Implementation of a Segmented and Redundant Industrial Network Architecture : Segmentation, Redundancy and Centralized Management

Sammanfattning

This thesis presents the implementation and evaluation of a segmented and redundant Operational Technology (OT) network architecture for an industrial laboratory environment. The objective was to improve communication control, network availability and centralized administration in an environment containing PLC systems, HMI systems and supporting infrastructure. The study was conducted in a controlled laboratory environment using an Engineering Research approach. VLANbased segmentation and firewall policies were implemented to control communication between network segments, while redundancy was achieved through Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) and link aggregation. Centralized authentication was implemented using RADIUS integrated with Active Directory and monitoring capabilities were managed through a Network Management System (NMS) and a syslog server. The implemented solution was evaluated through functional verification of segmentation, redundancy, authentication, remote administration and monitoring. The results show that communication between network segments could be effectively controlled, network connectivity was maintained during simulated failures and centralized authentication successfully enforce role-based access control. The study concludes that the implemented network architecture improved security, availability and manageability compared to the original network and demonstrates how established network design principles can be applied in industrial environments.