Ethernet in the Building Society - Article Example

Network Student name Course name Institution Date of submission Student Number Task 1 1. Network Cabling options The LAN cabling options is recommended for the building society. Many kinds of cables and connectors are applicable in the LANs. This however depends on the network needs in addition to the Ethernet type and media type. LAN Physical Layer The recommended LAN technology is Ethernet. There are four types of Ethernet that can be used: 10 Gigabit Ethernet (802.3ae), Fast Ethernet (802.3u), Gigabit Ethernet over Fibre (802.3z) and Gigabit Ethernet over UTP (802.3ab). The cabling features of the LAN are found at Layer 1 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. Ethernet in the building society In today’s installations, the costs of infrastructure for adapters and cabling are relatively high. Still, selecting the right Ethernet connectivity offers the required speed for the network components while simultaneously controlling costs. Generally, Ethernet technologies can be used in the building society’s network in many ways: At the access layer, Ethernet speed of upto10 Mbps may be employed as it offers satisfactory performance for users. Additionally, Fast Ethernet of 100-Mbps may be employed for serves that consume high-bandwidth-consuming (Cisco Networking Academy 2013). To connect the network devices and the access layer, it is recommended that Gigabit Ethernet be used. It can support the aggregate traffic from each Ethernet segment on the access link. Gigabit Ethernet may as well be used in connecting the enterprise’s servers as it improves the performance of client-server across the building network by preventing possible blockages at the server. Still, combining Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet will create an effective solution as it also avoids slow (Joshi et al 2001). Figure 1: Internal network topology for an office of the building society For purposes of linking the core and the distribution layer, it is recommended that Gigabit Ethernet be employed as the building society’s network model can support dual link between the core switch and each distribution layer. It also provided possibilities for load balancing the cumulative traffic from various access switches across the connections. At the backbone and the switches, Gigabit Ethernet will again need to be used. At this rate, the building society fastest affordable media should be implemented between backbone switches. The table below provides an outline of the recommendations for deploying Ethernet. Requirements for Ethernet Connector and Media The specifications for cable and connector applied in supporting implementation of Ethernet are originate from the standards recommended by the Telecommunications Industry Alliance (EIA/TIA) . The classes of cabling recommended for Ethernet also originate from the EIA/TIA-568 (SP-2840) standards for Commercial Buildings. Accordingly, for the UTP cable, the EIA/TIA recommends an RJ-45 connector. Connection Media There are a range of connection media applicable for the Ethernet LAN operation. As indicated in the table below, there are varied types of connections, such as attachment unit interface (AUI), gigabit and RJ-45. Each of this can be used in implementing the physical layer. The RJ-45 connector will be applied in the present case scenario. A Gigabit Interface Converter (GBIC) input/output device will be plugged into the Gigabit Ethernet port. Its key benefit in the case of the building society is that it is interchangeable, hence allowing the users adequate flexibility when deploying other 1000BASE-X technology without the necessity to adjust the physical interface on the switch or router. It is appropriate for the case of the building society as it is compatible with the connectors. Mainly, the GBIC sufficiently supports UTP (copper) and fibre-optic media for transmitting Gigabit Ethernet. In Oman, the prices for installation rise above 173 Omani Rial. This includes a 29 Omani Rial line activation charge. The cost also covers the fee for internet connection, modem/router, in addition to ADSL micro-filters. This is, however, for connecting about 20 computers. Cabling an extra computer would cost about 14.34 Omani Rial. An additional wireless computer is 18 Omani Rial. For a metre RJ45 Head to RJ45 Head, the price is 2 Omani Rial, and would rise to 3 Omani Rial for a 3 metre lead. For a RJ45 head to RJ45 socket, the price is about 11 Omani Rial per 10 metres. RJ45 socket to RJ45 socket costs about 15 Omani Rial, while a RJ45 patch bay to RJ45 socket costs 12 Omani Rial. Secure intranet that can connect to all offices on the same network Certificate-based Approach The public-key certificate is an example of certificate-based method. The Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) can allow the building society to use open networks like TCP/IP Intranets to ensure secure intranet. It ensures data encryption that further ensures that only authorised recipients read the messages. It also uses digital signatures that ensure that messages originate from a certain entity, or become altered in the process of transit. The TCP/IP protocols consist of connectionless protocol that breaks data into packets. These packets travel freely over the internet while looking for the best route to their ultimate destination (SANS Institute 2003). They use a digital certificates, or Digital ID, which is essentially a credential that a trusted authority issues, which intranet users present electronically to show they are authorised to access data. It is also a binary file and has the user’s name and identity details in addition to a public key. Digital certificates may address the building society’s security concerns over the intranet by using different protocols like the Secure, Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension protocol (S/MIME), which enables users to send an encrypted e-mail. Next, the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol enables the intranet user to experience encrypted and authenticated communication between the server and browsers. The table below offers a summary of how some protocols may be used in securing the Intranet at the building society (SANS Institute 2003). Role-based Access Control (RBAC) Model Role-based access control (RBAC) approach is a generalized method for access control over the intranet. It is hierarchically organized to offer suitable security management infrastructure for large Web-based enterprises such as the Building Society. It places no requirement on the browser. Once an intranet user has issued an access request, the requester receives a role once a session that uses the available authentication and confidentiality services is verified (Lee 2011). The services may include protocols like the Secure HTTP (SHTTP) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL), in addition to an authentication method that relies on passwords/ username. It uses software agents to tell between the global role hierarchy and the local role hierarchies of the whole intranet. The information regarding mapping between the local roles are stored in a database. The RBAC can support a multi-domain environment, hence making it an attractive option for the Building Society’s Web-based applications (Joshi et al 2001). An example of RBAC is the Discretionary Access Control (DAC), which works as distributed model and a centralized security model. The DAC allows the branch manager of the building society’s branches the ability to assign access to the employees, to the data he is in control of. It requires duplication of the building society’s server and infrastructure hardware in order to create a separate RBAC3 network before migrating to that network. Additional infrastructure hardware required includes hubs, routers, wiring, switches, fiber, as well as frame-relay (Joshi et al 2001). Figure 2: The network typology of complete internet and extranet Task 3 The security issues typical with the design include: Security breaches These includes situations where the intranet encounters suspicious traffic like malware, spyware, adware, and phishing, spyware, adware and malware. To overcome this threat, a firewall should be deployed to prevent suspicious traffic from gaining entry into the network. Firewalls consist of a combination of software and hardware that gets configured to verify the information that flows into and out of the intranet. The building society should use a filtering router that checks each packet that comes into and goes out of the intranet. Hence, the router allows certain “packets in” as well as keeps certain other “packets out” In this case, packets that originate from certain networks or users may be blocked (Brecht 2013). Unauthorized access Unauthorised access may happen when there is an external or internal use who gains unlawful access to the intranet data. Issues of violating security policies are also rife. For instance, users may want to illegally penetrate the network. To overcome these issues, the building society should use authentication mechanisms like biometrics and passwords. They should as well use a bastion host before allowing a user access to the intranet (Miller 2009). Malicious content The building society would also be susceptible to malicious contents such as Trojan Horses, worms, and viruses that attach themselves on the files from the internet exchanged via the intranet. The building society should seek to keep as well as keep updating its security software on each PC used within the company and server on an intranet (Brecht 2013). Protection from viruses, Trojan Horse The building society will need to use endpoint security or antivirus software on all its PCs and servers. They will also need to be constantly updated. Since new malware tends to spread fast, having an infrastructure ready that will always update the computers is vital (VeriSign 2013). Email filtering software should also be run at the company’s gateway to prevent viruses and Trojan horse. All file containing malware should be blocked. Firewall should as well be used on all the computers in the company that are connected to intranet and internet network (Miller 2009). The policy should also aim target control of removable device use. For instance, it should prevent the employees from connecting unauthorized such as unclean USB drives to the computers. The USB drives may carry malware that may infect a computer once plugged into the computer. Recommendations The building society should make sure that any employee authorised to use the intranet receives formal training on internet security. At the same time, the company needs an information technology security policy to guide the employees on how to avoid encountering attacks as well as to handle instances of security violation, attacks or threats. References Brecht, D 2013, "10 of the Most Common Intranet Security Issues that Occur at Work," BrightHub, 24 Dec 2015, Cisco Networking Academy 2013, Exploring the Modern Computer Network: Types, Functions, and Hardware,viewed 24 Dec 2015, Joshi, J, Aref, W, Ghafoor, A & Spafford, E 2001, “Security Models For Web-Based Applications," Communications Of The ACM vol 44 no 2, pp38-44 Lee, M 2011, "Design And Implementation Of An Intranet Security And Access Control System In UBI-COM," Computing and Informatics, Vol. 30, pp.419–428 Miller, S 2009, Getting a Secure Intranet, viewed 25 Dec 2015, SANS Institute 2003, Designing a Secure Local Area Network, viewed 24 Dec 2015, VeriSign 2013, "Guide To Securing Intranet And Extranet Servers," Windows Security, viewed 24 Dec 2015, Read More