A wide area network is an interconnection of communication channels that span a large geographical area. In most cases, a WAN will be covering a single company. In other cases, it can be used to interconnect various firms or services that are needed for a single end result. Setting up a wide area network will depend on many aspects among them the needs of the firm, the number of employees and other factors. SD WAN experts can take care of the setting up of a given WAN or improve on the existing one. The setup process requires the following.
Connections Required
The most important part of a WAN is the data connection. This ensures that there is information being sent from one end of the channel to the others and back. You can set up a virtual private network between your locations to encrypt the data sent and received through the network. It is one of the best network setups possible.
The Equipment Needed
You can either go for the wired connection or the virtual private network which operates wirelessly. The VPN will require both VPN software and a VPN server at each point? of the connection. The same would be required when one goes for the wired connection in that there would be a router with software to run it at each end. Choosing either a wired or wireless connection mostly depends on the distance between the points of connection. You cannot expect to run wires from Tokyo to Rio.
Securing your WAN
Security is very important when it comes to setting up any type of connection. It becomes even more dangerous when a wide area network is considered. If a hacker gets into a wide area network, they have the whole network at their disposal. You thus need to take the needed steps such as installing a firewall and other necessary software to stay safe. You also need physical security features such as restricted access to server rooms.
Network Monitoring
You have to then take the steps needed to monitor your network. To many people, network monitoring is all about checking the security flaws on it. To others, it is about checking how the network is functioning as in which areas are working and which ones are not. Actually, it is both. When one has put up the network, they should carry out constant checks on the network to ensure everything is working out well. They should install a firewall to keep off any intruders into the network at all times. Firewalls are great at notifying you of the intrusion into your WAN. However, the best solution at keeping away intruders is an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). They offer a higher level of protection than a simple firewall.
Upon doing the monitoring, the owner of the WAN ought to take the needed steps to return the network to optimal levels of use. If they notice a hack, for example, they should quickly lock the hackers out if the network.
