5.2 VPN for connecting back to Office

August 17, 2017August 17, 2017 ~ SwissArmyKnife ~ Leave a comment

VPN allow employees to connect back to Office from outside (Hotels, Homes, Customer or Client Sites). VPN are configured from the Company Firewall, and are either IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) or SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), and may add additional 2-Factor Audentication (Token, Mobile Apps or SMS).

IPsec VPN require specific clients to be installed on user computer in order to make a connection, which acts as an additional layer of security, however maintaining it or keeping it updated on user computer is much harder. SSL VPN is of a standard protocal that can be run from web browser and many mobile device without needing additional installations.

VPN also provide the additional benefits to access websites where your current location might blocks, which your company is able to in another country, such as for accessing Google sites in China. It basically acts as a middle man to search and send the results back to you.

There are also free end user VPN (ZenMate – https://zenmate.com etc) that can be installed as an add-on easily on Chrome Browser that might bypass even the company Firewall. Allowing you to access websites that you normally can’t.

3.2 Andriod VS IPhone for Corporate Use

August 16, 2017 ~ SwissArmyKnife ~ Leave a comment

Corporate are no longer supporting blackberry, and lesser restriction are given to employees as work and life get blurred.

Android-vs-IOS (used by IPhone only)
With the increasing demand of a more mobile workforce, and the surge of in-house apps for work processing etc, companies will need to embrace mobile to stay competitive or a distinctive edge over competitors.

Android platform allow faster rollout, changes etc, as its more loosly controlled which can be a bad thing if they were exploited by other malicious apps that employees installed for their day to day use. Welcomed by SME, allow for competitive advantage on niche market, fast response to market changes and needs.

MNC will prefer IOS instead for its better control and security. Apps will most likely be brought off the shelf, or managed externally by means of cloud based or vendors.

2.5 Corporate IT Security

May 10, 2017August 17, 2017 ~ SwissArmyKnife ~ Leave a comment

With the rise in Cybersecurity Threats, depending on how each organisation is structured, whether fully on-premise with email and web servers, or partial cloud solutions, the basic form of protection is as follows;

Firewall – To control inbound and outbound external traffic, and providing secure remote access
Email Spam Filtering – To filter off unwanted email
Network Switches and Wireless Access Points – To control internal traffic
Physical Security Systems – Card or Fingerprint Access Control, CCTV
Access Control – Account control to intranet portals & ERP systems, shared folders permission
Client Antivirus – Virus and Malware protection
Encryption and Backup – Safeguard Data from Lost

2.4 Wired and Wireless Connections

November 29, 2015August 17, 2017 ~ SwissArmyKnife ~ Leave a comment

To send and share data locally, it have to either be connected physically through a wired connection of transmitted wirelessly through the air.

1 TB = 1,000 GB = 1,000,000 MB = 8,000,000 Mbit
As an example, it will take 1:30 min to download a 100MB file at 10 Mbit/s

Below table compares the speed, and the implementation required, do note that due to many external factors such as the distance, the quality and obstruction, the effective speed would be roughly halved.

Wired – Copper Cable
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Megabit LAN – 100 Mbit/s, maximum of 100 meters per cable segment, thick but relatively inexpensive
Gigabit LAN – 1000 Mbit/s, maximum of 100 meters per cable segment, thick but relatively inexpensive
10 Gigabit LAN – 10,000Mbit/s, maximum of 100 meters per cable segment, thick but relatively inexpensive
USB 1.0 – 1.5 Mbit/s, maximum of 5 meters
USB 2.0 – 480 Mbit/s, maximum of 5 meters
USB 3.0 – 5 Gbit/s, maximum of 5 meters
USB 3.1 also known as USB C – 10 Gbit/s, maximum of 5 meters

Wired – Optical Fibre
======================
Fibre Connection – 2/4/8/16 Mbit/s, can ran over 12 KM per cable segment, thin and costly

Wireless
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Wireless A/B – 11 MBit/s, 2.4 GHz Range, 35 meters
Wireless G – 54 MBit/s, 2.4 GHz Range, 38 meters
Wireless N – 600 MBit/s with 4 antennas, 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz Range, 70 meters
Wireless AC – 1.3 GBit/s with 3 spatial streams (Wave 1), 1.6 GBit/s with 4 spatial streams (Wave 2), 5 GHz Range, 35 meters

You may use the below calculator to estimated the time required to download / upload any file locally
http://www.meridianoutpost.com/resources/etools/calculators/calculator-file-download-time.php

*Note: Internet speed are dependant upon the package that you have signed up with the ISP. Do ensure your devices are connected and support that speed locally first before getting a higher internet speed package.

To choose a internet speed package, do consider the download speed, the upload speed, and the international speed (for accessing overseas sites), the service level (little or no downtime), and the cost.

2.3 Cloud or On-Premise

November 15, 2014May 10, 2017 ~ SwissArmyKnife ~ Leave a comment

Corporate should decide on Cloud (Outsourced) or On-Premise after performing an ROI (Return on Investment) and CBA (Cost Benefits Analysis).

Cloud Pros: Low to no initial capitalisation, reduced manpower to maintain and manage hardware, scalable and flexible to changes.

Cloud Cons: Require a lot of Internet Bandwidth, slower access to system and files (especially if they are large), data can be leaked with no means of knowing being compromised.

2.2 Server Room

October 6, 2010November 29, 2015 ~ SwissArmyKnife ~ Leave a comment

UCSD Server Room Standards
http://blink.ucsd.edu/technology/computers/basics/resources/servers.html

The server room is where all the server are located. It should follow the standards stated above as much as possible. Must be tidy and professionally maintained as shown on the left

The server rack diagram will show the arrangement of the servers and network devices on the rack as well as details like the configuration, ip address, host name etc

Alternatively you may find Rack diagrams in spreadsheets shared from the below links
https://blog.routedlogic.net/?p=218

3.1 Blackberry VS IPhone for Corporate Use (No Longer Relevant)

October 1, 2010August 16, 2017 ~ SwissArmyKnife ~ Leave a comment

Alot of corporate are still using blackberry while consumer are moving towards iphone. Lets compare the specification and price below and you shall see the reason behind each choices.

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5251&idPhone2=4910
Follow link to see both specification side by side for comparison.

While iphone excel in both user interface and user friendly, as well as millions of application avaliable. Blackberry is still the corporate choice now due to its longer battery life, greater control over the phone (Remote Wipe to prevent data lost, Push mail, Blackberry Exchange/Lotus server avaliable for integration that give better security and features, cheaper handsets). Microsoft and Lotus have started integration of their email to iphone, thus we should see companies in future switching over to IPhone.

On a side note, Android Phone like Samsung, Sony are a better consumer choice due to it having more features and apps than IPhone. IPhone had too much restriction for apps and its updates, apps maker will need to wait very long for approval, its reluctance to integrate with other company like Google maps etc. and choose to reinvent the wheel with their Apple maps.

2.1 Secure Network Diagram

October 1, 2010May 10, 2017 ~ SwissArmyKnife ~ Leave a comment

I have taken this from another website to demostrate how a secure corporate network looks like, this kind of setup is an overkill for a company lesser than 200 users, more for SME and above with 500 users.

Depending on the nature of the business, new technology like Virtualization, High Availability, Spam Filtering, Fiber Optics are enabling faster speed and system that will be up and running at all times.