Information technology has reached our homes and connected us to the rest of the world. This is possible thanks to Network Infrastructure Management (NIM), which allows devices to communicate with each other and produce coherent connection results.
NIM includes hardware as well as related software systems that are responsible for creating and managing the desired processes. This area uses routers, hubs, bridges, gateways, optical fibers, wireless access points, proxies, servers, Ethernet, edge computing, VPNs, firewalls, optical amplifiers and many other technologies. All this is necessary to simplify the connection to the network and is actively used by us every day.
Why is NIM important?
Everything is obvious - effective and proper management of the network infrastructure makes our lives better, and our work easier and faster. For businesses, NIM helps reduce costs and improve employee experience. Information technology as an independent industry loses its effectiveness without a network infrastructure.
What challenges does NIM face ?
decentralized nodes. An effective central authority or structure makes it easier to monitor the various connections, helping you better understand where the connections go and how the connections work.
Data quality. If the data is not checked, it can begin to repeat itself, thereby greatly slowing down the work of any processes. Therefore, duplicate data needs to be cleaned up regularly to keep IT systems running quickly and efficiently.
Proper data processing with the necessary tools. All data must be evaluated, sorted and sent for processing in such a way that no tool is overloaded with data or idle.
Disruption of communication between nodes in the network. Complexities and disruptions in the management of the cloud, as well as the lack of communication between the various nodes of the network, greatly affect its operation, making the system less flexible and efficient.
Security breaches. Unreliable networks pose a huge threat to the security of users and promise huge losses to their owners. The risks increase if there are a large number of devices on the network. Therefore, specialists should regularly study this area, monitor attackers' strategies and make networks more secure.
Issues with fixing vulnerabilities. Because of this, “fixing” the network can take a huge amount of time, often longer than the time it was up.
Together and individually, all of the above problems force organizations to spend extra millions, and sometimes even billions of dollars to eliminate them, lose profits and suffer huge reputational losses.
How to protect your network infrastructure?
Let's take a quick look at the most effective ways:
ZTNA . If you are not yet familiar with the concept of Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), we invite you to learn more about it. Together we will understand what are the key principles behind ZTNA solutions, how they protect networks, how they differ from traditional solutions, and how they encourage specialists to put themselves in the shoes of hackers;
Replacing password login with authorization using an SSH key;
Frequent network security updates;
Using a powerful firewall;
Data backup;
Also remember that it is extremely important to know what data you are working with, and also remember to monitor the status of your systems and check them regularly!