Introduction to State Wide Area Network
In the digital era, the efficiency of a government is determined by its ability to offer services to its citizens with ease. The main element in this service is the State Wide Area Network (SWAN). This network acts as the primary means of communication of the state and connects the capital to the smallest villages. SWAN facilitates this by providing a secure and fast mechanism to put the administration of the organisation out of cumbersome paperwork and into the fast digital facility.
What does a State Wide Area Network (SWAN) mean?
SWAN ensures the security of data, voice, and video between state offices as opposed to the open Internet which is vulnerable to threats | Tamilyogi VPN
Describe wide area network
The main aim of a SWAN is to provide government agencies with a common platform. The data can be shared in time by health, education, revenue, and other departments. Light-speed connectors reduced the time lag induced by handover of files manually and through paper.
The Core Architecture of SWAN.
The nerve center, typically located in the capital, where the network begins, and which leads to the State Data Centre (SDC).
District Headquarters (DHQ): Middle stations between the capital and the district offices.
Block Headquarters (BHQ): End points, which extend remote and rural regions to the State Wide Area Network.
This three-tier structure allows flow of information downwards and upwards between block and the state and also sideways across departments at the same level.
The main characteristics of state wide area networks
Its principal features are:
High-speed Data Transmission: MODERN SWANs provide speeds of 2Mbps to 10 Gbps which provides the ability to transfer large files and conduct video calls without interruptions.
24/7 Surveillance: In the majority of states, there is a Network Operation Centre (NOC) to monitor the traffic, control performance, and resolve the problems in real-time.
The contribution of SWAN to E-Governance
SWAN forms the basis of e-governance. It provides numerous citizen-oriented services with trusted IT infrastructure:
Clear Rating of Services.
Through Common Service Centres (CSCs), citizens will be able to request land records, birth certificates and pension.
Effective Inter-departmental Co-ordination.
To illustrate, data available in the social welfare division can make the health department instantly determine the eligibility of a citizen to a programme.
Live-time Monitoring and Reporting.
This real time communication is important in emergency situations like in case of natural calamities or health crisis | kellogg innovation network
Difficulties in Implementation SWAN.
SWAN is complicated and expensive to create despite its power.
High Initial Investment
Fibre laying, router and switch installation and data centre will need a huge budget.
Geographical Constraints
Rugged or hilly landscape is very difficult in terms of cable installation as it usually depends on satellite (VSAT) links, which are slower.
Maintenance and Upkeep
The fast growth of technology requires periodic equipments and software upgrades that need specific funds and human resources.
Power Supply Issues
Unreliable electricity in most of the rural block provides disruption of network nodes, which require costly backup systems such as UPS or solar.
SD-WAN and Cloud Integration Future Trends.
The network environment is shifting towards software defined solutions. SD-WAN also allows states to control traffic using software and not hardware enhancing bandwidth utilisation and security. There is a robust ecosystem between coupling SWAN and the National Knowledge Network (NKN) and cloud-based state data centers.
Conclusion
A State Wide Area Network does not just consist of cabling and routers but it is the backbone of an open transparent efficient government. SWAN will transform urban and rural by making digital digital benefits available to all citizens. With the growth in technology, the development of SWAN will continue to be critical to the effective e-governance in the world | State Wide Area Network
Frequently Question And Answer
Q#1: What is the acronym of SWAN in networking?
Answer: SWAN is an acronym which means State Wide Area Network.
Q#2: What is the ultimate aim of State Wide Area Network?
Answer: The primary objective would be to provide secure and high-speed links between government-to-government (G2G) and government-to-citizen (G2C) services.
Q#3: What number of levels does a SWAN structure have?
Answer: Should the answer be There are three levels of a typical SWAN including State Headquarters (SHQ), District Headquarters (DHQ), and Block Headquarters (BHQ).
Q#4: Does SWAN correspond to the regular internet?
Answer: No. SWAN is a Closed User Group (CUG) network, and only authorised government offices have access to it, which is more secure | State Wide Area Network
Q#5: What are some of the services that can be sent over a SWAN?
Answer: SWAN helps in converged services like data sharing, voice (VoIP) and video conferencing.
Q#6: Who is in charge of the running of SWAN?
Answer: It is typically administered by the Department of Information Technology in the State, with proposals to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) or directly privately.
Q#7: What is a PoP in a SWAN?
Answer: A PoP or Point of Presence is a physical device at which the network is connected to the government offices to provide the services of the internet and data.
Q#8: What is the benefit of SWAN during disaster management?
Answer: It will allow real-time communication and video calls between the state leaders and the local officials, which will allow fast coordination and resource allocation during emergencies.
Q#9: What is SD -WAN and SWAN different?
Answer: SDWAN is software-defined, compared to traditional SWAN that is hardware-based and fixed, meaning that it is more flexible and easy to manage.
Q#10: What is the significance of security to a State Wide Area Network?
Answer: Since the network is used to store sensitive information citizen records, financial information, etc, it is highly vulnerable to cyber threats, and there is a strong necessity to provide high security | State Wide Area Network.
