-: Other devices. 2 2
In this lesson, we're going to take a quick look 3 3
at some devices you may find on your networks. 4 4
This includes things like VoIP phones, printers, 5 5
access control devices, cameras, HVACs, internet of things, 6 6
ICS and SCADA devices. 7 7
First we have VoIP phones. 8 8
A VoIP phone is a voice over internet protocol phone, 9 9
and it's a hardware device that connects to your IP network 10 10
in order to make a connection to a call manager 11 11
within your network. 12 12
Now a call manager, 13 13
also known as a unified communications manager 14 14
or a unified call manager in Cisco based networks, 15 15
is going to be used to perform the call processing 16 16
for hardware and software based IP phones. 17 17
Now, if you have an IP phone, 18 18
you can call another IP phone directly. 19 19
There's no issue with that. 20 20
For example, if you VoIP phones in your office building, 21 21
and they're all connected to your local area network, 22 22
you could pick up a phone and dial another phone 23 23
and talk to your coworkers. 24 24
But if you want to be able to talk to your spouse 25 25
on their cell phone, 26 26
you have to configure your call manager 27 27
to route those calls to the public telephone network 28 28
by connecting it with a telephone provider. 29 29
VoIP systems are very popular these days 30 30
because they lower the cost of long distance, 31 31
and it allows you to provide encrypted voice lines 32 32
within your own companies 33 33
if you're doing VoIP to VoIP calls. 34 34
Now, VoIP phones often look like a regular phone, 35 35
but they may also include a digital display 36 36
or a video camera, 37 37
so you can make face-to-face calls as well. 38 38
The next device, we're going to talk about our printers. 39 39
Now, if you've already taken your A+ exam 40 40
or you've ever printed out a document, 41 41
you already know what a printer is. 42 42
Printers can be directly connected to a computer using USB, 43 43
or they can be connected to your network 44 44
and shared by multiple users. 45 45
When it comes to network printers, 46 46
they can be wired or wireless, 47 47
and you have the ability to configure them 48 48
with the right IP address statically or by using DHCP. 49 49
This way they can connect to the network 50 50
and other users can connect to them as well. 51 51
Next, we have physical access control devices, 52 52
which includes things like security gates, 53 53
and turnstiles, and door locks, and many others. 54 54
All of these things are often connected to a network, 55 55
and when they're connected to the network, 56 56
they're often going to be on their own network 57 57
for additional security, 58 58
not connected to your corporate network. 59 59
Now, if you do connect them to your corporate network, 60 60
you need to make sure you place them in their own VLAN, 61 61
this will give you additional security controls and safety. 62 62
But for the most secure environment, 63 63
you really should have them 64 64
on their own separate physical network. 65 65
Next, we have security cameras. 66 66
Often these will be connected to your security network, 67 67
just like your physical access control devices, 68 68
but in a lot of small office or home office environments, 69 69
you may have them connected 70 70
to your corporate network as well. 71 71
This way they can access the internet 72 72
and you don't have a bunch of extra gear to have to pay for. 73 73
Again, though, if you're going to do this, 74 74
I highly recommend getting some additional security, 75 75
like putting them on a separate VLAN 76 76
and adding ACL's to protect them. 77 77
Traditionally, security cameras 78 78
can actually be very insecure devices 79 79
just because they're part of the greater internet of things 80 80
and it's risky to have them 81 81
on your enterprise or corporate networks. 82 82
Next, we have heating ventilation and air conditioning 83 83
or HVAC. 84 84
There are going to be lots of different sensors and controllers 85 85
to help work with these things. 86 86
These like security cameras, 87 87
should be placed on their own VLAN 88 88
and have security protections in place. 89 89
These HVAC sensors and controllers are going to be useful 90 90
to have on a network, 91 91
so you can detect the temperature and humidity of the spaces 92 92
that people don't work in daily, 93 93
like server rooms and communication closets. 94 94
But again, 95 95
these devices tend to not have a lot of security built in. 96 96
So you need to put additional protections 97 97
and defenses in place when you connect them to your network. 98 98
Just like security cameras and HVAC sensors, 99 99
there is a whole host of other devices 100 100
you may find attached to your network, 101 101
we call these the internet of things. 102 102
This is things like smart TVs, and smartwatches, 103 103
smart refrigerators, and smart speakers, smart thermostats, 104 104
and smart doorbells, and many others. 105 105
All of these things are part of IOT 106 106
or the internet of things. 107 107
Just like I said for HVAC and security cameras, 108 108
you should be putting these devices on a corporate network 109 109
or enterprise network in their own segmented VLAN 110 110
or on a separate network altogether, 111 111
to be able to give yourself more protection. 112 112
Finally, we have ICS and SCADA. 113 113
ICS stands for industrial control system 114 114
and SCADA stands for supervisory control 115 115
and data acquisition. 116 116
When we talk about ICS or industrial control systems, 117 117
this is a term 118 118
that's used to describe different types of control systems 119 119
and the associated instrumentation. 120 120
This includes devices, systems, networks, and controls 121 121
that are used to operate and automate industrial processes. 122 122
Now the specific type is going to depend on your industry, 123 123
but normally this includes electronic sensors in equipment 124 124
that are built specifically 125 125
to have an effect on the physical world. 126 126
I mentioned earlier, the term SCADA, 127 127
well SCADA is one type of industrial control system or ICS. 128 128
For example, 129 129
I used to work as a nuclear reactor operator 130 130
early in my life. 131 131
Now, when I was sitting at the reactor plant control panel, 132 132
there were a lot of pressure and sensor gauges 133 133
that I would monitor, 134 134
and lots of different switches 135 135
that I could turn to turn things on like pumps and heaters, 136 136
SCADA systems allow me to take all that data 137 137
and put it in one place. 138 138
I could acquire it and transmit the data 139 139
from all of these different systems 140 140
and put it all into a central panel 141 141
so that I, as a reactor operator, 142 142
could monitor and control it. 143 143
Now, I didn't have to sit inside the nuclear reactor 144 144
or next to the reactor to turn on the coolant pump. 145 145
Instead, I could be safely away from all that radiation 146 146
and be able to control and see everything 147 147
using these SCADA systems. 148 148
That way, we actually also do things like automation. 149 149
We could set a range of values 150 150
that are programmable logic controller could take 151 151
and that way, if we need to turn the pump on 152 152
at a certain temperature or off at a certain temperature, 153 153
we could do that too, to keep the reactor 154 154
at the right temperature for safe operations. 155 155
Now, why is this important to consider ICS and SCADA systems 156 156
as a network engineer? 157 157
Well, because these things run on networks too, 158 158
and you may be asked to work as a network technician 159 159
at a reactor plant, 160 160
or automobile factory, or on an oil pipeline. 161 161
And all of these sensors need to be connected, 162 162
and that happens using a network. 163 163
Again, like IOT, I highly recommend you have a separate 164 164
or segmented network for your ICS and SCADA devices. 165 165
The reason for this is that these things are very sensitive 166 166
and they need to be protected. 167 167
I don't want my reactor plant connected to my email server, 168 168
that's a bad day because if somebody has a malicious email 169 169
and infects our systems with ransomware, 170 170
it can make it so I'm locked out of my ICS and SCADA systems 171 171
and won't be able to control the reactor too. 172 172
So we don't want that, 173 173
you need to have it on a separate network. 174 174
All right, for the exam, 175 175
I want you to remember, 176 176
there are lots of different things 177 177
that you might work on as a network technician. 178 178
This includes things like VoIP phones, printers, 179 179
access control, devices, cameras, HVAC, 180 180
internet of things, ICS and SCADA devices. 181 181
Each of these devices 182 182
is going to bring risks to your networks 183 183
and to the devices themselves. 184 184
So you have to weigh the operations and the security 185 185
as you're building security into your networks 186 186
and figure out where to place these devices.