Ntc 362 - Lan & Wan Paper

LAN/WAN Paper

Lamont Toney

NTC/362

1/7/16

Network security is vital in the setup and installation of any network. There is hardware and software that can be utilized to protect your network from threats that can disrupt and cause harm to any and all computers on the network. My company handles and stores a lot of personal data so the integrity of the network is important. Some hardware options to secure a network are switches, routers, ad gateways that have firewalls installed on the device itself. Software options include firewall programs, antivirus and antimalware programs, authentication, and email security ("What Is Network Security? - Cisco Systems," 2015). Network security software is widely used to protect networks. Most software is compatible with various network setups so the ease of installation and compatibility make this approach popular.

To secure my network we utilize both hardware and software to secure the network. The hardware used is all of the aforementioned devices such as switches, routers, and gateways with their own firewalls for multiple points of security. We use software to provide further protection to our network and data. Each computer on the network has antivirus/antimalware software installed to protect the computer from attacks from the Internet and files that may be installed locally. Each computer also uses Windows authentication to login to computers on the network. Each user has their own login credentials with specific permissions for that user of what they can access on the LAN. The firewall settings in Windows are used as well to stop electronic threats. RSA SecurID is used to access the network remotely so all connections are secure and verified. The software used all in conjunction provides multiple levels of protection to electronic threats on the network.

There are different types of networks that can be setup and utilized. The most common are local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), and wireless local area networks (WLAN).

Local area networks can be described as home networks, office networks, school networks, or a group of computers linked together locally using cabling, routers, switches, hubs, etc. LANs can have optimal bandwidths due to the close proximity the data has to travel. Local area networks are typically managed and owned (Mitchell, 2015). The best example of a wide area network would be the Internet. Wide are networks are rather large compared to a local network.

Wide area networks usually consist of many LANs connected together. Another example of a WAN would be a city network or two cities connected together. Even further the network that connects a country would be considered a WAN. WANs have slower bandwidths compared to LANs due to the size of the network and how far data may have to travel. The size of the network makes it less secure to threats as well compared to LANs. WANs are not usually owned or managed but operated by a collective of businesses such as Internet providers like Cox, Comcast, and AT&T who own the lines and hardware the data travels through.