Connecting manufacturing sites with a clearer, faster network

Backups finished in hours, rather than a day

The clearest improvement showed up in everyday operations. Backups involving the India site became more reliable and were completing in hours rather than taking around a day. They could also complete while work continued, despite the overlap between working hours in different time zones.

UK staff also reported that sending data between sites felt more stable.

Different sites, different networks

Each office had developed its own IT infrastructure. Switching equipment varied between locations, and the team lacked a clear view of the network as a whole. That made issues such as network loops harder to identify and investigate.

Connectivity also limited how effectively the sites could work together. Three UK sites shared an MPLS connection with 200 Mbps of internet capacity. The India site had a 50 Mbps connection and was moving manufacturing files to and from the UK. Uploads and downloads took too long, and backups struggled to complete reliably.

A consistent setup and a clearer view

We reviewed the equipment at each location using the information and photographs available. The aim was to bring the sites into a consistent setup that the team could understand and manage.

Core server-room switching was replaced with Ubiquiti equipment, with UDM Pro Max devices handling routing. The configuration included VLANs to separate network traffic. Centralised management then gave the team visibility across the sites, instead of leaving them to piece together information from separate systems.

Give each site the connection it needs

The three UK sites moved from the shared MPLS arrangement to individual 1 Gbps leased lines. This gave each location its own internet capacity and reduced their dependence on a shared internet exit. A failure of an individual site's line would still affect that site, but the other locations no longer depended on that same connection for internet access.

Connectivity was upgraded to gigabit across the international sites, including India. That increased the capacity available for manufacturing files and backups, alongside the wider improvements to the network.

Move the sites over in stages

The sites could not all change equipment at once. We started with a pilot, then rolled the approach out across the remaining locations.

During the transition, IPsec tunnels connected sites that were still using their existing FortiGate equipment. This allowed the old and new setups to work together while the migration progressed. Once the replacement equipment was in place, the sites moved to Ubiquiti SD-WAN.

Equipment for India and China was configured in the UK before being shipped out. Preparing it ahead of installation helped us carry the same approach through the international rollout.

A network that was easier to run and work across

The work brought together two improvements: a network the team could see and manage, and connections with the capacity to support the files moving between locations.

The result was more reliable backup completion at the India site and more stable transfers reported by UK staff. Those operational changes mattered more than the connection speed on its own.