Документ взят из кэша поисковой машины. Адрес оригинального документа : http://www.stsci.edu/~carolc/reports/ShortRep_TeleworkCenters.doc Дата изменения: Sat Nov 15 06:29:22 2008 Дата индексирования: Wed Jan 14 10:42:56 2009 Кодировка:

Report on an Experiment Using a Telework Center


- C. Christian (IRM/BPC/EDIP), 15 March, 2004





Summary

A short experiment at the Hagerstown Telework Center was conducted, taking
advantage of the 60 day free test period. The test was specifically to see
if the SDI (secure dial-in) laptop could be used with a high-speed
connection to access the Department of State (DOS) Sensitive but
Unclassified (SBU) network. SDI laptops will work with a dial-up
capability, but it is very slow. The SDI laptop and network configurations
could not be set up so that connections could be made to DOS successfully.
Follow-up discussions with Telework Center personnel suggested that this is
a common situation because the centers have firewalled LANs for a
connection configuration. A few telework centers may be able to provide
open IP connections to the Internet or custom configurations. It appears
that work from a home office is the only viable scenario for regular
teleworking to DOS unless the worker is willing to tolerate the slow
connectivity of a dial-up connection.


About Telework Centers

The General Services Administration has established a network of
interagency telework centers in communities surrounding Washington, DC
Metropolitan area to support teleworkers from federal agencies. The
Telework Centers provide cubicles for office space, basic computing
equipment, and other business equipment (phones, copiers, etc.).

Telework Center usage costs about $100 per visit or $500 per week.
Telephone charges should be handled by credit card or calling card. At the
Hagerstown, MD facility, parking is available by meter or in a parking
garage.


Free Test Period

A "60-Day-Test" free of charge, was offered from February 1 - March 31,
2004. To take advantage of this offer, I obtained approval from the home
agency to telework from a GSA Telework Center, contacted the Telework
Center operator, and completed the necessary telework center usage form.


Visit to Hagerstown Telework Center

I visited the Hagerstown, Maryland Telework Center on March 12. The center
director, Ms. Mary Bray and her technical staff were very helpful and
cooperative. The center has several regular users, and the times and days
that each user will be present are posted on the cubicle walls. The day I
was there, approximately 5 other people were working there, one was from
the FDA, and another was from the Navy. I was the only person from the
Department of State (DOS) who had ever been there.




Experiment

In preparation for the visit, I discussed the visit with the very helpful
DOS SDI support personnel. The only method for connecting the current
secure SDI laptop is either by dial-up or by an "open" IP connection to the
Internet, if the center can provide it. In consultation with the center
director, the latter high-speed configuration appeared possible.

During the visit, I was assigned a cubicle and we connected the laptop to
the center Ethernet. Several configurations were tried.
1. One configuration was to establish a connection to the internal center
LAN, behind the center firewall. An IP address was dynamically
assigned. Not surprisingly, this configuration failed due to the
additional firewall.
2. The second configuration attempted was to use what was hoped to be an
open IP address through a Hagerstown Library gateway. I was given the
addresses for the full network configuration including a fixed IP.
Other teleworkers are able to use this configuration to connect to
their agencies since the IP address is known, and fixed rather than
dynamically allocated. However, for the SDI laptop this configuration
failed as well. The local library system has one gateway and has
created several subnets, therefore the SDI laptop cannot connect to
DOS this way.

A worker from the FDA also was present in the center, where he works
regularly. The FDA had come out to Hagerstown and configured and locked
down a workstation for him. No other user can use the system and the center
personnel cannot log into it. The FDA worker is accessing SBU type
material. He is not accessing classified material. He also was able to get
to a .mil net address to help another worker (from the Navy) who was
experiencing difficulties getting into his email.


Other Telework Centers

Subsequent to the experiment on March 12, I contacted two other centers to
ask about connectivity. The Bowie, Maryland Telework Center at Bowie State
has a firewalled LAN, so the SDDI laptop will be incompatible. They have
never had a DOS teleworker. Other federal workers who use the facility use
dial-up because they have a similar problem to mine.

The Frederick, Maryland Telework Center has 13 connections to a Class-C
network available, so it might be possible that the center can provide
support to DOS teleworkers.


Results

An experiment at a GSA Telework Center demonstrated that it is difficult if
not unfeasible for DOS teleworkers to use the center if they need high-
speed connections to the SBU network. Each agency appears to have different
requirements, so that center support must be customized for each user. Some
agencies have customized workstations and provide agency support for
workers who regularly use the center. Workers from other agencies, such as
DOS, will only be able to use telework centers through slow, dialup
capabilities due to the tight configurations of SBU equipment provided.




DRAFTED: IRM/BPC/EDIP: CAC 3/15/04


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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE



WASHINGTON, D.C. 20520