Municipal Utility Client Case Study

Securing a SCADA Network Without Breaking Critical Alerting

Summary

A municipal utility environment needed tighter SCADA network security without disrupting the outbound alerting function it relied on for alarms and after-hours events. Bankhead Technologies helped redesign firewall and VLAN rules to reduce unnecessary exposure while preserving RingCentral alert calling and approved remote support access.

Challenge

The client needed a highly restricted SCADA network that could still send outbound alert calls through RingCentral. The environment required careful isolation so critical operational systems were protected from unnecessary internal and internet access without breaking DNS, VPN access, or remote troubleshooting.

Solution

Bankhead Technologies reviewed the existing UniFi firewall configuration and SCADA VLAN layout, then redesigned the rule structure around a more controlled allow/block model. Only required outbound traffic for RingCentral services was allowed, unnecessary LAN and internet access was restricted, approved VPN subnets were accounted for, and the rule order and access logic were documented for future support.

Result

The client ended up with a more secure and supportable SCADA network design that reduced exposure while preserving the business-critical alerting function. Instead of leaving the environment broadly open, traffic was limited to approved services and remote support paths while still allowing operational systems to function as needed.

Services Highlighted

Network security, firewall configuration, VLAN isolation, VPN troubleshooting, SCADA support, RingCentral connectivity, UniFi firewall management

Regional Manufacturing Client

Hyper-V Failover and Disaster Recovery Support

Summary

A manufacturing and engineering client experienced instability on a primary Hyper-V host that supported several critical virtual machines. Bankhead Technologies helped coordinate a careful failover to the replica host, reduce immediate risk, and document follow-up items that improved the client’s overall disaster recovery posture.

Challenge

The client’s primary Hyper-V host became unstable while important virtual machines were still running on it, including domain, licensing, and workstation-related systems. Because the environment relied on Hyper-V replication, failover had to be handled carefully to avoid duplicate domain controller conflicts, IP conflicts, and unnecessary downtime.

Solution

Bankhead Technologies reviewed Hyper-V host health and replication status, planned the safest order of failover, moved selected virtual machines to the replica Hyper-V host, verified accessibility after failover, checked for stale replica cleanup needs, documented DNS warnings related to domain controller configuration, and identified follow-up cleanup items to address after stabilization.

Result

Critical virtual machines were successfully failed over to the replica Hyper-V host, helping reduce risk from the unstable primary host. The work also uncovered important follow-up items related to DNS settings and replication cleanup, helping move the client from emergency recovery into a more stable disaster recovery posture.

Services Highlighted

Hyper-V administration, virtual machine failover, disaster recovery, domain controller support, server troubleshooting, replication review, infrastructure documentation

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