Secure data centre and application publishing for an internet service provider

Context

An internet service provider needed its own data centre, both to host its services and to secure access for its customers and staff. At the same time, business applications had to remain available remotely without installing software on every workstation.

My role

IT consultant responsible for systems and networks: designing and building the infrastructure, the perimeter security and the application publishing layer.

Actions and tools

• Building the data centre with pfSense and Fortinet: firewall rules, filtering, VPN tunnels and load balancing.
• Publishing business applications with Citrix XenApp, integrated with Active Directory for user access rights.
• Standardizing Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2012 servers and deploying Windows images with DISM and GPOs.
• Automating Windows Server and VMware administration with PowerShell and PowerCLI, with scripts versioned in Git.
• Writing backup procedures and operating documentation.

Result

• The provider operates a working data centre with perimeter security handled by pfSense and Fortinet.
• Business applications are reachable remotely through Citrix, with rights driven from Active Directory.
• Servers start from a standardized baseline and administration tasks are scripted rather than repeated by hand.
• Scope: servers, users and applications supported by the data centre according to organizational needs.
• Citrix applications: resources published and monitored as part of operations, with no public inventory.
• Build: carried out in stages with validation of components and access.
• Availability: tracked through operations and incident handling, with no internal indicator published.

Visuals and evidence

Production visuals, application lists and network configurations are not published; portfolio diagrams remain conceptual.