Mr. Khoza runs a small business in Midrand, Gauteng. His business has been steadily growing since
its inception in February 2019 in spite of the ill-effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns as well as the
ripple effects of the economic issues and financial markets such as rising fuel prices and inflation.
He, Mr. Khoza, has asked you to design a secure network for his small business. Additionally, he
would like you to design and build a cost-effective network for his business.
The current setup is such that every PC and laptop user uses a 3G dongle to connect to the Internet.
When users need to print, they either copy the work that needs to be printed to USB flash drives
or email their work to any one of the five users whose PCs are attached to a printer – all printers
connect via USB cables.
The new network, according to Mr. Khoza, should cater to at least thirty devices, fifteen desktops
(PCs), seven laptops including Mr. Khoza’s laptop, two servers and four BYOD devices. Additionally,
Mr. Khoza wants to allow visitors such as customers and suppliers to connect mobile devices to get
Internet connectivity. All users with PCs and laptops should still be able to print.
The premises where Mr. Khoza runs his business has six offices (rooms). All the rooms are located
on the same floor. Mr. Khoza has an office and does not share office space. There are two open-
plan offices, the first open-plan office houses seven desktops and the remainder of the PCs are
housed in the second open-plan office. Two laptop users share an office while the other three
laptop users share a separate office. A small storeroom has been selected for use as a server room.
Write a report to present to Mr. Khoza that discusses the importance of building a
resilient network design. In your discussion, consider at least four factors to consider
to explain how resilience and redundancy can be built into Mr. Khoza’s network
infrastructure design.
• The report must be at least three pages and must not exceed five pages,
excluding diagrams.
• Reference all the sources including in-text referencing.
Report: Building a Resilient Network Design for Mr. Khoza's Small Business
Introduction:
In today's digital age, a secure and reliable network infrastructure is crucial for the success of any business. Building a resilient network design not only ensures uninterrupted connectivity but also safeguards against potential disruptions and enhances productivity. This report aims to discuss the importance of building a resilient network design for Mr. Khoza's small business in Midrand, Gauteng, and provide recommendations on how to achieve this goal.
Importance of Resilient Network Design:
1. Minimizing Downtime:
One of the primary goals of a resilient network design is to minimize downtime, which can have detrimental effects on business operations. By incorporating redundant network components such as backup routers, switches, and power supplies, potential failures can be mitigated. Additionally, implementing features like automatic failover and load balancing can further enhance network availability, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity for Mr. Khoza's business.
2. Enhanced Data Protection:
Building a resilient network design involves implementing backup and disaster recovery solutions. Redundant storage systems and regular data backups ensure that critical business data is protected in the event of hardware failures, data corruption, or natural disasters. By maintaining multiple copies of data in separate locations, the risk of data loss can be significantly reduced, providing Mr. Khoza with peace of mind regarding important business information.
3. Scalability and Future Growth:
A resilient network design enables easy scalability and accommodates the future growth of Mr. Khoza's business. By considering factors such as increased number of devices, additional employees, and expanding business requirements, the network infrastructure can be designed to easily accommodate these changes. Implementing modular and scalable components allows for seamless upgrades and additions, avoiding the need for costly and disruptive network redesigns in the future.
4. Securing Resources and Data:
Incorporating network security measures is a critical aspect of building a resilient network design. By implementing secure access controls, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems, Mr. Khoza can safeguard his business resources and sensitive data from potential vulnerabilities and external threats. Regular security audits and patch management processes should also be in place to identify and address any vulnerabilities proactively.
Recommendations for Building a Resilient Network Design:
1. Redundant Internet Connections:
To ensure uninterrupted connectivity, it is advisable to have multiple internet service providers (ISPs) with failover capabilities. This ensures that even if one ISP experiences outages or performance issues, the business can continue to operate seamlessly. Implementing load balancing techniques can further optimize network utilization and enhance overall performance.
2. Redundant Network Hardware:
Incorporating redundant network hardware such as routers, switches, and power supplies can significantly reduce the risk of network failures and downtime. Redundant components can be configured in an active-passive or active-active mode, allowing for automatic failover and load balancing, respectively. High-quality network equipment from reputable vendors should be selected to ensure reliability and availability.
3. Virtualization and Server Redundancy:
Virtualization technology allows for the consolidation of multiple physical servers into virtual machines, reducing hardware costs and improving resource utilization. Implementing server redundancy through virtualization enables failover capabilities and provides high availability for critical applications and services. Additionally, it is recommended to have backup servers in place for disaster recovery purposes, ensuring data and services can be restored quickly.
4. Secure Wireless Network for Visitors:
To accommodate visitors, such as customers and suppliers, it is essential to provide a separate wireless network with limited access to the internal infrastructure. Implementing guest Wi-Fi with strong encryption, passphrase rotation, and isolation features ensures secure internet connectivity for visitors while preventing unauthorized access to sensitive business resources. Regularly monitoring and auditing guest network usage further enhances security.
Conclusion:
Building a resilient network design is crucial for Mr. Khoza's small business in Midrand. By considering factors such as minimizing downtime, enhancing data protection, providing scalability, and ensuring network security, a robust and reliable network infrastructure can be established. Implementing redundant internet connections, network hardware, virtualization, and server redundancy, as well as a secure wireless network for visitors, will enable Mr. Khoza's business to thrive even in the face of potential disruptions.