There are a few final considerations to examine for the setup of the WAN and LAN networks that will be running through all Kudler locations. Here we will discuss the software and hardware needed for security and functionality of the network at each location.
Firewalls
Any connection to the internet has some risk of attack from external sources, which means our proposed setup introduces this risk at each Kudler location. To mitigate this risk, we can use a combination of software and hardware firewalls to protect the Kudler network.
Hardware firewalls “provide a first line of defense against common forms of attack coming from the outside world.” (Pacchiano, 2011) They do this by monitoring all traffic, and rejecting traffic that comes from …show more content…
The power of the router is that it can “determine the next network point to which a packet should be forwarded toward its destination.” (Rhodes, 2006) This kind of decision-making ability for where to send packets is what allows computers on a LAN to communicate with each other and with the internet or company intranet.
These routers are often multi-function devices, and can serve as gateways and hardware firewalls in addition to the routing. Therefore the best practice would be to invest in routers that can fill all of these roles.
Switches are devices without a lot of software built in, that are primarily used to expand the number of Ethernet ports available on a company network. Switches merely route data down paths pre-assigned by the router for incoming data, or simply forward data to the router when it comes to data leaving computers headed outward. While many home networks have routers filling some of this role as well, in a business environment it is fine to have a router that only has a single inward facing Ethernet cable, which goes to a switch, that allows for more Ethernet cables to be sent onward to company computers, and in this case, point of sale
Firewalls
Any connection to the internet has some risk of attack from external sources, which means our proposed setup introduces this risk at each Kudler location. To mitigate this risk, we can use a combination of software and hardware firewalls to protect the Kudler network.
Hardware firewalls “provide a first line of defense against common forms of attack coming from the outside world.” (Pacchiano, 2011) They do this by monitoring all traffic, and rejecting traffic that comes from …show more content…
The power of the router is that it can “determine the next network point to which a packet should be forwarded toward its destination.” (Rhodes, 2006) This kind of decision-making ability for where to send packets is what allows computers on a LAN to communicate with each other and with the internet or company intranet.
These routers are often multi-function devices, and can serve as gateways and hardware firewalls in addition to the routing. Therefore the best practice would be to invest in routers that can fill all of these roles.
Switches are devices without a lot of software built in, that are primarily used to expand the number of Ethernet ports available on a company network. Switches merely route data down paths pre-assigned by the router for incoming data, or simply forward data to the router when it comes to data leaving computers headed outward. While many home networks have routers filling some of this role as well, in a business environment it is fine to have a router that only has a single inward facing Ethernet cable, which goes to a switch, that allows for more Ethernet cables to be sent onward to company computers, and in this case, point of sale