VMware’s SD-WAN is being implemented by Northern Beaches Council at key sites, as part of a resilience and redundancy preparedness.

This software-defined technology allows Council to use both fibre optic cable and satellite broadband at important sites, offering increased reliability for essential services.

In the case of an emergency, where communications data cables could be threatened by flood or fire, VMware allows council to utilise the redundancy to ensure critical broadband and communications stay up and running.

Northern Beaches Council Interim CEO Louise Kerr said this new technology gives Council and local residents an extra sense of security in times of uncertainty.

“We are proud to be one of the first government agencies in the country to take this step,” Ms Kerr said.

“By implementing VMware SD-WAN into many areas within the Council – we are future-proofing to protect communications and the delivery of essential services in times of east coast lows, fire and flood.

“This technology allows us to operate important sites like childcare centres utilising dual network technologies working together to deliver a robust service.

“While we may wish for no more natural disasters, we have also seen just how important emergency preparedness is. We know that essential services to community will be improved due to our planning for them ahead of time.”

SD-WAN dynamically uses multiple available connections to find the best delivery path for traffic across the entire network, eliminating jitter and dropped data packets, to deliver an optimal user experience in even the most remote places.

Council recently announced its new contract with telco Vocus Satellite – Starlink, becoming the first council and first government agency in NSW to access their high-performance satellite broadband service.

Integration with Starlink powered broadband will improve Council’s delivery of critical services, including child-care centres in times of natural disaster and is available at all times thanks to VMware.