CONCLUSION

I developed a Website for this project and it can be found at:
http://www.rashidkhan.co.uk/

When Microsoft released Windows 2000 in the year 2000 it caused a stir in the industry by announcing that Windows 2000 would offer Virtual Private Networking.

There were several concerns and complaints in the industry such as that “Microsoft's implementation adds data overhead and slows down transaction processing.” And “Will established VPN products from other vendors work with Microsoft's technology?”

"If you're using IP, we don't see the reason to use L2TP," comments Iris Tal [see CNN], RadGuard's technical support manager. "It only causes overhead for network traffic because it's 'double-tunneling.' But because of Microsoft's L2TP client software, I'm sure we'll do the support for it in our product."

Many VPN vendors have opposed Microsoft's VPN implementation, complaining that it adds data overhead and slows down transaction processing. On the other hand some companies, such as Check Point Software and Newbridge Networks, acknowledge that they can't afford to ignore that hundreds of thousands of desktops will probably end up running Microsoft's new software. This fact by far is most significant and very crucial and has to be taken into account as most companies have a Microsoft environment already in place and this is the scenario in Sun InfoSys Ltd as well.

Another point that I noted is that Microsoft has since releasing Windows 2000 have progressed, updated and made advanced changes on their Windows Server 2003 operating system.

I did several meetings With Mr. Andy the managing director, the sales team, support team, technicians and visited both head office and branch offices. I took inventory of existing hardware, [ see Project Plan ] computer systems, budget and the time frame required. Their budget was simply low and literally spelt out that I must use the existing systems.

I had proposed two options in my Project Proposal but the UNIX based proposal was declined due to their low budget and inability to adopt an abrupt system wide change of operating systems, especially since everything was already functioning and in place. A key note to be taken into account here is that they already had Windows Server 2003 as part of their Server. That meant that they did not need to purchase it. Consequently these facts made the Windows based solution the winning choice.

I found out that installing Microsoft's ISA server 2000 and using it to its full potential is quite a complicated and difficult task to perform even though it might look simple. The minute intricacies and planning procedures involve a great deal of time and effort and if miscalculated or carried out improperly can result in complete failure and double the time frame required implementing.

The related personnel were briefed and shown how to use the new system to its full potential. It took a bit of time and effort on my behalf, I gave them instructions on how to connect to their VPN [see Appendix G] and doing their related tasks of managing warehouse, despatch, sales and technical support all remotely. It was not an easy task as this was quite a new and complex task to grasp for them. But it was not be a major issue and eventually it was overcome by trying and trying again.

This placement has had many positive effects on me. I have learnt a lot, for example how to communicate, how to analyze problems, analyzing company expectations, how to come up with various solutions that might be possible and feasible. I found out that planning things, taking personal notes, being highly observant and determined at all times really does help.

After this work placement I am able to identify with the real life professional work environment. I am able to organize myself, able to face challenges and complete personal and professional milestones.

I have come to conclude that this company actually did benefit enormously with a Virtual Private Network because they have made gains in managing their recourses which shows in their Sales figures and better customer feedback made possible by even better and informed technical support because they are in touch all the time. This project was also successful partly because they already had most of the infrastructure in place most importantly the Windows Server 2003 operating system software. That was definitely a deciding factor for the management to take up my Windows based solution as they did not had to incur extra cost in procuring any other operating system software or expertise to maintain it.

I am very pleased with the outcome of this project and so is the company. The project was well managed and finished on time with a small budget. A nice possible outcome for me could be that they might even offer a permanent position in their company.