Connect. Secure. Manage.
Shared Services Network Access
Control access to shared DNS, identity and application services across segmented Cisco networks without opening unnecessary paths.
Devices supported
across the UK
Client locations
supported
Traffic handled
at peak time
Average
response time
Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.
Shared services network access connects separated users and workloads to the infrastructure they genuinely need, without opening unrestricted paths between security zones. DNS, identity, time services, monitoring, backup and application middleware often sit at the centre of this challenge. MCI Network Services designs controlled access to shared services in Cisco and Meraki environments, making the dependencies explicit so segmentation remains both useful and operationally workable.
Defined trust
Make access boundaries explicit rather than relying on an assumed internal network.
Controlled access
Connect identity, policy and network enforcement to the services people actually use.
Evidence for change
Test the intended security outcome and retain useful operational records.
Establish which services are genuinely shared
A shared-services label can conceal very different requirements. Some systems need to be reached by almost every managed device; others are used by a particular application or administrative team. We identify the consumers of each service and distinguish routine client requests from management, replication and maintenance traffic.
We also confirm who owns the service. Network engineers can provide a path, but application and infrastructure teams must define the required endpoints, protocols and recovery behaviour. A rule request based only on a server name is rarely enough to establish the complete dependency or decide whether a broad access exception is justified.
Standards & partnerships
Confidence in the team behind your network.
Cisco Partner
Cisco Meraki
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials PlusMCI Network Services is operated by Proxar Ltd. Certifications apply to the certified legal entity and the scope of its certificates. View accreditation information
Trace both request and response paths
Routing separation changes how a client reaches a shared destination and how the response returns. We examine gateways, VRFs, firewalls and any address translation between the zones involved. An apparently correct outbound rule can still leave a service unusable when the return path reaches a different enforcement point.
Overlapping address spaces require particular care. Two clients using the same private address in separate routing contexts may need an explicit translation or service-access design. We document how the shared platform distinguishes them and what the resulting logs will show, rather than assuming a route added to one table solves the whole problem.
A useful starting point
Not sure where to start?
Bring the requirement. We will help you define the engineering work.
Define access by service and purpose
The access matrix records the source group or network, destination service, protocol, direction and business reason. DNS queries, identity authentication and administrative console access are separate entries, even when they involve the same server. This helps prevent a necessary infrastructure dependency from becoming an unrestricted opening into the shared-services zone.
Some services use additional dynamic connections or supporting endpoints. We work with their owners to identify those requirements and decide how they can be constrained. Where a platform requires a wider range than expected, that requirement is documented and assessed rather than hidden inside a temporary 'any service' rule that nobody later reviews.
Different environments. The same care.
Built around the work
your network supports.
Finance, banking and the wider private sector. We start with the systems and people that depend on your connections.
Finance & banking
Market-data paths, routing and provider coordination on clients’ behalf.
Financial-market services ↗Offices & multi-site teams
Reliable access between people, workplaces and business applications.
Office network design ↗Data centres & cloud
Network boundaries, workload connections and operational ownership.
Data centre networks ↗Avoid turning shared infrastructure into a transit path
Shared services should not inadvertently connect otherwise separated zones to one another. We review routing, forwarding and application behaviour on multihomed systems, including backup and monitoring platforms with broad reach. A management server with access to several environments can become a particularly important security dependency.
The design considers whether administrative access needs a separate entry point, restricted credentials or additional controls outside the network scope. Our network segmentation work defines the wider boundaries; shared-services design explains the deliberate exceptions and the safeguards that prevent those exceptions from defeating the original objective.
Account for availability and maintenance
A shared service can be a single point of failure for many network zones. We identify its resilience arrangements, alternate addresses and the expected behaviour when one endpoint is unavailable. Firewall and routing policy must permit the approved recovery path, not only the normal primary connection.
Maintenance can also change the source or destination seen by the network. A replacement domain controller, backup server or monitoring collector may require policy updates before it is introduced. We include these lifecycle responsibilities in the handover so an infrastructure change does not fail simply because the network dependency was never assigned an owner.
Validate from representative clients
Testing begins in the actual consumer zones, using the service's real workflow where practical. A port being open does not prove that authentication, name resolution or backup operation succeeds. We ask the service owner to validate the function and collect network evidence that can explain any difference between working and failing clients.
Negative tests matter as well. A guest or unmanaged device should not gain access merely because the shared destination is widely used by staff systems. We verify relevant restrictions and record the boundaries of the test, including services or recovery scenarios that could not be safely exercised during the agreed window.
Document exceptions so they can be changed safely
The final records connect each permitted flow to a service owner and an operational reason. They identify DNS dependencies, routing contexts, translation where used and the evidence needed during a fault. This makes it easier to distinguish a missing service permission from a failed server or an identity problem.
MCI can review an existing shared-services design or support a segmentation project that has stalled because essential dependencies remain unclear. Provide the zone diagram, service inventory and examples of the workflows that must continue. We can turn those requirements into a controlled Cisco or Meraki network scope without assuming that every internal system needs to reach every shared platform in the same way.
Technical references
- Zero-trust network and cloud design — Cisco / Cisco Meraki
- Cisco ISE segmentation — Cisco / Cisco Meraki
Talk to a specialist
What does your network need next?
Tell us what you are planning, changing or trying to improve. We will help define a practical next step and the engineering scope.
+44 203 196 6566Choose option 1
sales@proxar.co.ukUK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.
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