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Reseach Article

An Improved Computer Network Access Control using Free BSD PFSENSE: A Case Study of UMaT Local Area Network

by Akpah Sylvester, Michael Asante, Frimpong Twum
Communications on Applied Electronics
Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Volume 6 - Number 1
Year of Publication: 2016
Authors: Akpah Sylvester, Michael Asante, Frimpong Twum
10.5120/cae2016652396

Akpah Sylvester, Michael Asante, Frimpong Twum . An Improved Computer Network Access Control using Free BSD PFSENSE: A Case Study of UMaT Local Area Network. Communications on Applied Electronics. 6, 1 ( Oct 2016), 23-27. DOI=10.5120/cae2016652396

@article{ 10.5120/cae2016652396,
author = { Akpah Sylvester, Michael Asante, Frimpong Twum },
title = { An Improved Computer Network Access Control using Free BSD PFSENSE: A Case Study of UMaT Local Area Network },
journal = { Communications on Applied Electronics },
issue_date = { Oct 2016 },
volume = { 6 },
number = { 1 },
month = { Oct },
year = { 2016 },
issn = { 2394-4714 },
pages = { 23-27 },
numpages = {9},
url = { https://www.caeaccess.org/archives/volume6/number1/666-2016652396/ },
doi = { 10.5120/cae2016652396 },
publisher = {Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA},
address = {New York, USA}
}
%0 Journal Article
%1 2023-09-04T19:56:35.788101+05:30
%A Akpah Sylvester
%A Michael Asante
%A Frimpong Twum
%T An Improved Computer Network Access Control using Free BSD PFSENSE: A Case Study of UMaT Local Area Network
%J Communications on Applied Electronics
%@ 2394-4714
%V 6
%N 1
%P 23-27
%D 2016
%I Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Abstract

Universities in Ghana to which UMaT is no exception are under constant pressure to provide their communities with reliable internet access. As internet connectivity is increasingly becoming a strategic resource, having a robust campus network with good connectivity to the internet is no longer a luxury, but in actual sense now a basic necessity. UMaT has a robust LAN infrastructure which faces some challenges attributable to limited bandwidth of 45 MB, misuse of the bandwidth on low priority bandwidth hungry applications, and lack of effective user access control. This research aimed at studying the behavior patterns of network users and deploy an enhanced network access control using freeBSD pfSense open source software as the dedicated perimeter firewall with the introduction of squid, squidGuard, Squid Analysis Report Generator (SARG) and the setting up of an Active Directory server with user access policies to improve user access control and insulate the LAN from misuse and virus attacks.

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Index Terms

Computer Science
Information Sciences

Keywords

Bandwidth; freeBSD; pfSense; Squid; squidGuard; Squid Analysis Report Generator (SARG); Graphical User Interface.