Kudler Fine Foods Network Security Design

Kudler Fine Foods Network Security Design

In review of the network at Kudler Fine Foods, the topology used is a bus network. This bus network is set-up so all network nodes connect via CAT5 to the bus or communication lines. All locations in the corporation are using the same configuration of workstations, servers, and UPS. All networks have one way of communicating to the Internet using 56k modem. The bus network is cost-effective to set-up, but difficult to troubleshoot because if it goes down, the entire network has an outage. The other aspect is that if two systems are sending signals at the same time, the network has signal collision, meaning both signals drop. To prevent this from happening, a (CSMA/CD) Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection is installed. This will put the network into a listen mode to prevent collisions from happening.

Network Response Time

One goal is to improve the lack of response time and latency experienced on the network because of the 56k modems installed at all locations. Critical because it is slow and if one modem goes down, there is no other form of communication to the Internet. The first problem of response times, latency, and jitter seen are not only slow network speeds, but also the out-of-date systems used.

Response time measures the time it takes for a system to respond to user input commands. The host systems at all locations are running Windows 98 and Pentium II processors; 10 years old. The latency and jitter issues directly relate to the bandwidth available and "Jitter is the amount of variation in latency/response time, in milliseconds" (Nessoft, 2006). This low bandwidth provided by the 56k modem, can only receive up to 56,000 bps. Another issue is all servers on Kudler's network are running Windows NT with Pentium III processors. The new system should consist of a T1line receiving up to 1.544 Mbps, 27 times faster than the old modem. The response time, latency, and jitter significantly reduced, the network performance will keep up with all feeds coming from every Kudler Fine Foods location, obtaining better sales and inventory tracking. An improvement from the existing network ensuring the network has fewer outages and provides availability 97% of the time.

Traffic Analysis

This can be achieved by conducting traffic analysis on the network. Traffic analysis is good for detecting network intrusion, response time, and latency issues. There are a multitude of command line tools used, but one that provides this vital information is Wire Shark. Wire Shark provides a deep packet level analysis of the network so problems mitigate as they are discovered. Other tools, such as Ping, provide users with the ability to check network conductivity with a specific node or Internet site. Trace Route is another command line utility showing the full connection path between the user system and determined destination system reached. Important because this can decrease outage times on a switch and routed network identifying which device is not passing on the packets and where the packet drops occur.

Another important issue is the ability to monitor network systems. Traffic analysis is important, but system outages are just one instance that can occur. Possessing the ability to detect outages before they happen is best for any network. This is why Nagios is implemented within the Kudler network. "Nagios is a powerful IT management system that enables organizations to identify and resolve IT infrastructure problems before they affect critical business processes" (Nagios, 2012). Crucial to Kudler's new network because Nagios provides a system to alert whenever a network device detects an issue so it is fixed immediately. Without traffic analysis the ability to discover systems or network devices causing problems would not be possible and would take wasted time pinpointing where the problem is on the network.

Networking Standards

Important factors to any network is following set standards; meaning the ability to connect and share information. Open standards allowing for this because of using different technologies, such as NIC cards to connect to the Internet via CAT5. The following lists are organizations providing networking standards followed on the new enterprise network for Kudler Fine Foods.

* Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

* Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA)

* Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is an organization that sets standards for all networks. This means that wireless networks also fall into this category. The IEEE has a massive amount of information and standards becoming valuable information for this new network. This is not the only organization concerned when it comes to standards because WECA is vital. Because there are WLANs incorporated into this network, it is important to understand what WECA does. The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance was set-up, "to ensure the cross-vendor compatibility of 802.11b wireless networking hardware and software" (Kozierok, 2005). Vital if organizations had their own way to communicate, in terms of wireless devices, nothing would work.

The Internet Engineering Task Force plays an important role concerning standards in networking. The way people communicate via TCP/IP, is a standard designed by this group. Though there are more groups providing these standards, it is important to remember that all work together. This is why incorporating these standards is imperative.

Protocol and Security Overview

Important factors to any organization are security. Even if Kudler Fine Foods spends a million dollars on the new enterprise network, it is senseless not to provide protection to information collected. It is wise to choose the correct communication protocols, based on the equipment used with the network infrastructure. Making sure that within those protocols, the correct protocols chosen to provide the security needed. For instance, TCP/IP is a communication protocol, but within the TCP/IP are protocols allowing for communication to take place such as port 80 or HTTP. No matter what technology, these communication protocols differ. The TCP/IP operates at layer 3 and 4 of the OSI model. The OSI model is standard for the way communication takes place. Since the new enterprise network will incorporate a Wide Area Network connecting all locations, each will have their own individual wireless local network.

Choosing the correct communication protocol is vital