Computer Network Upgrade for ELearning
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Executive Overview
The security and efficiency problems ELearning is currently can be easily solved by upgrading the company’s software resources, and several hardware components. The solution will not only solve the current challenges associated with the company’s expansion but also accommodate future growth. With this in mind, the new station in Austin, Texas, and the recently acquired EduTech have been incorporated in the plan.
A full upgrade from Windows Server 2003, 2008, and Unix-like systems to Windows Server 2012 R2 will not only significantly eliminate security threats, but also expose the users to add features to maximize cost and work efficiency. The Windows Deployment Services will be used in the deployment design to save on time, cost, and to deploy the image in many computers simultaneously. The virtual machine manager services will comprise of the internet, a firewall to separate logical and physical layers, a storage cluster, a network switch, and the Hyper-V platform. The system will have a highly available DHCP to provide services at all times and to enable clients to extend their lease when one DHCP server is not accessible, by contacting a different one. Moreover, the zone hierarchy structure will be employed for optimal zone delegation. Instead of traditional VPN, DirectAccess infrastructure will be used to allow a secure, encrypted connection. The forest root domain controller will be used to create trust paths between the ELearning and EduTech domains.
The proposed design should be the appropriate choice because it considers the financial needs and time-efficiency required by ELearning. Furthermore, it accounts not only for the future growth of the company in Austin, Texas, as the employment of new users, but also provides room for the technological and economic growth of ELearning. Also, the design builds on the existing infrastructure, hence shows a minimal need for additional hardware resources and effective use of the software.
Computer Network Upgrade for ELearning
As a company grows, so does its hardware and software needs; therefore, the systems should be upgraded regularly to meet the current market needs. While ELearning wants to expand its base to Austin, Texas, it already faces challenges with the existing Windows Server 2003, 2008, and old Unix systems. The systems are not only posing security threats but also affecting the business due to the delayed deployment of cloud resources. As a result, the company needs to fully transition to the more advanced Windows Server 2012 R2, which guarantees better security, and improved overall performance. This proposal has an exclusive design for each component – the virtual machine manager services, Windows Server, DNS, Remote Access control solution, and the Active Directory topology.
Windows Deployment Design
The deployment process will occur through the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) over a network, to avoid the installation of each computer with a DVD-ROM. This process will save costs and reduce the complexity associated with manual installations. Moreover, it eases the process of driver package installation to the server since they are configured and deployed together with the install image. Before deployment, the system will be required to have a working DHCP, DNS, NTFS volume, and the servers should be members of an Active Directory Domain Service (AD DS). The role will be managed remotely on a local server, using it to connect to the data centre. The multicast deployment will help to preserve the bandwidth while sending the images to many computers simultaneously. Hence, the method is reliable, cost-efficient, and first.
Virtual Machine Manager Services
The goal of the virtualization is to bring improvements in cost savings, infrastructure consolidation, security, and to support the business goals of ELearning. Also, the implementation should help users to create a virtual environment, to facilitate working from different locations and equipment. The implementation will include both physical and logical parts. The former will comprise of the internet, a firewall to separate logical and physical layers, a storage cluster, a network switch, and the Hyper-V platform. On the other hand, the logical infrastructure will represent the virtualized servers., and will utilize physical layer resources while providing its own to other virtual servers and users.
The virtual machine manager implementation of the physical infrastructure will consist of network elements, a Hyper-V virtualization platform, and data storage. The storage will comprise of RAID5 disk, to provide optimal disk failure resistance, thereby minimizing the chances of data loss. Hence, if one server fails, the next carries over the task, thus ensuring the constant availability of data. The Hyper-V will enable the addition of several hosts on-demand, thereby strengthening the overall performance of the system. The network infrastructure will include switches for connecting the Hyper-V and storage structures, and to join the entities to the virtualized system. Firewalls will be used as well, to filter communication between the logical and physical parts. Moreover, the system will be connected to the internet through the firewalls, without the DHCP protocol, as a security measure. The logical infrastructure will include several virtual machines, representing the servers for applications such as the domain controller, SQL server, DHCP server, DNS, virtual desktops, and system center server.
Windows Server Design
To fully upgrade the domain controllers and other computers in San Jose, California, and Dublin, Ireland, the devices will have to meet precise hardware specifications. The processor clock speed should be at least 2 GHz or faster; at least 2GB of RAM; 40 GB or higher available disk space, and optical drive – DVD-ROM; and XGA (1024*768) monitor. Moreover, functioning peripheral devices such as wired and wireless network cards, a compatible pointing device, and a keyboard. While the stated hardware requirements may be lesser than those of Windows Server 2008 and 2003, they guarantee faster overall performance.
The installation process will require Windows Server 2012 R2 DVD-ROM with a valid product key. After successful installation, users will be able to choose between the Core and GUI versions, whichever they find more comfortable. The centralized delegation model will be used to manage the administration of servers to create a smooth support process and balance the workload. Upon successful implementation of the delegation model, administrators will have full access to the servers, and make changes, or manage permissions. In addition, power users will have elevated privileges, only remote desktop users will be allowed to access the systems remotely, Hyper-V administrators will have full access to the Hyper-V platform, and guests will have no access to the servers. However, they can temporarily use basic applications, which are allowed under assigned profiles.
Compared to its predecessors, Windows Server 2012 R2 has more advanced network infrastructure roles and services. The version has new or advanced technologies such as 802.1X Authenticated Wired and Wireless Access, Domain Name System (DNS), Hyper-V network virtualization, Hyper-V virtual switch, Internet Protocol Address Management (IPAM), DirectAccess, and Windows Server Gateway. The DNS server has improved Zone-level statistics, DNSSEC support, and Windows PowerShell support, new DNS Logging and Diagnostics, and Dynamic DNS Forwarders. Similarly, IPAM has new role-based access control to customize the access permissions and operations for users; virtual address space management for handling virtual IP address space; external database support in addition to Windows Internal Database (WID), and Upgrade and migration support. The improved elements include the Enhanced DHCP server management and Enhanced Windows PowerShell support. The new Windows Server Gateway will facilitate cloud network and datacenter routing between physical and virtual networks, regardless of the location of the resources. Hence, the system will provide smooth traffic flow within the four ELearning centers, in both private and hybrid cloud scenarios. With such features, ELearning will have a faster, secure, and reliable network at an affordable cost.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Solution
The system will have a highly available DHCP to provide services at all times and to enable clients to extend their lease when one DHCP server is not accessible, by contacting a different one. To achieve this outcome. Split-scope DHCP will be implemented to enable traffic to be divided among the participating servers and to provide redundancy for clients in case of a server failure. The DHCP design will allow optimal interoperability with technologies such as Active Directory Domain (AD DS), Network Access Protection (NAP), Secure Remote Access, and routing, among other related features. DHCP filtering will be well configured to enable the DHCP server to send data to known servers only, leaving out the rest; this will allow the administrators to control the devices connected to the network more effectively, to improve the system security.
DNS and Name Resolution Strategy
The proposed solution includes a strategy to ensure DNS server security and secure name resolution. The design will incorporate the configuration of DNS servers in the forest root domain for forwarding queries to external ones. DNS socket pool will be activated as a security feature to protect the server from cache poisoning attacks. For a similar effect, the cache locking technique will be used in the solution to prevent the overwriting of cached responses during their Time to Live (TTL). Consequently, the design will use the zone hierarchy structure for optimal zone delegation.
Remote Access Solution
To minimize the risk of unsecured remote access as the case with older UNIX systems, Windows Server 2012 R2 will incorporate a much superior configuration solution. Instead of traditional VPN, DirectAccess infrastructure will be used to allow a secure, encrypted connection. Moreover, DirectAccess will enable the administrators in all the homes of ELearning to protect the network, since Group Policies control it. For Windows Server R2 systems, DirectAccess will require at least one DirectAccess server with at least one network adapter, one or more domain controller and DNS server, and Public Key infrastructure for Windows 7 users.
Active Directory Topology
The forest root domain controller will be used to create trust paths between the ELearning and EduTech domains. In their book, Piltzecker and Posey (2008) described this topology as the cornerstone of the enterprise computing environment. To be specific, this design will use the regional forest root domain, which functions as the forest root domain after the selection of a local domain. It contains user accounts, and it is managed the same way in all regions. This will be highly instrumental for the server centers in Dublin, San Jose, Austin, and Vienna. Also, the domain controller supports Schema and Enterprise Admins groups and does not create additional management overhead. For instance, the center with the fastest network connection can be selected as the forest root; consequently, the data communication process will be significantly quicker. An example of the design is in the shown in the image below.
Conclusion
This paper contains a proposed design for the virtual machine manager services, Windows Server, DNS, Remote Access control solution, and the Active Directory topology. The deployment process will occur through the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) over a network to avoid the installation of each computer with a DVD-ROM. The goal of the virtualization is to use the Hyper-V platform to bring improvements in cost savings, infrastructure consolidation, security, and to support the business goals of ELearning. To fully upgrade the domain controllers and other computers in San Jose, California, and Dublin, Ireland, the devices will have to meet precise hardware specifications. The system will have a highly available DHCP to provide services at all times and to enable clients to extend their lease when one DHCP server is not accessible, by contacting a different one. The DNS design will use the zone hierarchy structure for optimal zone delegation. Instead of traditional VPN used with old UNIX systems, DirectAccess infrastructure will be used to allow a secure, encrypted connection. The forest root domain controller will be used to create trust paths between the ELearning and EduTech domains. The center with the fastest network connection will be selected as the forest root; consequently, the data communication process will be significantly quicker.
References
Piltzecker, A. (2011). The Best Damn Windows Server 2008 Book Period. Elsevier.