fabric and non-fabric switches with even greater ease and confidence”, says Timo Leppiniemi, Manager of Systems Engineering at Extreme Networks. “Typically, when adding a new device to the network, a network administrator connects a console cable to the device to access the local console and manually configure the device. In ExtremeCloud IQ – Site Engine, new devices are automatically discovered on the network the moment they are connected”.

ZTP+-enabled devices send information to ExtremeCloud IQ – Site Engine automatically, including the serial number, the number and speed of the ports, and the firmware version. When a ZTP+-enabled device is connected, you can add it to ExtremeCloud IQ – Site Engine with minimal server configuration, eliminating the risk of human error.

The planned solution will also enable a 360-degree view of the connected devices for better understanding and tracking of the connected devices. Control and role-based policy will be used to automate the services delivery at the edge, in conjunction with the hyper-segmentation provided by Extreme Fabric Connect. If that wasn’t enough, firewall integrations via the Extreme Fabric Connect will enable role based access via the firewalls and automatic quarantine of suspicious connected end-devices.

Unwavering reliability

The Port of Tallinn is using a number of solutions from Extreme Networks in all of its four constituent harbors, as well as on the ferries of the subsidiary company – TS Laevad. Where is such commitment coming from?

“Back in 2011, I needed to build a new core network and the decision was made to switch to Extreme Networks products. Though the life cycle of IT equipment usually spans no longer than five years, the network switches I bought in 2011 still haven’t been turned off. They are still in operation, allowing us to make a smooth transition”, Reimo Salumets sums up.

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About OIXIO

OIXIO is the largest, capital-based IT infrastructure company in Estonia. The company has been on the market since 1991, although the current team and its capabilities were born in 2019, when the teams of two Estonian companies – Võrguvara and MAX123 – merged with a clear vision to become a game-changer in terms of the quality of the IT business services provided on the Estonian market.

Through sincere communication, understanding customers’ needs and following systematic approach, OIXIO has already achieved the highest level of customer satisfaction in the IT field, and strives to develop even further. OIXIO is the Extreme Networks Diamond Partner.