Название: IT Necessities for a Distributed World: Building a Modern IT Infrastructure for Hybrid-Remote Work
Автор: Ryan Bacon, Kim Crawley
Издательство: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Год: 2021-11-16
Язык: английский
Формат: epub
Размер: 10.1 MB

Is your small-to-medium enterprise ready to leverage the power of the cloud? When used properly, the cloud can revolutionize your business. You can double your storage and bandwidth overnight by gaining access to a sizable high tech computer network without having to buy servers and additional networking equipment.

However, distributed infrastructure models, which power remote and hybrid-remote work, are distinctly different from traditional business models. They require the right configurations, tools, security, and processes to succeed. IT professionals need to pivot to meet these new needs. This report is intended for cloud-based or partially cloud-based organizations—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working with lean teams and tight budgets—looking to build or mature their distributed infrastructure. For those that went remote in 2020, it’s time to reconfigure your temporary remote solutions to more mature, long-standing ones; for new businesses looking to pivot to remote work or build from the ground up, take your clean slate as an opportunity to build strategically, holistically, and purposefully.

The advent of cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) challenged these norms and created the possibility of a distributed world. However, the initial shift toward distributed environments was gradual and fraught with new challenges. While the cloud and SaaS offered companies the ability to broaden resource and workplace accessibility, they also introduced new IT complexities and security risks. IT professionals needed to approach this technology carefully and intentionally to succeed with it. In the years following the introduction of cloud and SaaS into the business world, that’s what we saw: a slow progression toward a distributed environment.

While some directory implementations use only one protocol, others use a combination of many protocols and APIs to broaden the directory’s scope. When weighing directory solutions, consider the protocols each one uses to determine which resources will be compatible and whether they can accomplish your goals:
- SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) is one of the most common and important protocols in a distributed environment. It uses Extensible Markup Language (XML) certificates to authenticate users to an application through an identity provider (IdP).
- SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) is another critical protocol for supporting a distributed infrastructure. SCIM is an API-driven protocol for identity management in cloud applications. It facilitates user provisioning and management, streamlining onboarding and improving the user experience.
- LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) has powered directories since the early ’90s. While it was once the gold standard for directories, it is now one of many protocols most directories use to connect users to their resources. LDAP is available on cloud servers as well as on hosted ones, and can connect users to resources such as: - Technical applications; - Server infrastructure; - File servers; - Networking equipment.
- RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) provides authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) for users accessing a network service. As its name suggests, RADIUS was originally developed in dial-up internet days; however, like LDAP, it has adapted to meet evolving needs. Now, RADIUS can authenticate users to WiFi, VPNs, and other network services.
- Kerberos is a network authentication protocol that uses secret key cryptography. The protocol uses time-based/renewable/expiring tickets, which transmit third-party-generated encryption keys to both the client and server for authentication. Kerberos is used extensively in Microsoft products, like Windows and Active Directory. Because organizations are moving toward cloud-based directories, Kerberos has dropped in popularity...

This report will give you the building blocks, tools, best practices, and implementation insights you’ll need to build a successful, secure, and future-proof distributed IT infrastructure.