Setting up Turnkey Office and Data Center environment for 400 employees in Class-A office

At-a-Glance

• Client/Industry: Confidential / Corporate services company
• Scope: Turnkey office infrastructure: AD infrastructure, network (Huawei) core + access, Wi-Fi, security perimeter, server/VM platform, NAC (Cisco ISE), and IP telephony (Avaya Aura Enterprise)
• Sites: Two office locations in One Central District of Dubai, plus connectivity to two external data centers (Etisalat and Equinix) over Internet transport with GRE over IPsec tunneling
• Delivery window: 3 months from contract to move-in readiness with completion of secondary works in background
• Key outcomes: Seamless migration to the new office facilities while retaining uninterrupted access to centralized services, with a robust and secure multimedia/network environment and unified corporate telephony

Challenge

The client needed to consolidate multiple user groups into a modern One Central workspace across two physically separated office locations, without breaking connectivity to existing centralized services hosted in two external data centers. The design had to scale for dense wired and wireless access, enforce identity-based access control for endpoints, and stand up enterprise-grade IP telephony that supports both internal calling and external connectivity. The real risk was not a single device failure. It was death-by-integration: many moving parts, tight sequencing, and a cutover that had to feel boring to end users.

Solution Overview

A turnkey office platform was delivered end-to-end: switching core and access layers, perimeter security, wireless controllers and Wi-Fi 6 access points, routing toward the WAN/DC connectivity, a virtualized server environment for core services, and centralized network access control using Cisco ISE for authentication/authorization. The deployed office design included (among other components) dual core switching, dual security gateways, PoE access switching at scale, centralized WLAN control, and Cisco ISE VM licensing sized for the environment.

In parallel, enterprise telephony was implemented using Avaya Aura 10 Enterprise, the unified communications backbone for the Dubai offices and communication with international offices, including the core administration and H323 components and 400 IP phones.

Project Specifics

• Two-location office build-out: One Central spans two separate office locations, with a defined server room/IDF layout and a large switching footprint, requiring consistent segmentation and operations standards across both areas.
• High-density access at enterprise scale: The office design considered 65 wireless APs for coverage and 400 Avaya IP phones across the offices, demanding careful PoE/access-layer planning and endpoint onboarding design.
• Identity-driven access control: Huawei wireless endpoints and users are authenticated/authorized through Cisco ISE (NAC), including documented policy constructs such as RADIUS/TACACS configuration areas and guest/sponsor portal flows.
• Resilient WAN/DC reachability: Office-to-DC connectivity is delivered over Internet via ADSL, forwarding traffic through a GRE-based IPsec tunnel toward the two data centers (Etisalat and Equinix).
• Enterprise switching rigor: Core/WAN/DMZ configurations include disciplined constructs (e.g., stacking methodology and trunk/EtherChannel patterns) captured for repeatability and troubleshooting.
• Virtualized foundations: VMware virtual environment (ESXi, vSwitching, vCenter, VM inventory), enabling controlled growth and auditable operations.
• Telephony as a platform (not “phones”): The Avaya build covers the core management and call-control stack (System Manager, Session Manager, Communication Manager), plus related architecture elements and configuration areas (dial plan, trunks, signaling, gateways).

Execution Approach

The delivery approach was structured as parallel workstreams with hard dependencies: lock the low-level design inputs, align procurement and rack placement, stand up core routing/security and switching first, then bring wireless and NAC enforcement online, while telephony services were deployed and validated against the enterprise dial plan and SIP routing. This sequencing minimized rework and kept cutover risk bounded to controlled windows rather than “big bang” surprises.

As-Built Documentation

The handover package goes beyond screenshots and summaries. It documents rack layout, VLAN/IP schema, master device inventory, and step-by-step configuration methodologies for WAN/DMZ switching, firewall traffic flow/routing constructs, border routing, core/access switching, wireless (APs and SSIDs), VMware environment details, and Cisco ISE configuration domains (policy sets, guest/sponsor portals, identity sources).

For telephony, the as-built captures the Avaya Aura architecture scope and the detailed configuration domains needed to run and change the platform safely (core management, session/call control components, and supporting configuration areas).

Result

The client achieved a turnkey move according to schedule, avoiding the penalties for extending office leases at old locations. The got Class-A infrastructure for Class-A office: a modern wired/wireless office network, identity-based endpoint access control, continued reachability to centralized services in two external data centers and an Avaya Aura-based corporate telephony foundation designed to support Dubai operations and broader inter-office communication needs.