Network

The internal network consists of two servers, one of which is a virtualization platform hosting 3 virtual machines as well as three switches, a central router connected to three modems, five IP cameras for surveillance, six printers and thirteen work stations. In addition there are two access points and some mobile terminals. The system supports immediate addition of more devices if necessary without any reconfiguration up to a total number of sixty four.

Access to the internet from the inside of the network is unrestricted but checked through the firewall on the central router and is dynamically load balanced (failover is also enabled) between the three internet lines the company leases. for security reasons as well as keeping low costs, all the network devices access the internet through Network Address Translation (NAT) so each line has one IP address. One of the connections has a static IP address for the Virtual Private Networks and remote access to work from the internet.

Services

The two installed servers are necessary for the correct operation of the network as well as for providing all the needed services. The company's ERP is setup on one of the servers as a standalone system which does not run any other services other than backup processes for itself. The second server is a virtualization platform hosting three virtual servers, each providing a different set of services to the network.

The first one is a file server allowing users to save their files and documents on network storage with access control, automatic backup systems and antivirus services. This server also provides Domain Name Translation (DNS) and WINS services to the network for higher internet performance and some internal applications that need it.

The second virtual server is an application server hosting some web apps running on the internal network. The system includes a database server with automatic backup processes as well as some other services which are necessary in order for the applications to work correctly.

Last, there is an NMS (Network Management System) to automatically scan for, control, and fix network problems on the fly. There is an application setup on this system which monitors all network devices providing graphs and triggers as well as a logging server, gathering logs from the whole network, scanning them and sending important issues to the administrator through email.

The main router provides for all the rest of the necessary network services such as Dynamic IP addressing (DHCP), protecting the network with a smart firewall which supports deep packet inspection, holding the endpoints on different Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections and others.

The equipment chosen for this network is described below: