Network Infrastructure Analysis and Evaluation Report - Unit 43

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of network infrastructure, encompassing key aspects such as DNS and Active Directory evaluation within a Windows environment, along with the technologies and security resources essential for effective network management. Task 1 delves into the evaluation of DNS and Active Directory in MS Windows, exploring their functionalities and differences, while also examining the technologies that support network infrastructure management and the security resources available. Task 2 focuses on network infrastructure design, including server evaluation, addressing and deployment solutions, and evaluating rights and security requirements. Task 3 covers the implementation of network infrastructure and potential security threats, while Task 4 reviews and tests the network implementation, and evaluates the network and user assurance. The report provides a thorough exploration of network infrastructure, offering insights into its design, implementation, and management, with a focus on security and user assurance.

Network Infrastructure

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1.1 Evaluation of DNS in MS windows and active directory in MS windows....................1
P 1.2 The technologies that support network infrastructure management.............................6
P 1.3 The security resources available in network infrastructure management.....................8
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................10
P 2.1 Designing a network infrastructure.............................................................................10
M2 Evaluation of server with respect to network infrastructure..........................................14
P 2.2 Addressing and deployment solutions for the network...............................................15
P 2.3 Evaluating rights and security requirements...............................................................16
TASK-3 ........................................................................................................................................20
3.1 The implementation of network infrastructure ..............................................................20
M3 Implementation of potential security threats in a network ............................................23
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................24
P 4.1 Review and testing the network implementation........................................................24
P 4.2 Evaluation of the network and user assurance of the network....................................27
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................28
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................30

INTRODUCTION
Network infrastructure is considered as the resources of a complete network, with the
help of which the network connectivity can be enabled. The resources can be software's as well
as hardware's. It also involves the internal and external operations along with the communication
within an enterprise network (Xu and et.al., 2011). The entire structure of network is connected
inside the network, which means all the systems are connected to the servers and produces
internal as well as external communications. Along with the hardware and software, there are
various network services as well that are implied in the network infrastructure. The report is
about understanding the principles of the management of network infrastructure and representing
the same for Net Enterprise Solutions as they are recruiting for surging their client's needs.
TASK 1
To a group of connected computer systems the term of network infrastructure is used. The
parts of computers such as cables , switches, wireless access points etc are included in this
network infrastructure. The global intranet and corporate intranets are most probably same
but in a closed network architecture they operates. Within it only they are both are
accessible.
On a central data storage they are reliable and also included computers which after called as
severs (Agyapong and Benjebbour, 2014.). The central storage is accessed by routers,
switches, Ethernet cabling etc. In order to be functional the network architecture also needs
software requirements aside from having suitable hardware.
P1.1 Evaluation of DNS in MS windows and active directory in MS windows
The set of rules that is known as internet protocols are the most prominent among the
services in order to handle network infrastructure .Within networks and over the internet
they govern the formation which transfer of data that takes place. In every network
infrastructure the most common internet protocols that is sued in the domain name
service(DNS).In the IP address it is primary services that discovers and translated internet
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domain names into IP addresses. The name that is been typed in the web browser is
converted automatically by DNS to the corresponding web sites servers IP addresses in
order to store name and address information of all public hots the service make use of
distributed database on the internet .As it an easier way to get connected to distinct
websites(Gupta and Jha, 2015).
The caching request and redundancy is also provided by DNS services. With primary,
secondary and tertiary DNS serves it is not uncommon to discover operating system
configured in order to allow recreation. With the computers the service itself works on
client/server architecture. The clients of DNS want to make use of service that are needed
to have service configured on their network. The static IP addresses are assigned to the
DNS servers thus making it simpler for users to access the service during any query. In
order to discover the right severs for delivering internet e-mails the DNS is also used. The
domain names is covered back from IP addresses by making use of reverse look ups(Zheng
and Lei, 2016.).
In order to handle communication and request that is been sent over the network the
internet protocols such as DNS that is been used. Also it is important to have some inside
tools that can be sued to mange and con troll the resources over the network. In order to
centralize the network information most of the organization make use of directory service.
With Windows’s Active directory most of the vendors offer this .Most probably these are
being deployed in smaller business. The web-based relationships and the internal relations
are been manged by using service software such as Novell’s e- directory. This more
preferred by corporate people and also it is used as centralising agent. It can also be
utilized as web service that can be accessed by both internal and external users through
authentic logons. From an added access to web service both active directory and e-
directory have much more to provide.
The main difference between them is as follows-:
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Manageability
The windows active directory providers straightforward and manageable consoles that
can be expanded .So, over the infrastructure of organization it offers a greater converge.
However in comparison with Novell’s e Directory to provided differ types of tools in order
to make easy the management across various platforms.
Scalability
In Windows active directory, the multiple directory servers host the similar directory that
is allowed by multi-master model. In the event of master failures the limited management
functionalities is been offered by Windows’s FSMO (Kasapaki and Sparsø, 2016.).
However, in Novell e-directory the multi-master model is also offered but only the
certified employees are giving permission for performing tasks such as updation of
schemes etc.
Security
The small attack service is provided by both services bout through proper
directory implementation it can be available. In order to manage network client’s the active
directory is offered by group policy. For the clients of windows only it is applicable.
However on other hand, the client/desktop management is offered by e-directory
ZENworks suite. Arcos various platforms the Novell’s security tools are capable of
monitoring and administrating clients.
Compatibility
On the windows OS only active directory can be installed and the endpoint-to end-point
solutions frae been provided by them .So, this make installation across various devices and
OS very easy(King and Farrel, 2015). However on other hand, for its support for multi-
platform Novell is known.
Reliability
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The Novell’s up time reputations is not been able to catch up by windows. An
array of service packs , hotfixes etc have been offered by windows. However on other
hand it is highly reliable to install novell’s e-directory on a Novell NetWare server.
The networking architecture the additional management concern is also faced.
The rights are either accessed to management of users or resources etc. Through different
tools different operating systems deal with these concerns. In order to tackle with each
Susie windows server OS provides a variety of feature. These features handle these type of
tasks which are as follows-:
Resource management
By large IT corporation and the infrastructure resource management is been
used. The high-end resource management is been required by large IT corporations such as
data centres. In order to deliver established level of service this resources are been used.
The extensive management methods are not used by smaller organization. For an instance
the allocation of resources is enables by CPU and memory by making use of window’s
system resource manager. The limits are being addressed by the administrators .Among
multiple applications that are running in a network WSRM is able to allocate resources.
User management
In order to build a network the most essential task is to secure a network on the
outside. But it is necessary to protect the network from inside. The network security
polices need to be configured and also the user permissions ned to be granted. To the
resources of organization the same level of access to all in the organization is not been
provided. Through proper user-management a lot of issues can be handled by
administrators
Novice internet users
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There are chances that sensitive private information of the organization can be
exposed to the world outside. These people are not expertise but there they are not having
any dangerous intentions.
Intensive bandwidth users
In the workflow of organization, the serious threat is been posed by bandwidth
logging (Merolla and Brezzo, 2014.). The bandwidth network is been clogged by
unnecessary downloads. By allocating bandwidths can also be handled by this.
Password assignments
For the organization a serious threat is been posed by weak passwords. In order
to make sure that certain needs are been met by the passwords the polices are also
applauded to it.
Within the organization the Windows’ active directory can also be utilized in order to
crate and centralised users (Krienen and Sherwood, 2016.).
Access control
In order to protect internal network the additional features are been proved. These
involve access control. The polices to users, group and computers are being assigned
through access control administrators. The various methods such as permission, user-rights
object auditing etc. can be implemented by using access control
Permissions
The access to a user, group or object are defined by the type of access that is
defined in permissions. For objects such as files, registry, process NTFS permission is set
by administrators through access control. On the type of object the permission that is
viable for an object can change .The read, modify, change owner etc are been assigned to
most of the objects. The inherited permission is also given to access control users. All the
inherited permission that is there in containers is inherited by that container
User rights
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Within the network the specific privileges and logon rights are been granted by
user rights. To a group or individual user-accounts administrations can assign particular
rights. The specific actions are been authorized from these rights .The actions such as
logging in the system, backing up the fields etc are been done .The permissions and the
user rights are not same they differ from each other. The permissions are attached to
object’s. However, user rights are attached to users.
Object auditing
Within the network by using this feature one can monitor and examine the
policies and permissions that is been assigned. In order to access attempts to object it allows
administration to log both successful and unsuccessful access.
P 1.2 The technologies that support network infrastructure management
The most of the functions of the organization is bene supported by the server which is a
network hardware(Zhao, Mathieu and LeCun, 2016). It also known as the backbone of the
infrastructure. The networking hardware need to be selected in a way that is compatible with the
infrastructure. The organization collection of serves is not just referred by the term
infrastructure but also all the devices that is connected to the network. On the requirements of
hardware the functionality of a network structure is dependent(Szegedy and Wojna, 2016) .It is
essential that hardware on the network need to be implemented properly so that infrastructure to
be functional. It can be done by continuing monitoring it and also the operations and serves need
to be managed.
The powerful servers are been required in larger infrastructures such as data centres. The
most of them settle for rack servers. The smaller tower severs can be used by small organizations
depending on the size they can make use of these servers. The tasks that is been deployed by the
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servers can only be handled by them. The software such as operating system need to be
monitored. On the requirement and size of infrastructure the OS is chosen .With Micros fit
server OS a small organization can make a couple of (HP) ProLiant severs .A variety of
management tools is been offered by Windows Server OS. The various tools can be Resource
monitor and access control. There are various devices and hardware that is needed to build fully
operational networking infrastructure. They are as follows-:
Routers and switches
Across the network routers and switches are responsible for transferring of data. The
devices, applications, and network connection grows in the number of IT infrastructure and the
there is an increase in traffic of volume. So, in the overall performance of network and
productivity of user the importance of switches and routers also increases. The packet loss
protection is there is the router and switches in the organization are up to date. Also the high
performance will also be achieved by the organization due to updating of routers and switches as
well as it will also support redundancy support.
Firewalls
There is high dependence on each other of firewall configuration and infrastructure
security. With proper configurations having a robust firewall can maintain security of network.
In both hardware and software it can implement. The unauthorized interactive logins from the
outside world is being secured by firewall. It will give protection to the system.
Wireless access
In order to provide an effective network management strategy a secure and efficient
wireless access need to be given. The cost that is need in wired network is also reduced by
wireless access. The larger platform is being opened in order to access the resources of network
by wireless access. It is a cost -effective process for any organization or infrastructure.
Remote access-
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The remote access also need to be configured while setting up the management solutions
for a network, The cost effective mode of network management is not presented by remote
access.
P 1.3 The security resources available in network infrastructure management
On the software supporting the infrastructure the security resources that are thee are highly
dependent. Different level of support is bene given by different OS .The Microsoft windows
servers 2008 offered a variety of management and support tools. Among these tools the most
commonly are as follows-:
Rights management – Through its active directory right management services windows server
manages its assignments of rights. The digital information against the unauthorized users can be
secured by using AD RMS administrations. Both online and offline digital information can be
safeguarded from it. To the files the rights that is configured are applied. Theses policies can also
be applied to a third -party formats of documents through add-ons administration.
User management – Through the active directory users and features of computers of the
windows OS the user accounts and the activities such as creating , monitoring and administrating
user accounts can be gathered. The local user accounts, reset passwords, disable or active
accounts etc can be created through users and computers administrator.
Allocation of group – For a group related work the group allocation of resources is been done.
The allocation of different resource is been handled by the different server 2008 features. The
hardware resources is been allocated by the windows system resource managers .The hardware
resources such as memory and processor to high-end application and functions are being
allocated by them. For each user the storage space can also be allocated by configuring certain
policies on user accounts.
Encryption -Every organization have a fear that the customers information need to be maintained
securely by them and it should not be disclosed to another person. Both financial information and
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database of customers are valuable for the organization and they have frets over the accidental
disclosure (Varior, Haloi and Wang, 2016,). The best way to make sure that valuable
information does not get leak is that encrypting method’s can be used .The non-authentic user
will not able to see the private information. The task of encrypting each file and storing it in a
folder can be difficult. But the windows encrypting file system makes it easier by storing the
encrypted files and folders on servers and clients as well. The polices of EFS are not only
applicable to the devises that ae within the network but are also applicable to also remote service
and clients as well. The restrict is accessed by the EFS administrator to an extent where the
access to the services and its final systems are not able to see the data that they should not.
Virtual private network – Over the less protected network VPN is used and it is also a form of
encrypted connections. The appropriate level of security is been ensured by VPN. Alone the
network infrastructure cannot provided the security. The cost-efficient is enabled by the VPN
connections. The remote access to private network is also provided by VP connections. The
advantage of the internet is been taken by administration that will help to give protection and
functionality of private WAN connection. In order to protect communication it will make use of
cryptographic security service over the internet protocol networks. This will makes the network
infrastructure management is more accessible.
Radius – The centralized connection authentication and authorization is been given by remote
access dial in support. It is a type of windows platform.
IPSec- It is a type of Windows Sever OS features .The network peer authentication, data
integrity, data confidentiality etc are also been supported by IP sec at less price. Via the windows
firewall with advanced security snap-in IPSec polices can be configured.
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TASK 2
P 2.1 Designing a network infrastructure
While designing the network infrastructure of Net Enterprise Solutions, it is very
important to keep the essentials that the company requires (Fodor and et.al., 2012). The
requirement here is to develop and design a prototype client server network architecture for
Khepri as well as for Associates Ltd. It also involves the setting up of all the hardware and
network resources. Network
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