Introduction to network devices II.

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Instructor, PACE-IT Program – Edmonds Community College

Areas of Expertise Industry Certifications

PC Hardware

Network Administration

IT Project Management

Network Design

User Training

IT Troubleshooting

Qualifications Summary

Education

M.B.A., IT Management, Western Governor’s University

B.S., IT Security, Western Governor’s University

Entrepreneur, executive leader, and proven manger with 10+ years of experience turning complex issues into efficient and effective solutions.

Strengths include developing and mentoring diverse workforces, improving processes, analyzing business needs and creating the solutions required— with a focus on technology.

Brian K. Ferrill, M.B.A.

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Introduction to network devices II.PACE-IT.

– Security devices.

– Optimization and performance devices.

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Security devices.Introduction to network devices II.

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Security devices.Introduction to network devices II.

– Firewall.» A firewall can be placed on routers or hosts

(software based) or can be its own device.» It functions at multiple layers of the OSI model.

• Specifically at layers 2, 3, 4, and 7.» It blocks packets from entering or leaving the

network.• Via stateless inspection: the firewall will

examine every packet against a set of rules. Once the packet matches a rule, the rule is enforced, and the specified action is taken.

• Via stateful inspection: the firewall will only examine the state of the connection between networks. Specifically, when a connection is made from an internal network to an external network, the firewall will not examine any packets returning from the external connection. As a general rule, external connections are not allowed to be initiated with the internal network.

» It is the first line of defense in protecting the internal network from outside threats.

• Consider it the police force of the network.

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Security devices.Introduction to network devices II.

– Intrusion detection system (IDS).» An IDS is a passive system designed to identify when a

network breach or attack against the network is occurring.

• Usually designed to inform a network administrator when a breach or attack has occurred through log files, SMS, and/or an email notification.

» An IDS cannot prevent or stop a breach or attack on its own.

» It receives a copy of all traffic and evaluates it against a set of standards.

• Signature based: evaluates network traffic for known malware or attack signatures.

• Anomaly based: evaluates network traffic for suspicious changes.

• Policy based: evaluates network traffic against a specific declared security policy.

» May be deployed at the host level.• Host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS).

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Security devices.Introduction to network devices II.

– Intrusion prevention system (IPS).» An IPS is an active system designed stop a breach or

attack from succeeding in damaging the network.• Usually designed to perform an action or set of

actions to stop the malicious activity.• Will inform a network administrator through the use of

log files, SMS, and/or email notification.» All traffic on the network segment flows through the IPS

to either enter or leave the segment.• Like the IDS, all traffic is evaluated against a set of

standards.» The best placement on the network is between a router

(with a firewall) and the destination network segment.» It is programmed to make an active response to the

situation.• Block the offending IP address.• Close down the vulnerable interface.• Terminate the network session.• Redirect the attack.• Plus more.

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A virtual private network (VPN) concentrator will allow for many more secure VPN connections to a network.

The concentrator will provide proper tunneling and encryption, depending on the type of VPN connection that is allowed. Most concentrators can function at multiple layers of the OSI model (specifically Layer 2, Layer 3, and Layer 7). Outside of Internet transactions (which use SSL VPN connections at Layer 7) most concentrators will function at the network layer (Layer 3) of the OSI model, providing IPsec encryption through a secure tunnel.

Security devices.Introduction to network devices II.

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Optimization and performance devices.Introduction to network devices II.

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Optimization and performance devices.Introduction to network devices II.

– Load balancer.» A load balancer may also be called a content

switch or content filter.» A network appliance that is used to load balance

between multiple hosts that contain the same data—spreading out the workload for greater efficiency.

• Commonly used to distribute the requests (workload) to a server farm among the various servers, helping to ensure that no single server gets overloaded.

– Proxy server.» A proxy server is an appliance that requests

resources on behalf of client machines.» It is often used to retrieve resources from outside

untrusted networks on behalf of the requesting client.

» It hides and protects the requesting client.» It can also be utilized to filter allowed content.» It can increase network performance by caching

commonly requested Web pages.

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What was covered.Introduction to network devices II.

Firewalls are the police force of the network. The either allow or deny network traffic based on a set of predefined rules. They may be an appliance or software based. An IDS will inform a network administrator when malicious actions have occurred (they are passive). An IPS is placed inline with network traffic and will take action when malicious activities are detected.

Topic

Security devices.

Summary

A load balancer (also known as a content switch or content filter) is a network appliance that will balance requests across multiple devices that contain the same data. A proxy server acts on behalf of a client device to fulfill requests to retrieve data. It can also be used to limit what requests are fulfilled.

Optimization and performance devices.

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