Category Archives: Uncategorized

VMware ESXi Virualization - BieneIT

How to Use VMware ESXi virtualization (instructions step by step how to create a virtual machine).

What is VMware ESXi?

VMware ESXi Server is a virtualization software, that means that the VMware ESXi Server is a single physical server who can run multiple virtual machines simultaneously. Each of these virtual machines believes it is running on its own dedicated hardware, and they have the impression that they are separate from the rest of virtual machines, but they are actually on the same hardware which is controlled by VMware ESXi Server. This is an enterprise level virtualization tool which utilizes services that manage numerous virtual machines with greater reliability and efficiency than VMware’s more basic Server product.

The reason for this is because ESXi Server runs on „bare-metal.“ This essentially means that you install the ESXi Server software directly into the computer, without an operating system for it to run on top of.

Microsoft Hyper V - BieneIT

How to Use Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization (instructions step by step how to create a virtual machine).

What is Microsoft Hyper-V?

Hyper-V is Microsoft’s hardware virtualization product. It lets you create and run a software version of a computer, called a virtual machine. Each virtual machine acts like a complete computer, running an operating system and programs. When you need computing resources, virtual machines give you more flexibility, help save time and money, and are a more efficient way to use hardware than just running one operating system on physical hardware.

Hyper-V runs each virtual machine in its own isolated space, which means you can run more than one virtual machine on the same hardware at the same time. You might want to do this to avoid problems such as a crash affecting the other workloads, or to give different people, groups or services access to different systems.

Open Source Network - BieneIT

Open Source Enterprise Monitoring Icinga2 (examples of Monitoring).

Open Source Enterprise Monitoring Icinga2 (examples of Monitoring).

Monitoring plays an inevitable part in any IT infrastructure. It could be argued that monitoring tools are the most essential, providing crucial information that will help you ensure service up time and optimal performance. A well configured monitoring setup will keep track of all the important activities and most importantly alert us in case of problems. This gives the space for system administrators to sleep peacefully knowing that he/she will be alerted in case if something is broken.

Icinga 2 is a flexible, Enterprise open source monitoring platform that has the capability to cover most of your monitoring requirements. Icinga 2 is very strong at monitoring servers and devices, supporting both direct monitoring and SNMP. It excels at providing data and alerts for availability, connectivity, and general health checks of your IT infrastructure. Icinga 2 is scalable and extensible, Icinga 2 can monitor large, complex environments across multiple locations.

Secure Sockets Layer -

What is SSL and why is it important for secure web browsing?

What is SSL and why is it important for secure web browsing?

Lately, more and more often we hear rumors of numerous identity theft over the Internet, passwords leak, „insertion“ of the virus, and many of the laity is dotted with new concepts and words – such as ransomware.

All these security and security posts have at least one common name – the so-called social engineering, a situation in which you are literally deceived and „forced“ to click on the content or link that, at the very least, will not be good for you and your data. After clicking, a pandora’s box of tricks, viruses and worms that have only one goal – opens the door to theft by data theft.

However, contrary to the opinion, such mistakes can happen to everyone, and this is very easy. The website looks okay, even very similar to e-banking for your bank, but it’s natural to ask for a scam that is easy to spot in time – if you know what SSL is. We will show here what SSL is, which is a valid value and why everyone should use some version of it in everyday surfing, living and doing business on the today internet.

Domain name system - BieneIT

What is DNS (Domain Name System)

What is DNS?

DNS, an abbreviation of the Domain Name System, makes your Internet browsing without much trouble. The DNS functions as an interpreter between humans, who talk words, and computers, who “talk numbers”. These numbers are functionally similar to telephone numbers and are known as IP addresses. Domain Name System or DNS is a central part of the Internet. We use it to translate numbers that computers understand like 134.119.234.100 (IPv4) or newer IP addresses such as 2a00:1450:4007:805:0:0:0:2004 (IPv6) to something we can read, for example, bieneit.de.

This translation is called a DNS lookup

How DNS works?

When you type in your web browser a website domain (bieneit.de), your device needs the IP (134.119.234.100) to actually go there. It gets it by sending a query to a DNS server – a special kind of server that has a database of IP addresses and their associated hostnames. This communication look like this:

  • Your device:“What is the IP address of bieneit.de?”
  • DNS server:“It’s 134.119.234.100”
  • Your deviceaccesses bieneit.de.
  • You use your favorite search engine without ever thinking of the inner-workings of the internet.

If only it were that simple. Your query “What is the IP address of bieneit.de?” actually goes through multiple DNS servers before coming back to you with an answer. Imagine that the internet is a colossal virtual highway system. To visit a website, you have to get in a car and drive to your destination without any map or GPS. You would get lost at the first crossroads you hit – but that’s where DNS saves the day. Like a traffic officer, the DNS server directs you towards the next crossroads, where another DNS server directs you to the next crossroads until you reach your final destination.

Eventually, you will be led to an authoritative nameserver that provides the IP address you’re looking for.

Types of DNS Servers

There are several types of DNS Servers that help us perform a DNS lookup:

  • Authoritative nameserver

This server holds the records for specific domain names. Like IP addresses and more. This type of nameserver is often run by hosting companies holding the websites themselves or by domain registrars.

  • DNS recursive resolver

A server that is often managed by our ISPs, wireless carriers or third-party providers like Google, OpenDNS, and Cloudflare with its new service. The user usually has to set up a computer to use a third-party provider. The client asks this server for the IP address. This server does not hold the IP address so it has to ask other servers. When it gets an answer, the client gets the IP address of the site (or an error if the address could not be found).

  • Root nameserver

These nameservers hold information about TLDs. They know where to look for information on sites that are under some TLD as .me, .com, .org etc. There are 13 sets of these root servers. They are called “A Root”, “B Root”, all the way to “M Root”. These name servers are all operated by different operators like Verisign, Cogent Communications, Netnod, University of Maryland etc.

  • TLD nameserver

These nameservers hold the information about servers that hold specific domain name information or Authoritative nameservers. These are often called NS records. There are multiple companies and organizations that operate these nameservers. For example, Afilias for .me, .org etc., and Verisign for .com, .net etc.

DNS records

DNS records act as instructions for the DNS server, so it knows which domain names each IP address is associated with. DNS records contain a lot of different syntax and commands for how the server should respond to the request. Some of the most common forms DNS records are:

  • A record

This record holds the IPv4 of the domain name.

  • AAAA record

This record holds the IPv6 (just a newer type of an IP address) of the domain name.

  • MX record

This record lists email exchange servers that are to be used with the domain.

  • TXT record

A catch-all record. It is intended to provide textual information about the domain name to external services. CNAME record: Canonical name. Used to redirect one domain to another.

What Are Name Servers?

If you have your own Internet domain you need to know that the name servers are the portion of your DNS records that enable people to use your domain name to access your site, rather than your complex IP address. Your name servers are an aspect of your registrar, and the purpose is to point your domain to the place where your site is being hosted. Changing your name servers allows you to change your web host without having to move your domain to a new registrar. Name servers can also be referred to as DNS servers, which can lead to some confusion of the two terms.

Conclusion

At the end, you need to know that research has shown that the first quarter of 2018 closed with approximately 333.8 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), an increase of approximately 1.4 million domain name registrations, or 0.4 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Domain name registrations have grown by approximately 3.2 million, or 1.0 percent, year over year.

Information Technology Security Policy and Procedures

What does Security Policy mean?

A security policy is a written document in an organization outlining how to protect the organization from threats, including computer security threats, and how to handle situations when they do occur.

A security policy must identify all of a company’s assets as well as all the potential threats to those assets. Company employees need to be kept updated on the company’s security policies. The policies themselves should be updated regularly as well.

A security policy should outline the key items in an organization that need to be protected. This might include the company’s network, its physical building, and more. It also needs to outline the potential threats to those items. If the document focuses on cyber security, threats could include those from the inside, such as possibility that disgruntled employees will steal important information or launch an internal virus on the company’s network. Alternatively, a hacker from outside the company could penetrate the system and cause loss of data, change data, or steal it. Finally, physical damage to computer systems could occur.

Network Architecture - BieneIT

Network architecture

What is Network architecture?

Network architecture is the design of a communications network. It includes the physical and logical layout of the network, the framework of accepted standards and specifications of elements, equipment, services, protocols and functions, growth and change assumptions, and high-level operational principles and procedures.

Modern networks encompass a variety of architectural and design principles, which must be understood and articulated by a network organization in order to maintain best practices.

The network architecture provides a framework for organizing the functional elements needed for the global network. The elements must be modular (that is, specified independently of each other) so that different implementations can realize those elements in ways that encourage the use and development of technological innovations. The >modularity of the Internet and OSI architectures has permitted the immediate incorporation into networks of higher-speed computers, links, and switches.

On the other side, network architecture is the infrastructure consisting of software, transmission equipment, and communication protocols define the structural and logical layout of a computer network. The mode of transmission of a network can be wired or wireless depending on the requirements in an organization. There are various types of networks that can be applied in an organization depending on the network size. Local area network (LAN) refers to network in a small geographical area, Metropolitan area network (MAN) refers to network in a city, and wide area network (WAN) refers to network that is spread geographically in a wide area. Among the three types of network, the company would implement LAN since it is only covering a small geographical area.