the circulatory system for your computers
Your network has two major functions.
The first is to connect all the computers within an office together. This allows for sharing resources within and among the computers. The resources that can be shared on your network can be: Printers, Scanners, Card Readers, and mostly File and Data storage from one or more File Servers.
Show The Drew Way - Networking
Show The Drew Way - Access
Networking
Your network connects your internal computers to each other, each internal computer to the Internet, and when configured correctly, allows devices on the internet to connect to devices on your network. I believe in configuring your network to give you the best advantages for your business.
You should have your internal computers connected to form your own internal network. You do this to allow a sharing of internal resources. Printers, scanners, and disk storage are the primary resources that can be shared. With printers and scanners shared on the network, each user can have access to these resources without having one on each desk.
Within any office, all key data (documents, spreadsheets, accounting files, settings files, etc) that are important to the running of the business or the day-to-day operation of key individuals should be backed up. The easiest way to assure that this data is backed up is to have it stored in a single place shared on a “file serving” computer within the network. Individual PCs within the network save all important data on the ‘shared disk storage’ offered from a “file serving” computer. With all the important data in a single place, on a single computer, it can be backed up with a single and simple procedure. This procedure would be automated and would require minimal contact by users.
Access
When an internal network is connected to the Internet, you can offer Internet access to the each device on the network as needed. This access is generally used for E-Mail and browsing the web. It also allows for software updates to be delivered to the computer. Proper configuration of a shared Internet connection is important for the security of the individual computers and users. A network firewall within the Internet router and on individual PCs, coupled with an appropriate anti-virus software, will harden your network, PCs, and users from “Bad Things Out There”.
Once you have a shared Internet connection, not only can you, on the inside, access resources on the Internet, but people or devices on the Internet have the potential to access resources on your network. You want to make sure that only authorized access is allowed from the Internet into your network. You also want to assure that only those resources within your network that you want to make available to outside users are configured properly.
A properly configured internal network with access to the internet can give you many advantages:
- Access to internal shared resources like printers and scanners
- Access to shared storage from a “file serving” computer. This has three main advantages; more storage available that is on the local disk, centralized location for sharing of file among any authorized user connected to the shared storage, and a single location to back up important data.
- Access to the shared internet connection so any authorized user is allowed to connect to Internet resources.
- Access to internal network resources from outside the office by authorized users using the Internet. The internal network resources that can be made available to authorized users include secure remote access to desktops and their computing resources and almost any other internal network resource.
An example would be to allow internal network user access to their desktop from any home PC, a pad device, mobile phone, or a laptop that is properly connected to the Internet and authorized to connect to internal resources. By configuring you network properly, users outside the office can have authorized access to all or select internal resources without making copies of critical data that can be lost or stolen on external devices. All you need is a network capable device and the proper secure configuration.
When you connect your internal network to the Internet, you get quite a few advantages for accessing information and being able to communicate and connect to many external resources. However, all that connectivity can leave your internal resources vulnerable to “Cyber Attack” in the form of maleware, software that can cause annoying or bad things to your computer. If you have Internet access, you need a few levels of protection for your internal network PCs and users. These levels vary in degree based on your needs and can be determined by consulting with bāsupport, inc.
