You’ve grown your organisation. Or your ownership has changed. Or you’re reviewing your IT supplier base. Whatever the reason, you’re thinking about networks. But what type do you need, now and into the future?

Authored by Ali McKeand CTO Office – Chief Technologist, Innovation

What are the common types of networks?

Branch network

Branch networks are used by many organisations that send large volumes of information and data between distributed offices, factories, shops, warehouses and other geographically remote sites.

It supports a range of devices offering different levels of capacity, performance and cost-effectiveness.

Flexibility is the watchword. From compact all-in-one routers to high-capacity switches, branch networks can be customised to align with your unique requirements at each site. WAN connectivity is key, supporting reliable and efficient business connectivity while reducing your expenses.

Branch networks are typically cloud solutions, hosted by the cloud provider, supported by the provider’s cloud services.

Campus network

Campus networks usually serve a specific geographic area, like a university, hospital, government agency or a corporate campus. Designed to handle scale and high performance, campus networks manage thousands of devices.

High density environments demand high capacity and low latency. With a campus network you need advanced switching and routing technologies and high-performance access points to ensure seamless connectivity for bandwidth-intensive applications such as video conferencing, real-time collaboration, and data analytics. Campus networks often integrate sophisticated redundancy and failover mechanisms to maintain uptime and support critical operations.

Campus networks usually run their own computer equipment, local area networks that share data and devices between each other. Services are provided on premise.

What are the main benefits?

Branch networks are generally simpler and quicker to set up than campus networks. With no hardware to install onsite and nothing to plug in, your cloud-based network can be provisioned and ready to use in 15 minutes, and it’s much cheaper to install and run.

Campus networks great advantage is that they provide granular security, the level of assurance required by university researchers, government departments or corporate HQs to deal with confidential or sensitive information.

What have they got in common?

Organisations operating branch or campus networks share many of the same concerns. One of the most pressing issues is data security. Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated. So, networks need to employ advanced measures such as Zero-Trust architectures, end-to-end encryption, and real-time threat detection to combat them.

Equally important is observability: the ability to monitor, analyse, and troubleshoot network performance and user experience in real time. By implementing tools that provide deep insights into traffic patterns and potential bottlenecks, organisations can maintain optimal uptime and user experience.

In recent years, many organisations have embraced wireless-first strategies across their branch or campus networks. With the proliferation of mobile devices, Internet of Things, and remote working practices, wireless connectivity has become a cornerstone of network design. Wireless-first prioritises robust Wi-Fi infrastructure, enabling mobility, flexibility, and scalability. New wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi 6E and 7 support additional spectrum to ensure high-speed, low-latency connections for the growing number of devices and applications reliant on uninterrupted connectivity.

We can help you to make the right choice

CAE has developed a comprehensive solution blueprint to address security, observability, and operational efficiency for campus and branch networks. This enables us to design, implement, and optimise network infrastructures tailored to your specific needs.

With CAE as your trusted partner, your network infrastructure is primed to deliver exceptional performance, security, and scalability, regardless of the environment.

We have created unique solutions to major network challenges.

In summary:

Assure is first line of defence against accidental change or a cyber security breach. Our service remotely backs up, protects, and rapidly restores the Cisco Networking Cloud configuration.

Nucleus enables automated configuration at scale to save time, cost and resource for onboarding or any change project.

Network Intelligence gives detailed insight into the network, optimising infrastructure performance, efficiency and security.

WiserWatts optimises your investments and decarbonisation strategy through sustainable networking.

Security solutions are designed to meet the complex security needs of branch and campus networks, enabling secure connectivity, streamlined management, and enhanced threat protection.