Networking

What Is Network Segmentation?

Despite the changes in terminology, these terms all refer to the same process.

How Does It Optimize Our Network?

Segmentation optimizes a computer network by controlling how traffic flows between its parts. That lets an administrator determine how this traffic should go. Depending on what a business needs and what its goals are, this can be done in various ways.

Destination, source, and traffic types are some of the more notable ways that this is done. By going through this process, you can reduce the workload on core systems, further optimizing the network.

How Does Segmentation Work?

Network segmentation involved partitioning off certain aspects of a network. In doing so, traffic between systems can be restricted and directed in various ways. While this can involve cutting off traffic from one part to another, it can also include limiting it based on certain factors.

How you go about this is called your segmentation policy and is best determined between you and your network professionals.

What Is An Example Of Segmentation?

To properly understand something, it can be helpful to have an example. In a bank with several branches, management will need to restrict employees from accessing the financial reporting system. With network segmentation, a security professional will block traffic from each location from accessing that system.

That information, however, can still be accessed by officials at a given location, although these will only be appropriate individuals.

What Enforces Segmentation Policy?

Different technologies will be needed to enforce network segmentation. The largest of these are firewalls, virtual local area networks, and an access control list. These are the more traditional approaches, although they’re quickly being outpaced by software-defined access technology.

One of the core benefits of network segmentation is that it will improve your operational performance. That’s primarily because it reduces network congestion. If you have a large number of employees that use your network continually for work, then segmentation makes things run smoother without bogging it down.

That should let your computer network run faster, which lets employees do their jobs more effectively.

Limit The Damage Caused By Cyberattacks

Cybercrimes have become increasingly prominent in recent years. Small businesses are one of the more common targets of these crimes, which makes cybersecurity mandatory. Network segmentation means that, should there be a breach, then hackers can’t access your entire system.

It’s highly recommended that you do this in conjunction with multiple other cybersecurity best practices. That’ll ensure that your company’s networks and data are as protected as possible.

Ensure Vulnerable Devices Are Protected

Many devices are unable to protect themselves against malicious software for a range of reasons. These are typically devices that don’t come with software or any kind of in-built protection. It can also be difficult, if not impossible, to install such software on many of these devices.

If these are properly segmented, however, then this software shouldn’t be able to reach the devices. Instead, it’ll be redirected to ones that have proper protection, if not outright cut off. That’s also the case of harmful internet traffic, among other cybercrimes.

Lower The Scope Of Compliance

Your company will have to be in regulatory compliance with multiple laws, regardless of what industry you’re in. These will typically revolve around data protection, among many other issues.

Implementing and maintaining this compliance can often be expensive and complicated. Network segmentation makes things much easier and should be much more affordable than its alternatives.

Why Do We Need To Do Network Segmentation

There are countless reasons why your business needs network segmentation. It offers quite a few benefits to the company as a whole, alongside your employees. You’ll have to tackle multiple issues with your computer network, which can often take a significant amount of time and effort.

With Network segmentation, you can cut down on this. It’ll also make maintaining and protecting your systems much easier once certain best practices have been implemented.