Western County Bank Scenario
Western County Bank Scenario
Western County Bank is a small community bank seeking modernization of its network infrastructure to improve services for customers and employees. The bank currently faces issues such as unplanned outages, limited support for mobility, and the absence of online banking capabilities. Management aims to modernize the network with redundancy, enhanced security, updated hardware, improved wireless access, and modern data storage solutions. The project involves creating detailed network and data storage diagrams, proposing modifications to the existing infrastructure, and identifying tools for monitoring performance to ensure high availability, stability, and speed.
Paper For Above instruction
Introduction
In today’s digital age, financial institutions like Western County Bank must adapt to rapidly evolving technological landscapes to remain competitive, secure, and efficient. The bank’s pressing challenges include frequent outages, limited mobile support, and a lack of online banking features that hinder customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive overhaul of the bank’s network architecture—integrating redundancy, security, high-performance data storage, and mobility solutions. This paper examines the strategies for designing a scalable and resilient network infrastructure aligned with the bank's needs, including detailed network and data storage diagrams, and discusses the process of implementing these changes effectively with ongoing performance monitoring.
Network Architecture and Design
The foundation of Western County Bank’s modernization initiative is a robust network design that ensures high availability and security. The design incorporates redundant routers and connections for the Internet and WAN to eliminate single points of failure, utilizing two different service providers for load balancing and redundancy. These routers, replacing outdated hardware nearing end-of-life, will support the latest routing protocols and advanced filtering capabilities to protect against malicious threats and unauthorized access.
The placement of security devices—such as next-generation firewalls—at critical network junctures will enable filtering across OSI layers 1 through 7, proactively preventing common network attacks. The new security platform will be strategically positioned at the network perimeter and around sensitive infrastructure to ensure comprehensive protection and compliance with cybersecurity best practices.
In the wired infrastructure, aging switches will be upgraded or supplemented with new models supporting 10 GB links and link aggregation protocols such as LACP for increased bandwidth and reliability. The deployment of redundant distribution switches improves fault tolerance and network resilience, enabling higher throughput for data-intensive applications like virtualization and SAN connectivity.
The wireless network must support secure, mobile access for employees and customers, incorporating technology that integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Active Directory (AD) for user authentication. Power over Ethernet (PoE) will be leveraged to address limited power outlets, simplifying wireless access point deployment and reducing infrastructure complexity. A guest wireless network will be implemented with pre-shared key security to allow Internet access without exposing internal resources.
Data Storage and Virtualization Strategy
The bank’s updated server infrastructure relies on virtualization to minimize operational costs and enhance resource utilization. The physical servers, supporting 10 GB Ethernet, will host multiple virtual machines for core business applications, disaster recovery, and testing environments. Given the absence of local storage media in new servers, a separate SAN array will provide centralized, high-performance storage solutions. However, the current lack of Fibre Channel (FC) components necessitates a solution that simplifies management and integrates with existing IP-based networks.
To accommodate the SAN, Western County Bank will require FC switches, HBAs, and cabling, alongside compatible management software. Considering the operational staff’s familiarity with IP-based networks, the SAN fabric will be designed with ease of management in mind, possibly using iSCSI or Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) to leverage existing Ethernet expertise and infrastructure. This approach ensures high-speed data access, scalability, and interoperability across storage and computing resources within the data center.
Network Modifications and Implementation Strategy
Implementing the new network environment involves a phased approach to minimize disruptions. The initial phase includes procuring hardware, such as routers, security appliances, switches, and SAN components, followed by detailed configuration and testing in isolated environments before deployment during planned outage windows.
The deployment strategy emphasizes redundancy at every layer—dual Internet connections, redundant routing and switching pathways, and failover configurations for security and storage appliances. Continuous monitoring and management are critical; therefore, the selection of enterprise-grade network management tools that support secure, SNMPv3, and Syslog protocols will be prioritized. These tools will facilitate real-time performance evaluation and troubleshooting, ensuring the network meets the bank’s availability and performance targets.
To ensure compliance and security, monitoring tools must also integrate with security frameworks like Sysmon and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions. Security incident detection, bandwidth utilization, device health, and latency measurements are essential metrics to evaluate overall network health and performance.
Conclusion
The modernization plan for Western County Bank’s network infrastructure is designed to elevate operational efficiency, security, and customer satisfaction. By implementing redundant, high-speed connections, advanced security devices, and modern wireless and storage solutions, the bank can sustain business continuity, support mobile and online banking initiatives, and reduce downtime. Coupled with a strategic phased deployment and robust monitoring, this approach ensures a resilient, manageable, and scalable network environment geared toward future growth and technological advancements.
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