The Goal of the Internet Engineering Task Force - Assignment Example

IP Telephony Learning Outcome Seven IEFT and ITU Overview of the IETF The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a global large and open organization concerned with the smooth operation of the Internet and the evolution of the Internet architecture. The community is made up of researchers, vendors, operators, individuals and network designers who are organized into working groups and informal discussion groups (BoF)s organized into specialty groups. The IETF has no formal membership or membership requirements The goal of The Internet Engineering Task Force is to make the Internet work better, while the mission is to offer relevant technical and engineering documents of high quality, which influence the way people use, design, and manage the Internet in a manner that makes the internet work well. IETF documents encompass best current practices, protocol standards and diverse informational documents. The working groups are organized by topic into several specialty areas such as security, transport and routing. The IETF, which has three meetings annually, handles most of the work through mailing lists. In developing and promoting Internet standards, the IETF community cooperates closely with other bodies and communities such as W3C and ISO/IEC standards bodies. The IETF working groups and informal discussion groups (BoF)s organized into specialty groups referred areas, and managed by Area Directors. The Area Directors belong to the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). The Internet Society (ISOC)  has chartered the Internet Architecture Board, (IAB) to provide architectural oversight and act as an adjudicator for appeals when a person complains against the IESG. The chair of the IESG and of the IETF serves as an ex-officio member of the IAB as also the General Area Director. In terms of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), there is a global shift towards an integrated packet-switched voice and data network from the circuit-switched voice network. The VOIP relates to particular collection of rules, procedures or conventions, which relate to the timing and format of data transmission between two or more devices. There are varied ways, which define the implementation of the VoIP, with each definition having its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of scalability, modularity, complexity, network configuration, extensibility, security and safety. There are several working groups at IEFT relating to Voice Over Internet Protocol. The SIP Working group is concerned with the development and advancement of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The SIP protocol is meant for interactive communication sessions initiation, which includes interactive games, video, chat, voice and virtual reality. The SIP working group focuses on the SIP specification and extension without concentrating on the specific use of SIP. The SIPPING Working Group is an acronym for The Session Initiation Protocol Project INvestiGation (SIPPING) working group. The group is responsible for documenting the utilization of SIP for varied applications dealing with multimedia and telephony. The ENUM: Telephone number mapping ENUM working group has defined a DNS-based architecture and protocol RFC 2916 , which is utilized by the ITU, defined E.164 to be expressed as a Fully Qualified Domain. The IPTEL Working group in full means the focus of the IP Telephony (iptel) group, which is concerned, with handling of the challenges related to naming and routing for Voice over IP (VoIP) protocols. Another working group in IETF concerned with VOIP is the MEGACO Working group. The  media gateway control protocol, published as RFC 3015 ascribe to the ITU- T Recommendation H.248. The group works in cooperation with ITU-T Study Group 16, to deal with the requirements documented in RFC 2805. The MIDCOM Working Group is concerned with trusted third parties in the development of 'middleboxes.' , such as the communication with firewalls and network address translators. The MMUSIC Working Group is full means the Multiparty Multimedia SessIon Control (MMUSIC) Working Group (WG) is responsible for developing protocols to support Internet teleconferencing and multimedia communications. The SIGTRAN Working Group has a primary responsibility of addressing the transport of packet-based PSTN signaling over IP Networks, considering the functional and performance requirements of the PSTN signaling. The SIMPLE: SIP for instant messaging and presence group concentrates on the application of the Session Initiation Protocol to the instant messaging and presence (IMP). The VPIM: Voice Profile for Internet Mail concentrates on providing a basis of implementing the interoperability between voice mail systems. The MIDCOM Working Group concentrates on communication with firewalls and network address translators with the objective of providing communications interface serving as a foundation for communications protocols providing application-specific firewall functionality. The ENUM group in full means the Telephone number mapping, which has defined Domain Name system -based architecture and protocol to express E.164 as a Fully Qualified Domain Name. The IPTEL Working group means IP Telephony (iptel) group concentrates on the challenges associated with naming and routing for Voice over IP (VoIP) protocols. The MEGACO Working group denoting media gateway control protocol, RFC 3015 is a joint development with ITU-T Study Group 16 hence the RFC is also published as ITU-T Recommendation H.248 aims at responding to the corrections to RFC 3015/Rec. H.248 ITU The International Telecommunication Union was founded began operations in 1865 in Paris as the International Telegraph Union. ITU, which is part of the United Nations, has a global membership of 192 countries as well as private institutions and has a large span in the Information Communication Technology sector including 3Dimension and High Definition Television, the internet, mobile technologies and broadcasting. The ITU operates through conferences and meetings, which are structured through sectors, which are the main areas of activity. The sectors are radio-communications, standardization and development. In the Radio-communications sector, ITU focuses on satellite television broadcasting, phone calls, online maps and navigation. Global management of satellite orbits and radio-frequency spectrum is done by the sector. The ITU standardization sector also referred to as the recommendations sector is important to the functioning of the information Communication Technology networks. The sector standardizes several aspects including home networking, voice and video compression, transport protocols and Internet access. The sector enables the ICT devices to communicate locally and globally. ITU also has a development sector, to provide a basis for advance and progression in the Information Communication Technology industry. There are also groups and meetings, which include study groups, which are made up of persons of diverse expertise. There are Focus groups and other meetings, which offer an effective forum for members and non-members equally to concentrate on urgent, market-oriented industry concerns that are beyond the directive of accessible study groups. There are also seminars organized by the organization to attract experts in a given area. The Global meeting place is a regional and global events and workshops that encompass most influential representatives of the industry and the government to exchange knowledge and ideas the benefit of the entire populace, these are imperative towards developing skills and knowledge. Advantages and disadvantages of IP Telephony There are several driving merits, which has driven the adoption and implementation of IP-Telephony. These advantages include voice-networking costs. IP-Telephony involves replacing the utilization of proprietary traditional telephone networks and equipment with open standard LAN and distributed data networks for voice transportation. Open standards are relatively cheaper than the proprietary telephone systems and hence offering cost advantage of network convergence. Organizations get the advantage of cost due to integrated transmission of voice, data and video using the available bandwidth. IP-Telephony also has the advantage of lower equipment administration costs, considering that same equipment for data transmission is used in voice transmission. IP telephony also has the advantage of centralized network control and management. With IP Telephony, organizations benefit from remote and mobile access to diverse sophisticated communications applications, such as call centers, messaging and call management. These offers varied advantages such as organizational wide in-house voice conferencing, centralized call center operations, integrating access to voice mail and unified messaging, mobile access capability, advanced call features and improved customer satisfaction. IP Telephony is advantageous in simplifying communications management. The traditional PBX systems are comparatively complicated to maintain, on the other hand, IP-Telephony can be administered through with simple web based tools, offering simple graphical user interfaces. IP-Telephony also offers easily accessible organization -wide user directories that enable persons in distant geographical places to be in close contact. In addition, IP-Telephony merges traffic onto available data circuits, hence optimally utilizing the bandwidth and evades long distance rates Karri (2001). Disadvantages of IP Telephony Whereas IP Telephony has a range of advantages, there are some disadvantages. IP-Telephony relies on the wall power unlike the traditional telephone systems, which relied on the provider systems to power. Furthermore, there are some applications such as subscription TV services and home security systems, which have not been fully integrated with IP-Telephony. IP-Telephony is also dependant on internet connections such that any problems and challenges experienced by internet connections directly affects the call quality. Some IP-Telephony systems are not encrypted hence calls being susceptible to eavesdropping and hacking in addition to the fact that it is challenging to locate callers using IP-Telephony in times of emergencies. Configuration and Operation of VOIP network Learning outcome six – WLAN IEEE 802.11 WLAN Standards IEEE 802.11 standards implement computer communication using the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. There are various protocols under the 802.11 standards. These protocols include- IEEE 802.11a The standard operates in the 5 GHz band with an utmost net data rate of 54 Mbit/s and uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) in the physical layer. The standard uses the un-crowded 5 GHz band hence having no interference from other systems, and offering higher carrier frequency and taking advantage of the essential OFDM propagation advantages in a high multipath environment while fostering the development of higher frequency antennae. The standard also has increased number of usable channels. However, the signals are absorbed more readily by solid objects and walls, hence cannot penetrate far due to the smaller wavelength. IEEE 802.11b The IEEE 802.11b standard offers maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s using the 2.4 GHz ISM band. The standard is utilized in point-to-multipoint configuration, using omnidirectional antenna, which communicates with a client within the coverage of the access point. Using CSMA/CA media access method similar to what is defined in the original standard, the standard can achieve 7.1 Mbit/s using User Datagram Protocol and 5.9 Mbit/s when using TCP. IEEE 802.11b is implemented using the Complementary code keying (CCK) and the DSSS (Direct-sequence spread spectrum) modulation technique outlined in the original standard. IEEE 802.11b are relatively priced lowly and combined with the increase in throughput of 802.11b, the standard has gained global usage. There are however, several challenges associated with the standard such as suffering of from other products such as Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens and baby monitors operating in the 2.4 GHz band Russell,(2002). IEEE 802.11g The IEEE 802.11g standard was ratified in June 2003 and offers physical layer bit rate of 54 Mbit/s uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) in the physical layer like the IEEE 802.11a standard but operates in the 2.4 GHz band like the 802.11b. The standard is fully backwards compatible with 802.11b hardware, and has global utilization due to higher data rates is lower frequency. The products in the standard are also susceptible to interference by other products operating in the same frequency. IEEE 802.11n The 802.11n was released in the year 2009 as an advancement of the previous 802.11 standards. The standard integrates different features and characteristics of the previous standards as adds multiple-input multiple-output antennas (MIMO) enhanced by Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM) implemented by four spatial streams at a channel width of 40 MHz to achieve data rates up to 600 Mbit/s. The standard uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) in the physical layer and operates on both the rarely used 5 GHz bands and the ISM 2.4GHz band. IEEE 802.11n has approximate indoor range of seventy meters and outdoor range of two hundred and fifty meters. Advantages of WLANS in comparison to wired LANs WLAN offers several advantages in comparison to LANs. Wireless networks permit users to share and access network resources and connections without the need to physically connect to the network. These offers a host of several benefits such as enhanced flexibility, installing and moving WLANs is relatively supple in that users can dynamically alter the WLANs to any location as and when needed Kanoksri, (2001). User Mobility is also an advantage in that users can access the intranet, internet, network resources and files without the need to physically connect to the network with physical medium. Moreover, WLANs offers rapid installation in that the duration required for installation is condensed since network connections can be made without the need to add wires. WLAN setup just involves setting up the access point, and the wireless nodes to use the access point. Disadvantages of WLANS in comparison LANs Whereas WLANs have several advantages, they have not been implemented in each local network due to various disadvantages. These include quality of service. Wireless Local Area Networks in most cases over lower quality service in comparison to the wired LAN’s. This is because of longer delays caused by multipath propagation, higher error rates due to interference, lower bandwidth caused by the limitations in the radio transmission. Other factors, which may affect the quality of service of the WLANs, include security factors, configuration and overhead, which may significantly reduce the actual throughput of WLANs Tan, (2003). Another WLAN disadvantage is Electrical Interference. Most WLANs use the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Schneider, (2008). Considering that most spread-spectrum transmissions in WLANs utilize the Frequency allocation for Radio Frequency (RF), the impacts of electrical interference may severely affect the transmission. Other devices such as microwave devices, Bluetooth devices, cordless phones and baby monitors transmit energy in the equivalent spectrum, therefore resulting to interference, which may result to degradation in throughput. Security is also an issue of concern in WLANs since WLANs send their traffic over the airwaves, which introduces more security vulnerabilities. The open radio interface and distance transmission can provide a platform for eavesdropping, which may be used by hackers to get access to information. Furthermore, there have been advances in the security compromising tools such as anti-WEP technologies, which break the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption. Slow Throughput Rate is also a disadvantage in WLANs when compared to wire LANs according to Sterne, (2010). Configuration and Operation of WLAN network WLAN security Measures Several security measures can be implemented in WLANs to limit access to the WLANs and limit instances of attacks. Essential security measures include Authentication of mobile users, support for Wireless Local Area Network encryption standards (WEP, WPA/WPA2), MAC address filter, SSID deactivation to reduce instances of War driving access, as well as extra TLS/SSL encryption. The security measures can be combines to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and connect using the approved APs (authentication). Authentication is the essential measure for limiting access. This is based on Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) and ensure successful user- or device-based authentication. There are several authentication methods such as Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP), Message Digest Algorithm 5, The Extensible Authentication Protocol over Transport Layer Security (EAP-TLS), Extensible Authentication Protocol over Tunnelled Transport Layer Security (EAP-TTLS), Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) and Extensible Authentication Protocol - Flexible Authentication via Secure Tunnelling (EAP-FAST) Access can also be limited by the WLAN encryption methods such as WE P ( Wired Equivalent Privacy ), WEP WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) and WPA 2 as presented by Ralph & Reynolds, (2008). The encryptions do vary such that WEP use RC4 as the encryption algorithm and use static keys for authentication. WPA use RC4 as the encryption algorithm and use passwords and pre-shared keys (PSK) for authentication. WPA2 uses AES-CCMP encryption algorithm, passwords, and shared keys (PSK) for authentication. These works together to limit access to the WLANs. Works cited Kanoksri Sarinnapakorn, 2001. High Rate Wireless Local Area Networks. Available online, [http://alpha.fdu.edu/~kanoksri/IEEE80211b.html.], June, 2011 Karri Huhtanen. 2001. Security problems and solutions in WLAN access zones, whitepaper, May 2001, Available online, [http://erwin.ton.tut.fi/kh/interests/ security/security-problems-and-solutions-in-wlan-access-zones.pdf], June 2011 Ralph, S & Reynolds, G. 2008. Principles of Information Systems. Boston: Cengage Learning. Russell Dean Vines. 2002. Wireless Security Essentials. Wiley Publishing, Inc, New York. Schneider, G. 2008. Electronic Commerce. Cengage Learning, Cape Town. Sterne, Jim. 2010. Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment. Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken. Tan, P. 2003. Success with Online Retailing: For Small Businesses. iUniverse, Indianapolis Read More