Whether you are inheriting an existing IT infrastructure or building a new one from scratch, there are essential technologies and strategies that must be implemented to ensure a secure and stable environment. Through years of providing information systems / network management / implementation services, I have achieved a high level of customer satisfaction by implementing the following solutions / strategies.
Backup / Disaster Recovery (DR) Plan – Whether your environment consists of a single desktop with a few gigabytes of data or a large enterprise with terabytes of data, a backup strategy and disaster recovery plan must be defined, implemented, and most importantly tested . While cloud backup solutions offer all protection without any hassle, traditional backup technologies, such as tape, are still an effective solution. The goal should not be simply to implement a data backup strategy, but rather a data recovery solution. Disaster recovery plans can consist of a replicated site location with identical equipment on standby in the event of an emergency, or simply order new equipment and restore from backups if necessary. Creating a disaster recovery plan usually begins with the management question, “What would happen to your business tomorrow if the office caught fire tonight?”
Supported hardware / software – Having an infrastructure running on older hardware that doesn’t have a vendor support contract will eventually lead to restoring data from backups or making your disaster recovery plan a reality. This includes your servers, switches, routers, phones, and even printers. Not only does the physical equipment need support, but so do your applications. Having vendor support greatly reduces the amount of time spent making things work again when they break, and trust me they will, leading to increased productivity for the company.
Power / AC – This one, in my opinion, is pretty obvious. None of the servers or network devices can function without power, and they all generate heat. However, I will emphasize the importance of a quality uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Not only does a good UPS supply battery backup power to your systems in the event of a power failure, but if it includes power conditioning features, it also provides your equipment with a much cleaner power / voltage flow that protects your equipment. of power peaks. and waves. Obviously, AC is required to prevent systems from overheating and causing damage to their internal components.
Network monitoring – If there’s one thing I’ve told my clients over and over again, it’s that network monitoring is about much more than pinging network devices. While ping tests are great at ensuring that devices are responding to network traffic, they don’t give more than a heartbeat to endpoints and only alert you after something has gone wrong. Effective network monitoring consists of polling CPU, memory, network usage, temperature, Windows services, disk space, power supply units, fans, event logs, etc. . Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) makes much of this monitoring possible and is supported by most network devices and operating systems. A well-implemented network monitoring system can alert administrators to problems before they become critical and affect end-user business productivity.
Redundancy – A difficult reality faced by network administrators is that there is no way to avoid hardware failure: all network hardware will eventually break down one day and stop working. Planning for this is the only way to avoid being caught off guard by failed hardware. Eliminating as many single points of failure in your network as possible will ensure that when a critical component fails, the business will continue to function, hopefully without significant impact to end users. Identifying the single points of failure in your network and planning when they will fail is critical. One thing that I have discovered throughout my years of IT consulting is that no matter how much redundancy you can afford to build in your network, there will always be only one point of failure.
Firewall – Security is often one of my clients’ biggest concerns when it comes to their network infrastructure. Implementing a hardened firewall appliance is the fastest and most effective way to keep your network safe from the outside world. Firewalls not only block unwanted traffic, they offer other benefits as well. If the company requires that one of its applications be public, then it should be designed with a front-end application server in a DMZ to avoid direct access to its internal network. While dedicated SSL VPN devices are best for remote access, many firewalls on the market offer built-in VPN features to suit remote end users. A firewall is an absolute must for all network infrastructures, regardless of the size of the company.
Antivirus – While firewalls are great at blocking unwanted incoming traffic, they are useless against viruses, spyware, and malicious programs that end users inadvertently introduce into your network. Antivirus products are essential to ensure the security status of operating systems, both client and server. Whether users mistakenly visit a malicious website or plug in an infected USB flash drive, a good antivirus program must identify and stop the threat before it causes harm. A centrally managed antivirus product clearly has its benefits, but it also comes at a cost. There are many free products on the market today that offer as much protection as paid products if centralized administration is not required.
IT support – Having a top-of-the-line server / network equipment perfectly implemented is of no use if there is no one to support and maintain it. Make sure someone is keeping an eye on daily backups, security and application updates, event logs, storage space, etc. it is vital to the health of any network infrastructure. Your IT support team should be comfortable with managing and troubleshooting servers, network, databases, applications, backup, and more. In addition to monitoring and maintaining the infrastructure, your IT team must drive strategic IT initiatives that enable your business to increase productivity and be more successful. An IT business plan is critical to ensuring that technology is aligned with the long-term goals of the business.
The things mentioned above are just the essential elements for a successful network infrastructure. Obviously, most businesses require a lot more like email, spam filtering, shared storage, custom apps, mobile phones, tablets, etc. Virtualization is a technology that was not mentioned above, but is becoming more and more standard in data centers. Even small businesses can reap the benefits of virtualization. Virtualization makes more use of your server hardware by sharing its resources among many virtual machine operating systems, reducing the need for so many physical servers. Another emerging trend is a concept known as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that is made possible by virtualization. VDI greatly simplifies end-user desktop provisioning and management by using virtual machine desktops that are consolidated in the data center.
By implementing the above technologies and strategies, you can expect a higher level of security and reliability from your infrastructure. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in learning more about any of the technologies listed above or if you would like to request an IT assessment.