Working with you to get the job done | Signal Networks

Situation:
The client had a Novell 4.11 network and an NT 4 network for Exchange. The Novell network was old, unreliable and constantly crashing causing considerable disruption to network users. The client heavily relied on the network so the situation soon became a high priority. Staff were often sitting around with little to do until the network was operational.

The client wanted network stability but also requested some areas for improvement.
The network must stay operational even if a server was to crash.
They needed some form of redundancy so that staff could still work.
They had no method for external access to their network or ability to read emails whilst on the road securely.
Engineers and sales staff often use other company networks and needed the ability to protect their data from possible interception whilst at customer sites.

Resolution:
We installed a Windows 2000 Active Directory network using two Domain controllers which also acted as file servers. This meant that the network could be used even if one of the servers was to crash. In previous versions of Windows if the domain controller was to fail there would be no network authentication so users would not be able to access any of its resources. With Windows 2000 it is possible to have two or more domain controllers so the issue of staff not being able to access the network during a fault was resolved.

The Windows NT4 server running Exchange was added to the new Active Directory domain to ease use and administration of users. A trust was set up between the two domains so only one user account had to be set up.
A Cisco 506e firewall was also installed to provide security from the outside, filter internet requests from staff and provide remote users with secure access to the internal LAN.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) was set up on the PIX which allowed remote users to securely access the LAN. The VPN was set up with 56kb 3DES encryption securing the company data from prying eyes and limiting potential data loss.
The laptops were also set up with software firewalls to ensure that they were constantly protected from the internet wherever they were.