Discussion 3

1. Choose one MAC Layer, VLAN, or switched device attack method covered in the textbook, and provide a detailed explanation of the primary elements of the network that the attack may potentially harm, along with the main steps that you would take to mitigate the attack.

Speculate keyways in which Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) may assist in mitigating these types of attacks. Explain your rationale.

2. Imagine that the wireless operations team has identified an issue related to the reliability and performance of the wireless network. After careful observation, you have noted that the AP interface pointing to the wired network is performing inconsistently and there is a significant slowdown on Voice over WLAN when the port is operational. Propose the main steps that you would take in the troubleshooting process and discuss the tools that would help you achieve a solution. Choose the tool you believe to be the most useful in this troubleshooting process and justify your choice.

 

From Part 1 of this discussion, suggest the main steps that you would take to ensure that WLAN components are not compromised in the troubleshooting process as a result of this security issue. Provide a rationale to support your response.

3. Determine the greatest security challenge that a network administrator might encounter when troubleshooting issues in secured networks. Suggest one way to mitigate such a challenge. Provide a rationale to support your responses.

 

Per the text, Cisco security focuses on three functional planes called the management, control, and data. Give your opinion on whether you believe it is logical to divide the security functions into the three areas in the same manner as Cisco security does within a single device. Justify your response.

4. Per the text, in complex integrated networks, a combination of many different protocols and technologies deliver network services that support the enterprise applications. Identify the network elements that are interrelated, dependent, or independent of one another. Next, analyze the overall manner in which a failure in each area will affect other network elements. Provide one example or scenario of such failure to support your response.

 

Isolate one of the difficulties of communicating in the troubleshooting process and recommend one way that the network troubleshooting engineer can overcome it. In your response, be sure to indicate the importance of communication at the reporting, data collection, analysis, testing, and solutions steps of the troubleshooting process. Provide a rationale to support your recommendation.

5. Determine the manner in which you would implement IP multicast in a campus network. In your response, provide a couple of reasons why you would choose to implement IP multicast as well as specific examples of Internet, Intranet, and multimedia applications that you might incorporate into such a system.

Determine the manner in which you would prepare a campus infrastructure to support video at your current place of employment or at your local campus. Identify the applications that may be necessary and provide an explanation for following or not following the best practices described in the textbook. Be sure to include an explanation of wireless LAN parameters and switch configurations in your response.

6. From a network perspective, discuss some key benefits and concerns of having employees or customers who are connected to the network remotely. Predict potential major security issues that may arise through the use of mobile devices connected to an organization’s network and suggest strategies for mitigating these risks.

Explain the importance of QoS and describe key strategies that you as a network manager can implement to improve QoS. In the context of VoIP, determine the primary traffic requirements that you would consider prior to deployment. Provide a rationale for your response.