NETWORK SECURITY IN A WIDE AREA NETWORK: A TRADE OFF BETWEEN EXPENSES AND RELIABILITY.

 Sustainable Development Networking Programme in Bangladesh involves integration of contemporary information technology methods for providing Internet services to the distant communities with state-of-the-art connectivity through forming a virtual wide area network. In respect of diversity the network could be termed as a fusion of high and low end communication techniques.

 Based on Linux server, the backbone constitutes of dial-up leased line, VSAT link, and wireless nodes to high-speed broadband communication network. This network in a short time would emerge as one the main IT infrastructure, contributing facilities to urban communities and clusters of remote communities accompanied by information on emerging technologies, constricting digital divide. Remote regional nodes would be the vital places for information gateway to enrich the society from email, updated databases on livelihood requirements, ingredients of electronics commerce to web-based database management.

 The whole network could be spreading throughout the country with robust connectivity and in course of time it would extend further in collaboration with other institutes forming the remote nodal points to virtual tele-centres comprising of computer oriented connectivity, web services and community based radio station and other ICT facilities. The network would solely standing alone without any sort of network security policy. A cost-effective robust WAN would be the prime demand at current stage, but a reliable secured system would also be the next priority. Considering high cost of implementation and lack of skilled techniques, network security would becoming less important in general sense, thus putting this huge network in a fragile state of un-synchronization, which ultimately needs a tradeoff between reliability, expense, efficiency and security.

 Keywords: Linux, VSAT, WAN.