Demonstrate the value of ICT.

   This artifact demonstrates the value of ICT research process and methodology.   

   ICT research explores the dissemination of innovations throughout the workplace.  For example, the employee practice of bring your own device (BYOD) is innovative because it changes the way people work.

   This research covers a wide scope of material relating to BYOD.  The literature review explores the origins of BYOD, and is defined by four significant events: 

•  Moore's Law, as it relates to workplace technology.  Perpetual innovation of computer systems has changed the way people work. 
• Moore's Law for Power Consumption.  Traditional models do not scale well for mobility becuse computers have an insatiable appetite for power.  
• Koomey's Law, as it relates to mobile efficiency.  Efficiency gains are revolutionary for battery powered mobile devices. 
• Grove's Law, as it relates to bandwidth influences.    Grove’s Law transcends bandwidth innovation from cables to the airwaves.  The broadband revolution has begun to take shape and current designs favor mobility. 

   UW-Stout incorporates research methodology throughout the entire ICT curriculum.  This research topic is about personal technology in the workplace.  It closely relates to the advanced switching and routing concepts in the emphasis curriculum.

   Employees connect their personal devices to the company network.  Consequently, network threats may manifest as smart devices connect to the corporate network.Unfounded assumptions, “can lead to broken, misconfigured, or bypassed security mechanisms” (Cisco Press, 2010).  An effective network assessment allows companies to make informed decisions.  Managers and network administrators may use it as reference to support decisions on whether to implement, or reject BYOD policy.

References:
Cisco. (2010). 6.4.3 Wireless Security Solutions. In Cisco, CCNA Security Course Booklet (p. 180). Indianapolis, IN: Cisco Press.

Ethical principles relating to ICT and IT Management.

Ethics is a synthesis of three elements, (a) law, (b) morals, (c) and personal conduct:  

A)  Is it legal?   For example, it is illegal to download and install pirated software.  Maintaining good licensing and documentation protects an organization from potential litigation. 

B)  Is it moral?  Society shapes issues of right and wrong; and people are expected to uphold common values.  For example, it is unacceptable to abuse administrative authority to look up co-workers' salaries.   

C)  Is it something you would do?  There are circumstances when an action may be both legal, and immoral.  Conversely, a moral remedy may be unlawful.  The controversy surrounding systems administrator, Eric Snowden, serves as a relevant example for ICT ethics and personal conduct.

Snowden is accused of stealing and publishing classified government information.  Reuters reports that Eric Snowden used his role as a systems administrator to persuade co-workers to collect passwords (McNamara, 2013).  

However, Snowden maintains his innocence as a whistle blower.  Snowden argues that the National Security Agency (NSA) illegally collects phone records of millions of Americans (Wiebe, 2013).  Snowden's motivation may be moral, but his actions were illegal.

In a quasi-related case, U.S. Federal District Court Judge, Richard Leon, ruled that the the NSA phone program is likely unconstitutional (Gerstien, 2013).  The Department of Justice is expected to appeal the decision.  The NSA actions are legally unethical if upper courts uphold Leon's decision.  The director of the NSA, Gen. Keith Alexander had previously stated, "I think what we're doing to protect American citizens here is the right thing" (Michaels, J., 2013).

Some view Snowden as a hero, and other's view him as a traitor.  In regard to ICT, Snowden was an unethical system administrator.  Snowden lacks integrity because he abused his administrative privileges by trolling confidential data.
   

ICT is an institutional process that contributes value to organizations (Brynjolfsson, 2003).  Information Technology (IT) is responsible for an organizations' systems, services, and support. Typical responsibilities include:

• ICT related purchasing.  
• Maintaining sensitive data on file servers, databases, and backups.
•  Ensuring the electronic privacy for all individuals within the organization.
•  Intellectual property and software licensing.
•  Preventing digital fraud.

 Network administrators have the "digital" keys to everything on the network.  Network administration requires ethical conduct to ensure standards of integrity, confidentiality, and availability. 

Why did you create this artifact? 

This artifact demonstrates the ethical principles of ICT.  I chose to review The Adventures of an IT Leader, by Robert Austin, Richard Nolan, and Shannon O'Donnell, for a class project.  The story examines typical ICT challenges and presents examples of effective leadership skills to overcome them.  In each situation, the IT leader had to navigate through a variety of ethical issues.   

References:

Brynjolfsson, E. (2003, July). The IT Productivity Gap. Optimize Magazine (21). Retrieved from http://ebusiness.mit.edu/erik/Optimize/pr_roi.html
Gerstein, J.,  (2013, December 16th).  Retrieved from:  http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/national-security-agency-phones-judge-101203.html
McNamara, J. (2013, November 8th) Retrieved from:  http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/snowden-used-sys-admin-role-collect-passwords-reuters
Michaels, J. (2013, June 13th).  Retrieved from:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/12/alexander-nsa-cyber-snowden/2415217/
Wiebe, K., (2013, December 17th).  Retrieved from:    http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/17/opinion/wiebe-snowden-amnesty/

Artifact: Evaluate and use ICTs appropriate to one's own career.

Demonstrate command of advanced routing and switching.

   This artifact demonstrates proficiency of advanced routing and switching skills.

   Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) certification validates the ability to design, implement, verify and troubleshoot local and wide-area enterprise networks (Cisco, 2013). 
Disciplines include:

• Routing protocols. 
• EIGRP 
• OSPF 
• BGP 
• Switching architecture. 
• Inter-VLAN routing. 
• Spanning Tree. 
• High availability (e.g., HSRP, VRRP, GLBP). 
• Load balancing (e.g., EtherChannel). 

Cisco offers multiple levels of network certification: 

•  Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician (CCENT). 
• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). 
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP). 
• Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE). 

   CCNA certification is as a prerequisite for the CCNP certification.

   The CCNP certification process consists of three proctored exams: 

• 642-902:  Implementing Cisco IP Routing (ROUTE) 
• 642-813:  Implementing Cisco IP Switched Network (SWITCH) 
• 642-832:  Troubleshooting and Maintaining Cisco IP Networks (TSHOOT). 

   The entire certification process took one year to complete.  I achieved the CCNP certification through a series of lectures, discussions, course materials and extensive lab work.    

   Every systems administrator should understand routing and switching.  Networking fundamentals provide the foundations for all other network systems Cisco Certified Network Professional skill-sets are applicable to the entire infrastructure (e.g., Microsoft, Linux, etc..).  Additionally, network administrators with Cisco backgrounds should be capable of working with most other brands of networking equipment (e.g., Juniper, Fortinet, etc..).  

Promote Enterprise Network Security Strategies. 

This artifact acknowledges that I have met the training standard for Information Systems Security Professionals, set forth by the National Secuirty Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS).

The Cisco Certified Network Associate Security (CCNA Security) validates my knowledge and ability to secure enterprise networks.

CCNA Security curriculum outlines infrastructure security, as follows:  firewall installation, monitoring and troubleshooting; integrity, confidentiality and data availability.

UW-Stout participates with the Cisco Networking Academy.  I achieved the CCNA Security certification through a series of lectures, discussions, course manuals, and extensive lab work.

Cryptography and encryption technologies are integrated with every infrastructure system at my workplace, including:

• Internal certificate authority (CA) servers distributes certificates to internal systems.
• Workstations use certificates to authenticate with a process similar to user authentication.
• Secure socket tunneling protocol (SSTP) virtual private networks (VPNs) allows remote access.
• Microsoft Direct Access and Terminal Services Gateway use public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates to support remote access.
• BranchCache uses hashes to ensure data integrity.   

Interpret and conduct research to improve the body of knowledge relating to ICT.

This artifact investigates a network file service problem.   End users complained of slow file browsing, slow file enumeration, and a random inability to save Microsoft Word files from a branch office.  ICT methodology determined that the problem resulted from server message block (SMB) network protocol limitations.   Recommendations were made to resolve the issues.

This artifact explores advanced SMB protocols and ICT methodology.  Additionally, it explores numerous WAN technologies: wide area file systems (WAFS); distributed file services (DFS); DFS replication (DFSR); and Microsoft BranchCache.

Legacy SMB protocol was singled out from a series of network tests.  Data statistics were gathered with network latency, bandwidth, and performance tests.

SMB2 was considered the enhanced protocol at the time the research was conducted.  SMB2 was followed by SMB 2.1 and SMB 3.0.  Microsoft released SMB 3.1, along with Windows 8.1 on October 17th, 2013.

SMB 3.1 provides file service innovations to any organization.  SMB advancements help organizations as follows: reduceds CPU workloads; reduces disruptions to shared resources; protocol encryption prevents eavesdropping; improved response times to branch offices, etc... (Microsoft, 2013).

SMB protocol is only one of the many innovations introduced by Windows 8.1 and Windows 2012R2.  ICT methodology ensures systems are ready for upgrades through careful analysis of the adoption, implementation, development and use phases.  

References:

Microsoft, 2012.  Server Message Block Overview.  Retrieved from TechNet:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831795.aspx.  

Analyze the philosophy and principles underlying the organization and operation of ICT enterprises.

This artifact explores ICT philosophy and principles through an interview conducted with Tim Hapeman, IT Director at Oconomowoc Residential Programs (ORP).   

ORP provides group homes, work opportunities, and educational services for people with mental disabilities.  They are a $100 Million dollar company and have locations across the Midwest.  The IT department services over 100 locations and provides network services for over 2000 employees

Hapeman has been with ORP for ywo years.  He previously worked for Goodwill Industries, as the Manager of Information Technology, and Leprino Foods, as their System and Security Supervisor.  Hapeman has a bachelor in Mathematics from Michigan State University, as well as a graduate degree in Computer Information Technology from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

Peter A. High's, World Class IT, argued that businesses need successful IT departments in order to succeed.   High outlined five principles that align IT with business strategy:

1. Talent.  Recruit, train, and retain talented staff.  
2.  Infrastructure.  Build and maintain robust IT systems.  
3. Project Management.  Systematic planning and implementation ensure success. 
4. IT and Business Partnerships.  Develop teamwork and communication between departments.  
5. External Partnerships.  Collaboration with vendors, customers, and consultants. 

ICT diffusion principles are applied throughout the interview process.  The adoption phase consists of information gathering, design, and development.  The process begins with an analysis of High's World Class IT.  The interview questions are designed from modeling High's sub-principles of IT and business partnerships.

Evaluate and use ICT appropriate to IT Management.