Enterprise Network Design and Security Optimization

Enterprise networks are the backbone of an organization’s ability to communicate and share data. Information Technology Systems (ITS) extends beyond Computers and includes Phone Systems, Fax Machines, Internet of Things (IoT), applications, and other communication and data devices. A large company may have an extensive enterprise network that connects buildings around its headquarters campus with a high-speed network and other prerequisites, thereby making it highly vulnerable to threats and attacks. Enterprise network security is protection and precaution against confidentiality, integrity, availability, and accountability breaches. It entails protecting users and data against intruders by installing at several endpoints, encryption devices to sophisticate identification and authentication processes by cascading on the network, application, and transport layers of the open system interconnect (OSI) model architecture. This design will focus on the security challenges of both wired and wireless networks. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) is more vulnerable to attacks because it transmits and receives data over the air and thus collectively combine data connectivity with ease of mobility [1]. It can be concluded that a properly set network having the right set of services such as Routing Protocols(RP), Access Lists(ACLs), Virtual Local Area Networks(VLANs), Firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Intrusion Detection Systems(IDS) all accurately configured and infused together have high-security performance for protecting and mitigating attacks carried out by both internal users and intruders on a network, providing about 99.9% protection against threats and vulnerabilities [2]. Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides a means by which remote computers communicate securely across a public Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the Internet. Firewalls are the main technology for access control between devices. All these devices are used to develop frameworks and policies which are enforced on the network to make it “airtight”. Given the huge relevance of communication and system security in today’s IT environment, this finding suggests that enterprise computer security remains an under studied research topic [3].