use case

Base Infrastructure Modernization (BIM) Capabilities

The Air Force BIM program necessitates capabilities on Day 1 postcontract award to understand the network to be operated, maintained, and upgraded. Forward Networks’ platform provides a Digital Twin of the base network, which will be crucial to expediting the mission.

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Embarking on a Base Area Network (BAN) mission with limited prior knowledge of the network is a formidable challenge. These networks are typically comprised of thousands of devices running millions of lines of configuration, creating complexity beyond human comprehension. Forward Enterprise addresses this challenge by collecting configuration and state data from every device on the network to generate a mathematical model of the network, also referred to as a digital twin (See Figure 1). The digital twin makes the entire network searchable, traces all possible network paths, and enables engineers to ensure the network behaves as intended.

Using this platform, network administrators and security engineers can:

View the entire environment at a glance or drill down to a single device or cloud instance
Trace any network path in seconds to reduce MTTR by orders of magnitude
Utilize network verification checks to ensure compliance with DISA regulations and CORA audit readiness

Forward Enterprise Supports

30 device vendors
35 operating systems and >900 versions
3 public clouds
API integration with ServiceNow, Ansible, Tenable, Rapid7, Arista, Slack, Teams, Itential
Scales to over 50,000 devices in a single instance

Figure 1: Forward Enterprise network topology and path trace

See why industry leaders use Forward Enterprise's digital twin to gain unparalleled visibility into complex multi-vendor networks, automate compliance checks, and prevent costly downtime.
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More Forward Networks Use Cases that Support BIM

Site Survey

Identification and enumeration of devices to collect configurations and display network topology
Network hygiene analysis and detection of configuration errors (e.g., MTU mismatch, VLAN inconsistencies, IP duplication).

Critical Vulnerability Management

Proactively identify devices with CVE/STIG vulnerabilities across the BAN. Prioritize remediation based on severity and configured features. (See Figure 2)

Figure 2: Forward Enterprise displays prioritized CVEs present in the network

Inspection Prep

Continuous audit for compliance for Cyber Operations Readiness Assessment (CORA).

Documentation / Inventory Management

Always accurate network inventory, including End of Life and End of Service. Shareable reports documenting connectivity, inventory, STIGs/CVE status, configuration files, etc., to be provided to the Air Force. (See Figure 3)

Figure 3: Forward Enterprise delivers an always accurate network inventory, including End of Life and End of Service

Network Migration

Ensure network connectivity is maintained during cutover.
Reduce downtime by verifying compliance.

Software Integration

Forward Networks integrates with popular applications such as Tenable ACAS and ServiceNow CMDB, providing enhanced data for a total network operation solution.

4.7 - from 33 Gartner Ratings

"The overall experience has been phenomenal, from onboarding the application in the environment to the timely and concise response from the Forward team about any questions we raise. The Forward team has been super helpful throughout this whole experience."

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