What does Helix Stax cover in a networking engagement?

Networking engagements cover the full infrastructure layer: topology audit and documentation, firewall ruleset review and hardening, VLAN and segmentation design, SD-WAN and mesh vendor selection, Wi-Fi design with RF survey, and ongoing network management inside a managed IT retainer. The deliverable is a network that is documented before the next incident, not during it. In practice, that means a network diagram your team can read, a firewall ruleset with business justification for each rule, a segmentation design that separates your most sensitive systems from general traffic, and a change log that makes it clear what changed and when. When the assessor or the auditor asks, you have the records. When something breaks at midnight, your team has the documentation to respond without calling us first.

Do you pull cable or terminate fiber?

No. Physical cabling, conduit work, and fiber termination are low-voltage contractor work. Helix Stax designs the network, selects hardware vendor-agnostically, produces the configuration and topology documentation, and coordinates the cabling contractor against the design. A networking firm that also pulls cable has an incentive to recommend more cable than the design requires. By staying on the design and management side, our recommendation reflects the right topology for your needs, not the billable hours in the walls. If you need a low-voltage installer, we can name qualified contractors in Hampton Roads who have worked inside engagements we have designed. Once the cabling is in, we configure the equipment, document the final topology, and hand over a complete as-built package.

Which network hardware vendors do you work with?

We work vendor-agnostically across the major network hardware families: Cisco, Meraki, Fortinet, Ubiquiti, OPNsense, and others depending on your scenario and budget. The selection is scored against your specific situation: traffic profile, physical layout, compliance requirements, and your team's ability to support the hardware after the engagement closes. We do not take referral fees from any vendor, which means the recommendation reflects the fit, not the margin. Enterprise-grade platforms like Cisco and Fortinet carry higher licensing costs but may be the right answer for a defense contractor with strict compliance requirements. Open-source platforms like OPNsense on commodity hardware work well for smaller teams with strong in-house capability. We present the trade-offs clearly and document the rationale so you understand why the recommendation lands where it does.

Can networking support be added to an existing managed IT engagement?

Yes. Network management, firewall review, and segmentation work all run inside the Managed IT Services program at /services/managed-it-services. This page covers the full networking program: assessments, buildouts, and ongoing network operations as a standalone or bundled engagement. The most common path for existing managed IT clients is to add a networking assessment as the next project inside their engagement. We audit the existing topology, identify the segments that carry compliance risk or operational fragility, and build a prioritized remediation list scored against the CTGA Technology pillar. Clients already inside a managed IT program benefit from an environment we already understand. For businesses that need networking support without a broader managed IT program, the standalone engagement delivers identical scope and deliverables.

Service · Networking & Network Support

Networking and network support with documentation that survives the next audit.

Network problems are invisible until they take everything down. Flat networks, firewall rules nobody documented, SD-WAN that was set up once and never reviewed, Wi-Fi that covers the lobby but not the warehouse. We audit, design, and operate the network layer so it is defensible before the incident, not just after.

Helix Stax delivers networking as a standalone engagement or inside a Managed IT retainer. The work covers the full layer: topology documentation, firewall ruleset review, VLAN and segmentation design, SD-WAN and mesh selection, Wi-Fi design with an RF survey, and ongoing network management. Every engagement produces written documentation your next hire, your MSP, and your compliance auditor can all read.

We run production networking ourselves. The Helix Stax platform runs on K3s with Traefik, NetBird mesh, and Proxmox hypervisors across Hetzner infrastructure. The same topology, segmentation, and documentation discipline we apply to our own systems is what we bring to yours. When we recommend a vendor or an architecture, the reason is that we have operated it in production.

Fiber patch cables routed through a network switch in a server rack

Key service areas

What the work looks like.

Network topology audit: current state documented, target state scoped, and a gap list ranked by risk and cost before a single change is made
Firewall ruleset review: every rule examined, shadow rules flagged, and a clean written list of what to remove, tighten, or document
VLAN and segmentation design: isolation for servers, workstations, IoT, guest, and compliance-sensitive traffic, with identity-aware policy where the risk justifies it
SD-WAN and mesh vendor selection: NetBird, Tailscale, Twingate, Meraki, or Fortinet scored against your environment, your multi-site requirements, and your support model
Wi-Fi design and RF survey: coverage map, interference sources identified, and an access point placement plan before equipment is ordered
Ongoing network management: patching, health monitoring, change control, and quarterly documentation review inside a Managed IT retainer

Named engagements inside this capability

How this shows up as a scoped engagement.

Network Assessment

A current-state snapshot of your network: topology diagram, device inventory, firewall ruleset review, and a gap list ranked by what an auditor or incident responder would find first. The deliverable is a written document, 6 to 12 pages, in plain English your operations team can act on.

Topology diagram: every device, every segment, every connection mapped from discovery scan and interview
Firewall ruleset review: every rule read, outdated and shadow rules flagged, and a clean recommended change list
Device inventory: make, model, firmware, and end-of-life status for every switch, router, firewall, and access point
Gap list ranked by risk and cost, the three to five findings that carry the most exposure, named and scoped for remediation

Network Design & Buildout

A designed network is one that works when you need it and is understood by the next person who inherits it. We produce the topology diagram, VLAN plan, firewall ruleset, IP address scheme, and installer configuration package before a single cable is run. For new locations, expansions, or full replacements.

Topology design: diagram, VLAN plan, firewall ruleset, and IP address scheme documented before equipment is ordered
Hardware selection: Cisco, Meraki, Fortinet, Ubiquiti, or OPNsense scored against your scenario, budget, and support model, no referral fees
Wi-Fi design: RF survey, coverage map, access point placement plan, and interference analysis before installation
Installer configuration package: the settings document a low-voltage contractor can follow, with a post-install verification checklist

Ongoing Network Management

Network management as a continuous service inside a Managed IT retainer. Firmware patching on a documented schedule, health monitoring with alerting to a human, change control for every ruleset or configuration modification, and a quarterly documentation review so the current state never drifts too far from what was designed.

Firmware and patch management on a documented schedule, every device at a known version with a tested rollback plan
Health monitoring: uptime, performance, and interface error alerts that reach a human, not just a dashboard
Change control: every firewall rule or configuration change logged with a business justification and an approver
Quarterly documentation review: topology diagram, VLAN map, and IP address scheme kept current with what is actually running

How we engage

Networking runs at every engagement level.

Network assessment and design runs as a scoped engagement. Ongoing network management runs inside the Helix Operate retainer. Either way, the documentation is the deliverable.

vCIO Retainer

Quarterly network health check, vendor decision review before you sign a new firewall contract, and advisory on the SD-WAN or segmentation decision your team is wrestling with. We advise; your internal team or MSP executes.
Helix Engagement

A defined-scope network engagement: assessment, design, or buildout for a new location or a full replacement. We deliver the topology, the configuration documentation, and the gap list. Your installer does the physical work; we coordinate the design and verify the result.
Helix Operate

Full ongoing network management inside the Helix Operate retainer. Firmware patching, health monitoring, change control, and quarterly documentation review. The network is a managed layer, not a one-time project.

What you walk out with

Concrete deliverables.

A network topology diagram: current state, every device, every segment, every connection
A firewall ruleset review: every rule examined, shadow rules flagged, and a recommended change list
A gap list ranked by risk and cost, with a plain-English finding per item
A network design package for buildouts: VLAN plan, IP address scheme, hardware selection rationale, and installer configuration documentation
An RF survey and Wi-Fi placement plan for wireless environments, before equipment is ordered
A quarterly documentation update for ongoing managed clients: topology, VLAN map, and IP scheme kept current

Honest scope

What we do not do.

We do not pull cable, terminate fiber, or install hardware on racks. Physical cabling is low-voltage contractor work; we design the network and coordinate the contractor. We do not resell network hardware or collect referral fees from any vendor. We do not run a 24/7 NOC for network events unless you are on the Helix Operate retainer with a vetted NOC partner in the program. We do not certify networks for government classified environments, those require specific cleared contractors and certifying authorities.

Industries we apply this to

Where this service shows up most.

You can have the number by Friday.

The free call is free, and the only thing you walk out with is your CTGA score and the three gaps that cost you the most. If we are not the right fit, you keep the score and we both move on.

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