Interview your university network specialist.

Interview your university network specialist. Ask how various parts of the system communicates with each other throughout the university. (Q) Given the chance to redesign the existing setup, enumerate and discuss your keypoints for an effective and efficient network environment ideal for the university.

Our interview with the university network specialist was supposed to be a class discussion with him. But because of some unfortunate events he just told us to submit a questionnaire. He had discussed in his answer the components involved in the system. Also the other people involve in the some network task in the university namely Sir Fortitch and Ma’am Mercado. These are the complete words that he answered:

***What are the components involved in the system(s) in the university? (hardware, software, technology, etc.)

· I am not in the right position to discuss the details of the software components used as there are other assigned personnel for such job. However, talking about hardware component and technology used, basically I, assigned as the network administrator, is entrusted to maintain our different servers to run 24/7. Currently, we have our Web Server hosted here in our University in our HP ProLiant ML350 Server. Its an old but stable server set-up here in our Networks Office and has been active since Engr. Val A. Quimno , not yet a dean, was appointed as the Network Administrator. The said server has the following specification:

· Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz, 3.2 GHz, or 3.4 GHz processors (dual processor capability) with 1MB level 2 cache standard. Processors include support for Hyper-Threading and Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)

· Intel® E7520 chipset

· 800-MHz Front Side Bus

· Integrated Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter

· Smart Array 641 Controller (standard in Array Models only)

· NC7761 PCI Gigabit NIC (embedded)

· Up to 1 GB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM with Advanced ECC capabilities (Expandable to 8 GB)

· Six expansion slots: one 64-bit/133-MHz PCI-X, two 64-bit/100-MHz PCI-X, one 64-bit/66-MHz PCI-X, one x4 PCI-Express, and one x8 PCI-Express

· New HP Power Regulator for ProLiant delivering server level, policy based power management with industry leading energy efficiency and savings on system power and cooling costs

· Three USB ports: 1 front, 1 internal, 1 rear

· Support for Ultra320 SCSI hard drives (six hot plug or four non-hot plug drives supported standard, model dependent)

· Internalstorage capacity of up to 1.8TB; 2.4TB with optional 2-bay hot plug SCSI drive

· 725W Hot-Plug Power Supply (standard, most models); optional 725W Hot-Pluggable Redundant Power Supply (1+1) available. Non hot plug SCSI models include a 460W non-hot plug power supply.

· Tool-free chassis entry and component access

· Support for ROM based setup utility (RBSU) and redundant ROM

· Systems Insight Manager, SmartStart, and Automatic Server Recovery 2 (ASR-2) included

· Protected by HP Services and a worldwide network of resellers and service providers. Three-year Next Business Day, on-site limited global warranty. Certain restrictions and exclusions apply. Pre-Failure Notification on processors, memory, and SCSI hard drives.

Aside from it, our mail server running under Compaq Proliant ML330 Server, our oldest server, is also hosted here in our Networks Office. Together with other Servers, such as Proxy and Enrollment Servers, both proxy and our enrollment servers are running in a microcomputer/personal computers but with higher specifications to act as servers.

He had discussed in his answer how servers are connected and also the topology, network connectivity, and also protocols. He also discussed the data flow. These are the complete words that he answered:

***How do these communicate with one another? (topology, network connectivity, protocols, etc.) – may include data flow/ UML diagrams to better explain.

All Servers are connected in a shared medium grouped as one subnetwork. In general, our network follows the extended star topology which is connected to a DUAL WAN Router that serves as the load balancer between our two Internet Service Providers. All other workstations are grouped into different subnetworks as in star topology branching out from our servers subnetwork as in extended star topology. At present, we are making use of class C IP Address for private IP address assignments. Other workstations IP assignments are configured statically (example: laboratories) while others are Dynamic (example: offices). All workstations are connected via our proxy servers that do some basic filtering/firewall to control users access to the internet aside from router filtering/firewall management. So, whenever any workstation has to connect to the internet, it has to pass through software and hardware based firewall.

***What are the processes involved in the communication (each system to other systems)?

As mentioned above, in item 3, all workstations are connected via a proxy server. It means that whenever a workstation is turned on, it requests for an IP address from the proxy server (for dynamically configured IP address) and connect to the network after IP address is acquired. As connection is established, each system can now communicate and share resources within the same subnetwork and to server following the concepts discuss in your Computer Network Class.

***How do you go along with the maintenance of the system?

Basically, our servers are expected to be in good condition since it is required to be up 24/7. Daily, during my vacant period, monitoring on the servers are observed that includes checking logs, checking hardware performance such as CPU health, etc. If problems are observed, remedies are then and then applied. Once in a week, regular overall checkup is observed as preventive maintenance to ensure not to experience longer downtime if possible.

***Does the system follow a specific standard? Explain Please.

As I was appointed as the Network Administrator, everything was already in place except for some minor changes. Basically, different networking standards was already observed such as cabling standards, TIA/EIA 568A-B, different IEEE standards as discussed in your Computer Networks Subject, etc.

***How is the security of the system? Are there any vulnerabilities? Risks? Corresponding mitigation techniques? Access control?

As I have mentioned, we have implemented both software and hardware based filtering/firewall. Basically, Risks or vulnerabilities and different mitigation techniques were considered to increase security in our network. Aside from filtering/firewall, constant monitoring on networks activity also increases the security of the system.

***Are there any interference? During what (most) times do these occur? Explain their effects especially with regards to the business of the university?

Major Interferences are normally encountered as an effect of unforeseen and beyond our control events such as black outs, and the like. The said interference would of course affect University’s day-to-day businesses for obviously this will paralyze all our activities that rely on electricity and further this might cause damage on our network devices, etc. that may later be the reason for longer downtime. Problems encountered by our providers such as connection to the National/International Gateway also affect University’s business such as correlating to University’s Business Partners outside and within the country.

Security is the key consideration for the converged network platform. Using all the tools, both technological and procedural, in the network administrator’s armoury to defeat unauthorised access to company information and systems. In addition, organizations must create and implement policies for the deployment and operation of network security, and consider the potential risks from an enterprise-wide perspective.

According to http://www.marketscreen.com/:

Efficient Networks is a worldwide developer and supplier of high-speed digital subscriber line customer premises equipment, or CPE, for the broadband access market.Efficient was ranked as the number one supplier of DSL customer premises equipment in terms of both revenues and number of units shipped in both of those periods.The amount of data being carried over the Internet and private communications networks has grown dramatically and is expected to continue to grow as the number of users accessing these networks increases. The increase in the quantity of data being carried over the Internet and private networks also is being driven by the broadening range of activities for which these networks are being used. In order to enhance their reach to customers and suppliers, businesses are increasingly engaging in mission-critical Internet-based applications, such as electronic commerce, supply chain management, Web hosting, and global marketing and customer support. Businesses also increasingly use the Internet to create secure data networks known as virtual private networks among corporate sites, remote offices and telecommuters.To meet the growing demand for high-speed, high-bandwidth data transmission, network service providers have installed high-bandwidth fiber optic transmission equipment, high-speed switches and core routers in the Internet backbone and in interoffice networks. While this network backbone is capable of delivering data at very high speeds, an access bottleneck exists between the ends of these fiber optic networks at telephone companies' central offices and the end users' premises. The copper line connections between the central office and the end user are commonly known as the "last mile." Last mile connections are typically made via dial-up analog or integrated services digital network, commonly known as ISDN, modems over the copper infrastructure that was originally built to transmit analog voice signals. Data transmission speed, otherwise known as bandwidth, is typically expressed in bits per second. Along the fiber optic network backbone, data moves at speeds up to 2.5 billion bits per second, or 2.5 Gbps, while analog modems transmit data at rates up to 56.6 thousand bits per second, or 56.6 Kbps, and most ISDN modems transmit at rates up to 128 Kbps. Even at ISDN speeds, several minutes are often required to access a media rich Website, and several hours may be required to transfer or download large files. During this time, the telephone line cannot be used for any other purpose. This bottleneck frustrates end users and limits the capability of network service providers to deliver applications such as efficient Internet access, multimedia entertainment, real-time telecommuting and branch office internetworking.In an effort to provide greater bandwidth, telecommunications network sevice providers have traditionally deployed T1 services. A T1 line is a high- capacity, dedicated telecommunications line which can support data transmissions rates of up to 1.5 million bits per second, or 1.5 Mbps, which is roughly 25 times the speed of analog modems. Although T1 services have helped fill the need for broadband access for large businesses, network service providers have generally been unable to offer T1 services to small businesses, remote offices, telecommuters and consumers as a result of the complexity and high costs of deployment. Because analog and ISDN modem technology fails to satisfy the bandwidth needs of end users, and T1 access is prohibitively expensive, network service providers continue to seek alternatives for providing cost-effective broadband access to both businesses and consumers. Additionally, the continued growth in both the number of analog modem users and their time spent connected to the Internet congests many network service providers' networks while providing them with little or no additional revenue.