A virtually limitless training capability using cloud

The US Navy’s Tactical Networks Program Office, PMW 160, is responsible for afloat network infrastructure and basic network information distribution services. One of the critical priorities of the program office is training sailors who operate and manage the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) network. To provide advanced CANES training, the Navy utilized physical network racks as training equipment at two training sites. With only two classrooms, the Navy was limited in the number of sailors it could train each year.

While critical to the fleet’s war-fighting capability, the CANES training environment was expensive to maintain, restricted to a single Hardware-Software (HW-SW) version combination, and configured to the oldest CANES baseline. Sailors were receiving training on legacy CANES systems based upon earlier technologies. The Navy sought a training environment that could keep pace with technology and provide sailors with virtual CANES environments that could be updated and deployed quickly. In the search for a training environment that removed the need for a physical hardware stack in the classroom, the Navy called Deloitte for help.

Students now have individualized access to their specific shipboard CANES environment, curricula, and job sheets anywhere there is a broadband connection. CANES TVE provides fully functional virtual environments of physical CANES configurations that can be created in minutes. Because there is no physical hardware, or risk of compromising a physical network through student actions, the Navy can also increase the number of training scenarios, troubleshooting activities, and conduct real-life situation training. Deloitte’s approach enabled the Navy to provide a learning infrastructure accessible at many locations, via multiple users, concurrently, uncovering what’s possible for their organization.