Should Developers be on their own network within the company?

Question

Does anyway have any information or opinion on if the developers should be in a separate network then the rest of the regular network users?

What would be the benefit for them?

The reason I ask is that we have a dev network that just has development servers, we also have stagin and production. Neither of these networks have a user base other then a DC to allow people to remotely access the servers if needed.

The development team is asking to be put on their own network and I just wanted to know if anyone had a good reason for this, or would know where I can more info on this.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I've heard of separate development domains, and separate development subnets/VLANs in the server infrastructure, but never a totally separate network. That's what firewall rules are for.

Answer 2

Did they say why they want to be put on their own network? We have no knowledge of how your networks are set-up. In fact, the set-up of your networks could be hindering either tools they'd like to use, their ability to operate efficiently, or to get around annoying and unneeded network restrictions imposed by your IT department.

Your best bet is to ask them why they want this. Press the point to find out what the true motivations are behind this desire. You might be surprised. If you're their manager, trust them and push for it too.

Edit:

To help, here are some very valid reasons to want their own network:

1. They want to test the application over the network with the network stressed to the max without affecting anyone else in the company.
2. The client is using a different network set-up and they'd like the option to reconfigure their network to mirror the client to better diagnose or preemptively diagnose potential problems
3. They're doing overnight builds/testing/regression/what not with an automated script but finding current network settings/programs conflicting or interrupting execution but the IT department is adamant about issuing not an exception for any group.
4. They want control over the network. It takes 2-3 weeks to get a work order into the IT department after filling out miles of paperwork just to add another user or something similar. They're frustrated by the beaurocracy and it's impeding development.

Answer 3

It is a good practice to have production and development on diffrent networks.

Edit: Agree with wheaties.

Answer 4

I'd ask them what their reasoning is - they may be asking for something to solve a particular problem, when there are much better solutions out there to solve their actual problem.

On our network, our environments are on separate VLANs on the same network, so their properly segmented, with very limited access between VLANs. They may accomplish what they're looking for without the need for a whole entire infrastructure devoted to the developers.

Answer 5

Developers sometimes request their own network/hardware/servers/etc. to avoid pestering IT with tasks they can do themselves.

Answer 6

The answer to my issues was to create a new domain and move the dev users and servers into it. This will fix all of their issues and resolve a business related need.

Thanks for all your help.