Reliable, secure connectivity between AIDE’s facilities

The Intermunicipal Association for Reclamation, Drainage and Wastewater Treatment of the Municipalities of the Province of Liège (AIDENew window) has a twofold mission. It is introducing and running a system to protect the alluvial plain, which has subsided as a result of past mining activities, against indirect flooding from the Meuse. It also collects and treats urban wastewater in the province of Liège by means of treatment and pumping stations.

In this context, the Automation Unit ensures that the stations are working properly and that there is reliable and stable communication with these geographically dispersed facilities. Many of the sites are automated and operate without personnel, making it essential to have a real-time view of their activity.

Christian Servais, Head of the Automation Unit at AIDE

Connectivity and data storage

“AIDE doesn’t have an IT team on the operating sites, so this task falls to the automation engineers”, explains Christian Servais, Head of the Automation Unit. “We look after connectivity with all facilities and the storage of information that comes back to us. Initially, everything was done internally. We used to communicate with the stations via traditional PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network) lines and store the data on servers hosted onsite.”

In order to optimize this communication approach, AIDE launched a public procurement process. The objective of this call for tenders was to have high-quality connections to all the province's facilities on a private network, thus ensuring sufficient bandwidth and the IT security associated with a VPN. Because AIDE's needs vary, the equipment needed to be scalable to cope with with growing numbers of wastewater treatment plants.

Frédéric Bohet, Sales Account Manager Local Government at Proximus NXT

SD-WAN: an advanced network solution

AIDE chose to migrate its WAN infrastructure to the SD-WAN solution. “Currently, Proximus NXT is the only company which offers this solution on a hire and joint management basis. The customer can make changes to their infrastructure, while we ensure that it works properly and provide the necessary technical support”, explains Frédéric Bohet, Sales Account Manager Local Government at Proximus NXT.

The SD-WAN network adds a software layer to AIDE's network, for smart management of traffic between sites. ‘SD-WAN affords great flexibility in terms of connectivity: fiber, copper, 4G, 5G or a combination of these technologies. There’s always a solution that’s right for each station, no matter how isolated’, he adds. What’s more, SD-WAN provides a secure connection with an onsite firewall, as required by the European NIS2 directive, which aims to strengthen the cybersecurity and resilience of critical infrastructure and services.

Frédéric Bohet
Sales Account Manager Local Government, Proximus NXT

Hybrid cloud availability and redundancy

AIDE has also opted for hybrid cloud hosting. Although the sites are a long way from each other and the servers are hosted in Proximus NXT data centers, the infrastructure remains seamless, as if everything were in the same building. It is also essential for AIDE's critical activity that the data centers in Brussels and Machelen are completely redundant.

The automation engineers also benefit from a simplified platform displaying a real-time overview of the facilities. The color coding means they can immediately check the status of the various structures.

Proof of concept before rollout

“A proof of concept (POC) first demonstrated the simplicity and effectiveness of the rollout of our niche systems’, explains Christian. ‘We started by rolling out the platform on one piece of machinery. We also tested the bandwidth, as our critical infrastructure must be available 24/7 to prevent flooding. Since the validation of the POC, we’ve been rolling out the rest of the machines, using model machines.”

Christian Servais
Head of the Automation Unit, AIDE

The migration is well under way at AIDE, which is very delighted with its collaboration with Proximus NXT. “Nothing has slowed us down or stood in the way so far”, says Christian. “Proximus NXT has been attentive to our needs, and offered us a solution that fits well with our situation.”

Flexibility and consistency

Flexibility is another major advantage, as the solution can adapt to AIDE's changing needs. It currently has more than 200 treatment and pumping stations, but over 80 more are expected to be built in the next few years. “When all our servers were hosted internally, we had to purchase oversized equipment that would be depreciated over several years”, recalls Christian.

This very varied equipment, spread across different sites, created incompatibilities in terms of monitoring. “Thanks to SD-WAN, AIDE is gradually renewing its infrastructure”, explains Frédéric. “This coherent ecosystem makes monitoring possible up to layer 7, in other words as far as the port of the connected equipment.”

Cost control and scalability

As Christian explains, AIDE is expecting to optimize its budget thanks to the SD-WAN solution with Proximus NXT cloud hosting: “Its cost is equivalent to that of the licenses and internally hosted servers, without even taking account of the hours worked by the personnel, the air-conditioned premises, the secure buildings and the electricity consumption. We’re therefore improving our economic and technological efficiency, not to mention gaining more peace of mind.”

Far from being set in stone, this new platform is part of AIDE's vision for the future. “As digitization becomes increasingly advanced and widespread, we’ll be able to keep pace without worrying about technical and scaling considerations. We’ll retain our focus on our needs and our core business”, concludes Christian.

A solution that’s perfect for the public sector

The public sector is keen to modernize its infrastructure, and SD-WAN is the ideal solution because of its flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The trial period offered to customers allows them to conduct their own tests and confirm that the proposed equipment meets their needs. Proximus NXT works closely with customers to find the best solution and provide a first-rate service.