Large corporations Essay

Intranets are private websites, connections, or channels, usually owned by large corporations. The look and the environment of Intranets are relatively the same as Internets – the only difference between them is the fact that Intranets built to be accessible only to a group of authorized individuals that belongs to a certain company. For an Intranet connection to work, the presence of at least two servers is required, and one of which is going to act as a web or a file server. The one, on the other hand, is supposed to work as an email server. The faster and more efficient the microprocessor these individual server has, the better will the Intranet performance is going to be. Of course, aside from the servers, individual computers that connect to the Intranet are also part of the whole setup. These client computers can be connected either physically to the server through the use of a network cable or wirelessly courtesy of wireless network cards (Koehler, 1998). The two servers involved are tasked to transmit files, folders, and web pages to all the computers connected to it through it. The whole setup is also made possible through the use of the server software installed in it. Depending on what is required, each of the two servers needs an operating system, such as Windows, Unix, or Linux, and a combination of different programming software like ASP, PHP, XML, Perl, and other similar applications. Client computers however, would just require a functional operating system and a compatible browser (Dasgupta, 2001). It is the software that basically allows Intranet to function. A regular Windows operating system such as Windows 2000 and Windows XP are capable of working as web and email servers after performing the necessary configuration. However, a lot of administrators prefer to use Windows 2000 Server or Novell instead of the ones stated above. Both Windows 2000 Server and Novell have the necessary software embedded in them so that the Intranet connection can perfectly pass through. Intranet data are transmitted through the use of protocols, sockets, ports, and IP addresses. Once the required sets of software are configured and the necessary hardware in place, then the Intranet connection successfully works. It does not stop there, however. In an inner office intranet setup, security is of utmost importance. Without security parameters, data becomes accessible to the public. The regular username-password dialogue box manifests a commonly practiced Intranet security method. But aside from that, firewalls can also serve as a good security measure because of its ability to block access from an unauthorized IP addresses and similar connection points. Encryption software can also be used, especially if sensitive data are involved, such as bank account numbers, credit cards, and similar financial information (Ashley, 1999). II. Hardware Any regular computer with a network card physically or remotely connected to the intranet can access the server. The more important hardware requirements in an inner office intranet setup therefore, are the web, file, and email servers. These servers should adequately provide high-speed access to the whole network, as they are the backbone of the Intranet system. An office system with more than a thousand employees need a file server with 4 Megahertz processor speed having at least 1 Gigabytes of memory installed. On the other hand, the hard disk it contains should be 10 gigabytes or above and ideally, should follow a redundant array configuration. Still considered as part of the hardware requirement is the server’s operating system and it is the platform from which the Intranet system will work. As stated previously, Microsoft Windows 2000 Server is an example of a functional operating system as it has Microsoft Internet Information Server pre-installed in it. Macintosh, Linux and Unix are also popular choices, although which platform to choose depends entirely on the developer’s expertise and the company’s resources. Intranet follows the basic idea of local area networking. As such, the use of physical network connections is required, either directly or wirelessly. Most companies use network cards, cables, hubs, switches and wireless routers to transmit data requests from the computer to the server and then back again. And for the server to understand which remote computer requested a particular data, the concept of IP addressing comes into play. IP address means Internet Protocol address and each computer in the network is assigned a unique number that falls within the server’s subnet. Computers don’t necessarily understand human language. Consequently, the data received from the remote computer has to be translated into a code that the main servers can understand. This is the main task of a protocol stack, which is another program built-in into a computer’s operating system. Protocol stacks are more commonly called as the TCP/IP protocol, and this is what most companies, large and small alike prefer to use. These data pass through ports. Ports are a special set of numbers present in the header of every data packet sent by the client and the server. Ports are used so that the data being transmitted are mapped properly and directly to the correct process or application as designated. Different applications use different ports. Files, web pages, and emails each pass through a unique port in a computer. This is main reason why it is possible to accept these three different type so data packets all at the same time (Dasgupta, 2001). Routers, on the other hand, are the devices that are tasked to know the exact location of the computer that the data is intended for. Routers can either be a software functioning inside the server, like in the case of proxies. But in many cases, a router is a hardware that contains a firmware that has the capacity to direct traffic within the network or sub-network. While routers know all the computers below them, they do not necessarily know the ones above them. The moment that a packet, or a piece of information, is received by the router from the server, it checks the IP address the data is for. When it finds its location, it will then send the data accordingly. Else, it would transfer the data to the next router in the network, which will do the exact same process until the computer with the matching IP address is found. After which, the computer receives the data and is translated in a human-understandable form so that it can be used by the employee who requested it (Dasgupta, 2001). III. Software After the physical layer is in place and is running, the next thing that the administrator has to do is to setup the server-side functions of inner office Intranet. Depending upon the requirements of the company, a web page-like interface can be installed, which usually come in the form of simple HTML software. But that can be enhanced if utilized along with different script builder programs such as Cold Fusion, CGI, and database applications like Oracle. AT this point, the concepts applied here are generally the same as that an Internet connection. Only in this case, the data is not made accessible to the public, but only to the authorized people belonging to the office network. Aside from hard-core coding software, there is also that need for a design or the so-called perfect interface. Design and interface falls under the wet ware requirement of an Intranet network, although this category is still considered part of the software requirements. The most common reason why companies choose to setup an Intranet connection is because they have that need to gather all their employees at a common point. For this reason alone, an Intranet’s design and presentation becomes important. Consequently, they should always go well within what the employees wants to see and hear every time they access the portal and what the management and the shareholders want to impart. And aside from a good web designer, a talented writer may also be required to create announcements, ads, slogans, and content for the inner office’s intranet site (Koehler, 1998). IV. Security The most important aspect of Intranet connection would be its security, for it is that which primarily makes the Intranet different from the Internet. In an Internet setup, people from across the globe can access the data provided they have a telephone line, a modem, and a decent connection speed. Whereas in an Intranet, only authorized people are allowed. Only those who have desks and computers provided by the company can possibly have access to Intranet. Furthermore, in an Intranet setup, employees are given a username and password and from there, they can be categorized according to their respective department. As a result, only people belonging to a particular department can access the resources allotted to them. For example, the finance department can only go through files related to accounting while the marketing department can only download, modify, and create files that relates to sales. Most of the time, those people who belong to the upper echelon are given total access across departments (Koehler, 1998). Aside from categorization, it is also important for an inner office intranet to use firewalls to further protect their network from unauthorized outside access. Some intranets allow external access from their employees, meaning these people have the ability to connect from outside the office by passing through a virtual private network. For such applications, intensive firewalls are needed to keep other people away from the company’s database and server. Most companies use Cisco router firewalls, which can be considered as hardware, while there are companies that settle for purely software-based firewalls similar but not totally alike, to what Norton, Symantec, and AVG creates. But most firewalls that large corporations use are highly customized – meaning a pool of expert programmers are commissioned to create them from scratch. Open ended and individualized firewalls like these are harder to penetrate unlike the pre-built ones. Basically, what firewalls do is to block the ports from which data passes through, especially if the request comes from an unauthorized source (Ashley, 1999). References Ashley, Paul. (1999). Practical Intranet Security: Overview of the State of the Art and Available Technologies. Massachusetts: Kulwer Academic Publishers. Dasgupta, Subhasish. (2001). Managing Internet and Intranet Technologies in Organizations: Challenges and Opportunities. Pennsylvania: Idea Group Publishing. Koehler, Jerry W. (1998). The Human Side of Intranets: Content, Style, & Politics. Florida: CRC Press LLC.