Case Studies
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Fujitsu Server
Physical servers are still a common aspect in certain businesses depending on their needs. While most software solutions are moving to cloud based, some companies still require the onsite server to host their business software and deal with the local user authentication policies.
The Problem
The client had an unsupported server which no longer received software and hardware firmware updates. This means that the server would be a security risk on the network as it no longer gained software updates from Microsoft. If the physical hardware on the server fails (excluding hard drives) finding replacement hardware can be difficult resulting in having to use second-hand hardware which would be unreliable. The decision was made to replace the server.
The Solution
Servers are basically a beefed-up PC built with enterprise gear to handle long up times and minimise hardware failures. All servers normally have SAS drives or SSDs (for better performance and longer life) these are put into a RAID configuration which means both drives mirror each other. In the event a drive fails these are built to automatically swap to the mirrored copy and when a new drive is put into the server it mirrors the data back. Some servers have a Hotspare drive, this means when a drive fails it automatically fails over to the Hotspare and begins to mirror again. The other difference being they have 2 power supplies which are redundant, this means if one fails the server can still be functional without losing any power.
Conclusion
While replacing the server we spec’d out the device for the business expansion and better productivity. The Fujitsu Primergy TX400 was configured to use a hardware raid with SSDs to allow the company to have better productivity and faster file access. This paired with a Netgear Gigabit switch allowed the internal company network to have large scalability without any drawbacks.
WatchGuard Firebox
WatchGuard Fireboxes are advanced business firewalls that protect organisations network from the outside world. With the recent increase of cyber attacks around the world it is critical to prevent these from accessing organisational networks. With the ongoing pandemic also, more users are working from home meaning they are using their home internet connection which could also be a vulnerability to a organisations network.
The WatchGuard Firebox can put any work from home user behind its firewall to keep it protected by using Mobile SSL VPN. This can be linked in with a Local Active Directory server or Radius to allow for password retention policies across the organisation and cross platform passwords.
The Problem
The customer had a DrayTek router which was no longer supported by the latest firmware updates. DrayTek has basic firewall capabilities that only protect from certain attacks such as DoS attacks, IP-based attacks and access by unauthorised remote systems. With the recent increase in Cyber Attacks to help with the client’s cyber insurance and to keep GDPR compliant we replaced the DrayTek which only gets firmware updates every so often to the WatchGuard Firebox that is constantly being updated to keep compliant and secure.
The Solution
WatchGuard Fireboxes have an active subscription meaning they are always getting the most up to date software patches and security databases to protect against any new viruses, malwares and malicious attacks.
Using advanced application blocking and package filters the WatchGuard Firebox can also protect internal users from accessing/downloading malicious files into the organisation. Once the product becomes obsolete the device gets replaced meaning your network is never at risk. This helps with Cyber Insurance and keeping GDPR compliant.
Conclusion
WatchGuard’s constantly log all the data traffic and proactively notifies the administrator for causes such as unauthorised behaviour. With the WatchGuard cloud we can easily monitor and maintain the client’s security and ensure that everything that should be stopped is.
They also have multiple Ethernet ports on the device which can be configured in many ways, making the device flexible to meet all client needs. Multi-Wan Support can allow multiple different broadband connections to plug into the device and can be set to either failover or spread the bandwidth across the connections.
These devices have high throughput meaning they can take advantage of the full external broadband connection without any bottlenecks (other than the ISP’s limitations). While a WatchGuard is a standard desktop appliance it does have Rackmount conversion kits that allow the device to be mounted in any network cabinet to give easy device management and allows for better cooling for the device.
