Basics of a fast and secure corporate network

31 July 2023 y.

Kharkiv IT Cluster's new project, IT Cluster in the Cloud, is gaining momentum. On July 21, the second workshop within the project was held. The goal of the IT Cluster in the Cloud is support small and medium-sized IT companies whose specialists are located throughout Ukraine and the world. 🔊 Meeting topic: «Building an Internet network in your company. How to make everything work?» 🔊 Speaker of the event: Ivan Kubryk, Product Manager of DC Link Group, certified expert on Ruijie Networks, Zyxel Networks equipment. During the workshop, Ivan shared his expertise and, together with his colleagues, used specific examples and their own cases to discuss the need to protect corporate business networks. The speaker emphasized that every company should pay due attention to protecting its networks regardless of their size, because everyone is at risk. Compared to 2021, the number of phishing attacks increased by 65% in 2022.

«Security is the most important link in the construction of every corporate network,» the speaker said.

Corporate networks are becoming more vulnerable not only because of the actions of intruders but also because of the BYOD (bring your own device) concept that many companies are now using.

Building a corporate network

Ivan points out that any corporate network in an office needs to accomplish a number of standard tasks:

⚙️ Ensure that the router supports multiple incoming communication channels; ⚙️ Organize security against external threats and control users of the internal network; ⚙️ Guarantee high-quality, stable wireless coverage; ⚙️ Build wired infrastructure and connect video surveillance cameras; ⚙️ Ensure convenient management of the overall network infrastructure and receive high-quality analytics; ⚙️ Separate the corporate network from other networks.

To implement a corporate network, the speaker recommends choosing cloud solutions, as they have a number of advantages, including:

📌 Remote configuration 📌 Over-the-air updates. Firmware updates are performed without direct contact with the hardware. 📌 Support for WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise encryption standards 📌 Availability of a mobile application for smartphones and smartwatches. Regular notifications about the status of equipment and gadget updates.

«Another advantage of the cloud solution is a dashboard for network monitoring. Thanks to it, you can see the connection status, information about Wi-Fi users, PoE usage, etc.», emphasizes Ivan Kubryk.

CNP service

Ivan introduced his colleagues to the Connect and protect (CNP) service, a Zyxel software that acts as a security gateway on the access point. The CNP technology has a great advantage: it is designed in such a way that the network capacity and bandwidth does not decrease despite data filtering.

«The CNP service does not receive any customer data, only technical traffic. The software does not have any information about the site or user, but only data about the threat that was blocked,» said Ivan Kubryk, Product Manager at DC Link Group.

How to increase the speed of a Wi-Fi network for wireless users?

When working with a corporate Wi-Fi network, users most often complain about:

😡 low speed; 😡 access points «drop» users.

The above problems can be solved with the help of hardware or software: ⚙️ DCS and BS customization ; ⚙️ Customer analytics and increasing the density of access points. ⚙️ Technical characteristics of the points — antenna formula, receiver sensitivity, etc. ⚙️ Using equipment with smart antennas or dual-polarization antennas.

Gift from the speaker

At the end of the meeting, Ivan held a drawing for an access point. The prize went to the person who was the first to answer the speaker's question correctly. The winner will receive the equipment by mail from DC Link Group and will be able to personally test all the functionality. 📺 All those who could not join the event in person can watch the recording of the workshop at the link to learn more about the topic of the workshop. 🤝 We are grateful to Women in Tech Ukraine for informational support of the event. Become part of a large community. Despite our geographical diversity, we are united around common goals, challenges, and aspirations. So join the IT Cluster in the Cloud project to survive turbulent times together with like-minded companies and bring Ukrainian IT to a new level. ℹ️ Workshop «Building an Internet network in your company. How to make everything work?» is implemented by Kharkiv IT Cluster with the support of USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine.