INS Transport and IP VPN Network

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1 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS Move your data with INS Transport Services INS Transport Services 3 Password Policy is Vital 4 Top Network Threats 5 Efficiency of IP VPN 6 Trends in Communications 7 Plenty of Fiber 7

2 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS 2 Business Connections is a publication of INS. Main Office: 4201 Corporate Drive, West Des Moines, IA No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, electronic, photocopying, recording, mechanical, or otherwise without the prior written permission of INS. All rights are reserved. Editorial and Circulation - Contact: Kristi Arp, 4201 Corporate Drive, West Des Moines, IA 50266, Trademarks - All brand names and product names used in this publication are trade names, service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Additional Issues - Extra issues are available to business customer employees on a limited basis while supplies last. Contact: Kristi Arp, 4201 Corporate Drive, West Des Moines, IA 50266, Copyright 2008 by INS and Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc. POSTMASTER Send changes to: Kristi Arp - Business Connections INS 4201 Corporate Drive West Des Moines, IA Welcome to the first issue of Business Connections, a publication created to meet the needs of the business customers of Iowa Network Services. You can expect each issue of Business Connections to cover subjects directly related to telecommunications as well as topics of a more general business nature. We ll keep you updated on new voice and data technologies and show you how the use of some of our established products and services can enhance your daily operations. We ll also provide articles about areas such as management, marketing, customer service and office efficiency. In this issue, we take a look at the variety of INS transport services and how they provide reliable solutions to businesses requiring end-to-end communications. Also on the topic of data transport, you ll find articles about our IP VPN option (perfect for multi-site enterprises) as well as the INS Fiber Network which brings fast and flexible bandwidth to the Midwest. Don t miss the tips we include to help maintain network security. We hope you enjoy reading Business Connections and are able to take away ideas you can use at your workplace. We ll continue to do our best to help your business achieve your goals. If you have any questions about the topics we cover, or would like help using today s technologies more effectively, just give INS a call. We re ready to bring you the solutions you seek. Sincerely, Richard M. Vohs INS President and CEO

3 INS Transport Services Choose from a variety of reliable options to move your data Put simply, if you need transport across the state of Iowa, you need Iowa Network Services. With our extensive fiber optic network and national alliances, we can offer nationwide transport solutions to meet your company s communications goals. Best of all, you ll get reliable products at competitive prices, thanks to our continuous technology upgrades and volume purchasing power. Our transport services help keep your business competitive and ready for the future. Due to the foresight with which our network was designed, INS is able to offer a wide array of transport services to businesses requiring end-to-end communications solutions. As noted with our base network capabilities, INS continues to pursue projects for fiber builds that customize customer requirements for transport. The Wireless Industry plays a large part in today s telecom, and INS is a greatly involved partner with these companies as their bandwidth demands rapidly increase. We are, and want to remain, a reliable transport channel for our customers that grows with them. Our transport services help keep your business competitive and ready for the future. They include: Dedicated Internet Access INS Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) is an efficient and effective answer to your Internet access needs. INS partners with multiple Internet backbone providers to provide geographically diverse paths to the Internet. Our services are scalable to meet your connection needs. Coupled with INS transport solutions, our DIA product is your best Internet solution. Alarm Monitoring Enjoy peace of mind through 24/7 surveillance, immediate response and system record maintenance from experienced INS technicians. We ll tailor our alarm monitoring tools to fit the needs of your business. Through the state-of-the art Harris NetBoss network management system, INS can monitor most any equipment from Ethernet hubs to core routers. We ll also maintain a complete set of records and assist you in resolving reported issues. Co-Location Using reliable INS connectivity, your business can save money and power by housing your critical infrastructure in our high quality, secure data center. INS is in the process of acquiring a larger facility in the West Des Moines area for Co-Location services to accommodate the increasing space, power and bandwidth requirements of current and prospective customers. This facility will be designed to meet high levels of recovery and redundancy for its featured services. Please contact INS for additional information. Network Management Our team of professionals are available to help your business identify network requirements, build solutions, and manage your network. For more information on transport services you need to meet your goals, come to INS, call CALL-INS or visit IowaNetworkServices.com. Ethernet Transport Connect your systems for more effective communication, speed, flexibility and savings with INS carrier Ethernet service. It provides virtually immediate connections between networked computers in different offices, buildings and cities within Iowa, and is ideal for carrying voice, video and data. INS carrier Ethernet service also offers significant savings compared to other data transport methods, and its bandwidth is scalable from 1 Mbps to 10 Gbps and beyond. 3

4 Password Policy Is Critical to Security Employee lapses leave businesses vulnerable 4 More than a third of employees write down or electronically record their passwords, according to an October 2006 study by Nucleus Research and KnowledgeStorm. This is the equivalent of leaving the key under the mat, and creates significant security risks for businesses. Hackers are a clever bunch and will stop at nothing to get into your network for its resources and data. Common methods used by hackers are brute force, dictionary attacks and social engineering. Brute force is the most time-consuming method, and involves a program that tries every combination of letters, numbers and keyboard characters to guess your password. Dictionary attacks use custom dictionaries filled with words and names, as well as number and letter combinations such as and abc123. Social engineering is the most effective tactic. It refers to the practice of soliciting a password directly from a user. For example, a hacker posing as someone from your company s Internet service provider could call in and get an unsuspecting employee s password by testing the service. If the hacker sounds authoritative and legitimate enough, your whole network could be compromised. A comprehensive password policy is your first line of defense against these attacks. To be most valuable, such a policy should include these elements: Education Of Employees Employees don t always realize the importance of creating and safeguarding passwords. Instruct your users to never write down passwords and leave them in work areas, and to be particularly careful when entering passwords while strangers are nearby. Creation Of Strong Passwords Mandate that passwords require certain combinations of letters, numbers, non-alphanumeric characters, and case sensitivity. Your policy could also dictate that passwords may not contain personal data (address or date of birth), dictionary terms, organizational terms, and userrelated words (name or username). Remember that each character added to a password increases the protection. It should be 8 or more characters in length; 14 characters or longer is ideal. When a new password is created, find out how strong it is by visiting: com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx Regular Changing Of Passwords Get all operating systems, client-server applications and other resources set to make users change their passwords on a periodic basis, such as every 30 to 90 days. Response To Invalid Login Attempts Using operating system software, specify the number of times an account can attempt to authenticate before being locked out. Enforcement Through Software It s not enough to simply create a policy and expect users to stick to it consistently. Password requirements need to be enforced by the software that employees utilize throughout a network. Safe Storage Plan for the unexpected, such as a sudden or unplanned transition within your network administration staff. Consider keeping a copy of all critical passwords in your company s safe. Common Security Threats In addition to computer viruses, common security threats against networks include: Denial-of-Service Attacks A denial-of-service attack (DoS) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users. It generally involves preventing an Internet site or service from functioning efficiently or at all. Cyber Extortion Cyber extortion is a new twist on an old racket Give us money or we ll shut you down. Methods can include a denial-of-service attack (DoS), theft of confidential data, defacement of your website or an attack that locks up or encrypts data. Unsecured Wireless Access Points An unsecured Wireless Access Point (WAP) or an Access Point that is using outdated technology for security (such as WEP) provides a hacker with an easy route into your network. Rootkit A rootkit is a set of software tools intended to conceal running processes, files or system data from the operating system. Rootkits are used by malware to help intruders maintain access to systems while avoiding detection.

5 One Efficient Network for Multiple Sites IP VPN reduces costs and streamlines management Is your business a multiple-site enterprise? Then an IP VPN from INS could be an excellent network solution for you. An IP VPN is an IP-enabled Virtual Private Network deployed and managed over a service provider infrastructure. It provides similar levels of privacy, security, quality of service (QoS) and manageability compared to networks built entirely on dedicated, privately owned or leased facilities. However, an IP VPN offers the additional advantages of reduced costs and increased efficiency, since there is no longer a hub customer location that all traffic must pass through. A business doesn t have to lease and manage a costly dedicated infrastructure between their locations. Tony Mumm, Manager of Product Development, says an IP VPN enables a multi-site enterprise to communicate privately between locations. Hospitals are a perfect example they have clinics all over the place that need to exchange private information such as patient records, monitoring data and x-ray scans, explains Mumm. The IP VPN concept has the flexibility to efficiently route traffic between any two locations on a private network. So a hospital s clinics can have access to both the main hospital and patient records at a data warehouse across town, without wasting bandwidth. Another benefit of an IP VPN is that a business doesn t have to lease and manage a costly dedicated infrastructure between their locations. Mumm adds that INS is well qualified to provide an IP VPN for your business. We have both the IP expertise required to help you build an effective private network, as well as the powerful infrastructure that allows us to be a one-stop shop for business communications needs. And our reliable IP VPN network has extensive reach throughout the Midwest and across the country, so there s no need to coordinate multiple carriers. Business customers can also rest assured that INS is on the cutting edge of this service, and is making plans for further enhancements. To find out if IP VPN is the right choice for your business, call CALL-INS or visit IowaNetworkServices.com. 5

6 Hot Topics in Communications What our industry is talking about now 6 Technology and trends are constantly changing. With that in mind, we want to keep you current on some of the latest developments, issues and challenges in today s communications industry: Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) is making gains in the high-speed market FTTP brings fiber optic technology directly to customers homes and offices for greater Internet capacity and speeds, even as compared to standard broadband connections. The demand for this technology is growing along with the use of high definition video, cell phone cameras and music downloading. Keep your eyes out for continued expansion of FTTP it may soon be part of your company s communications package, too. Ethernet is big for Internet The penetration of Ethernet in the market as a means to deliver data transport and high capacity Internet access has been a big technological development in recent years. Where Ethernet was once simply one of two workgroup LAN standards, it has become the infrastructure of choice for building major portions of the next-generation public network. With Ethernet, companies are able to easily transmit data at speeds that are not dictated by telephone lines. Bandwidth is increasing Internet bandwidth is, in simple terms, the speed of your connection to the Internet. The market is demanding increased bandwidth to reduce the amount of time spent downloading and uploading. We have seen growing interest for optical Internet at speeds that exceed 100 Mbps, as well as for cable modem solutions with download speeds up to 15 Mbps and uploads of 2 Mbps. Net neutrality issue is still under debate Recently, the bipartisan Internet Freedom Preservation Act 2008 was introduced in an effort to maintain the freedom to use for lawful purposes broadband telecommunications networks, including the Internet, without unreasonable interference from or discrimination by network operators, as has been the policy and history of the Internet and the basis of user expectations since its inception. Supporters of the bill argue that regulation of the Internet by large Internet providers will stifle the investment, innovation and creativity of today s broadband marketplace. For more information, see Future is speeding up With recent predictions stating that Internet traffic could reach 1 Zettabyte (that s one million million billion bytes of data) per year by 2015, businesses as well as individuals will want speed, reliability and mobility from their communications services. Customers expect to get the information they want, whenever they want it, regardless of their location. They also want the support of a trusted communications provider. The challenge faced by our industry will be to educate employees and the marketplace as quickly as new technology is being developed.

7 Iowans Get Plenty of Fiber The benefits of our fiber optic network go on for miles Fiber isn t just good for your diet it s also incredibly beneficial for your business communications. This is why INS provides the Midwest s most extensive fiber optic network that includes more than 2,400 route miles of fiber. The INS Fiber Network basically divides Iowa into 4 quarters along the Interstate 35 and 80 corridors, forming a clover leaf with Des Moines in the center. Because of this broad coverage, more businesses have access to the high reliability, wide bandwidth and upgradeability that fiber optic technology makes possible. The history of the INS Fiber Network dates back 20 years. The original network was started in July 1988 and was built out over a two-year period, notes Blair Beck, Network Planning Engineer. It consisted of 865 miles of fiber originating in Des Moines, north and northwest to Mason City, Spencer, and Sioux City, south and west to Omaha, and east to Cedar Rapids and Davenport. This network tied together 275 local telephone exchanges with the centralized switch located in Des Moines. In the early 90s through about 1995, additional routes were built or leased to provide diverse fiber paths back to Des Moines from the outlying sites. The additional routes improved network reliability and increased capacity. Another key point in network capability occurred in 2005 when INS incorporated Ethernet transport into the network. According to Beck, future INS plans call for capacity upgrades as necessary, continued network expansion where economically feasible to reach enterprise and other large customers, augmenting existing or adding additional connectivity to Independent Telephone networks and carriers, as well as upgrades to allow for 10 Gbps transport across various segments of the network. One valuable feature of the INS Fiber Network is its self-healing nature. In the event of a fiber cut, node or equipment failure, the Network is capable of detecting the failure and automatically re-routing traffic in approximately 50 milliseconds or less. To our business customers, this means that a problem on the INS Network will not cause a disruption of service. In fact, the customer is usually unaware that the event has even occurred. To further enhance the speed and reliability benefits of fiber, INS offers a highly competent and experienced staff of nearly 80 people to meet your support needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. INS technicians are trained on a variety of manufacturers products covering switching, fiber transport, data and digital television technologies. Network Control Center technicians are prepared for intelligent troubleshooting of complex network problems and are effective in adapting procedures to meet specific requirements. Whether your network operates with Nortel, Metaswitch, Coppercom, Taqua, Fujitsu, Turin/Whiterock, Alcatel, Cisco, Juniper or Foundry, INS is prepared to solve your most demanding network problems. Put the power of fiber to work for your business. Call CALL-INS or visit IowaNetworkServices.com. IOWA CITY INS Fiber Optic Network 7

8 The Future Is Calling. INS Lets You Answer. Through our innovative, state-of-the-art products and services, Iowa Network Services (INS) can offer your company the solutions to meet your communication goals. By continuously upgrading to the latest technologies and through our volume purchasing power, INS is positioned to deliver reliable products and services at a competitive price. Thanks to the foresight with which our network was designed, INS offers a wide array of telecommunications and network services to businesses requiring end-to-end communication solutions. INS Transport Services, from Dedicated Internet Access to Ethernet to everything in between, contribute to keeping you competitive and ready for the future. INS SS7 Database Services, Network Management and Co-Location are additional product solutions available to support and improve your infrastructure. For technology applied in innovative ways, for the Midwest s most extensive fiber optic network, and for the best solutions to meet your goals, see INS CALL-INS IowaNetworkServices.com nnovative Technologies, etwork Reliability & olutions for Business