You Must Design the Network Requirements for the Advanced Digital Computer

Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study Course Name: Networking Essentials Course Number : 31270 Case Study Title: Case Study Case Study due date: 17th October, 2010 Word Count: 2035 words Group Members: Soha Alameddine 11058714 Abed Rima 11010725 Shezanna Ali 11045010 1 Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study Index: Introduction Media Page 3 Page 3 VLSM Addressing Table Page 4 Hardware Requirements Page 5 Network Topology Page 6 Internet Provider Conclusion Page 7 Page 8 Bibliography Page 9 2 Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study Introduction NetWorks Experts is a consulting group based in the city of Sydney, which focuses on setting up, maintaining and expanding LAN and WAN networks for commercial businesses. This report outlines a brief summary of the company Advanced Digital Computer Company and their specific requirements that they have provided to NetWorks Experts. It also provides detailed solutions on which type of media is to be used and justify the decisions that have been, and also the sub-netting of the company¶s networks using VLSM (Variable Length Subnet Mask). It also outlines the hardware requirements such as switches and routers and the topology which is most appropriate for this company. This report also provides detailed descriptions of the different types of Internet Service Providers and their business packages for gaining access to the Internet. The Advanced Digital Computer Company is a retail company for all types of computing devices. The company is planning a restructuring of its network to allow for an expected 100% expansion over the next 5 years. Media When designing the network requirements for a company as large as ADC, there are many factors which should be considered when proposing what type of media should be used. There are three available options to be considered which includes wireless, fibre optic and UTP, unshielded twisted pair cables. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages. In the case study of ADC, the employment of fibre optic cabling in each branch is unrealistic and a waste of money. Fibre optic cabling boasts higher bandwidth speeds and greater efficiency, however it will be too costly to set this up in every single branch office. Also, fibre optic cables are suitable for longer distances from 500 metres to a couple of km, which is also unnecessary in the branch offices which may only be hundreds of metres in area.1 Fibre optic cables are easy to tap into and are not very secure, therefore putting the network¶s security at risk. They are available at approximately $16.102 per metre. Another cabling option which can be employed in the branch offices is wireless. Wireless also supports huge increases in bandwidth, however wireless cannot cover large areas, as the signal may reduce easily and therefore cause issues for staff at ADC who need to be logged on to the network at all times. Another factor which must be considered is the level of interference on each of these options. Wireless has high levels of electromagnetic interference which may cause security issues and may impact on the work that the staff in ADC carries out.3 There are different types of copper cables which can be used and this includes both UTP, unshielded twisted pair cables, and STP, shielded twisted pair cables. UTP cables have an external diameter of approximately 0.43 cm (0.17 inches), its small size can be advantageous during installation. UTP cable is easy to install and is less expensive than other types of networking media. In fact, UTP costs less per meter than any other type of LAN cabling, at approximately 0.60c - $1 per metre. 4 UTP cable is more prone to electrical noise and interference than other types of networking media, and the distance between signal boosts is shorter for UTP than it is for coaxial and fiber-optic cables. Although UTP was once considered to be the slowest at transmitting data than other types of cable, this is no longer the case. In fact, UTP is considered the fastest copper-based medium today. A UTP cable has http://www.tpub.com/neets/tm/105-4.htm http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/100481/CABLES_FIBRE_OPTIC/Belkin/F2F402L0-02M.asp 3 http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~dil/thesis_mosaic/subsection2_7_2_2.html 4 http://ksmsolutions.com.au/products/CAT6_Solid_UTP_Unshielded_Twisted_Pair_Box_of_Cable-11018.html 2 1 3 Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study speeds from10 to 1000 Mbps and maximum cable length of 100m.It is small in size and the least expensive. 5 Since considering the other options available to be employed in the ADC Company, the most feasible and appropriate medium which is to be used is the copper cabling using UTP. UTP is the cheapest yet fastest copper based medium today, and even though it is prone to interference, it is still more feasible and appropriate to the ADC company in that it involves easier installation and has the length requirements of the ADC company, where the cabling is required only in each building which is not that large of an area. ADC will employ the use of Category 6 UTP cables(UTP Cat 6) as they are currently the fastest standard for UTP and are therefore most likely to remain efficient and effective in the future, allowing for the expansion of the company with minimal changes being made. In regards to other sub networks such as the server network, fibre optic cabling would be a better option because servers require a medium which offers a faster bandwidth. VLSM Addressing Table Subnet Name City Head Office Sales Chatswood Branch City Head Office Marketing City Head Office Accounts Leichhart Branch Rockdale Branch Bankstown H.O. Epping H.O. Server Network Bankstown WAN Chatswood WAN Epping WAN Leichhart WAN Rockdale WAN Subnet Address 101.247.52.0 Subnet Mask /25 Host Range of Addresses 101.247.52.1 101.247.52.126 101.247.52.129 101.247.52.254 101.247.53.1 101.247.53.126 101.247.53.129 101.247.53.190 101.247.53.193 101.247.53.254 101.247.54.1 101.247.54.62 101.247.54.65 101.247.54.78 101.247.54.81 101.247.54.86 101.247.54.89 101.247.54.94 101.247.54.97 101.247.54.98 101.247.54.101 101.247.54.102 101.247.54.105 101.247.54.106 101.247.54.109 101.247.54.110 101.247.54.113 101.247.54.114 Broadcast Address 101.247.52.127 101.247.52.255 101.247.53.127 101.247.53.191 101.247.53.255 101.247.54.63 101.247.54.79 101.247.54.87 101.247.54.95 101.247.54.99 101.247.54.103 101.247.54.107 101.247.54.111 101.247.54.115 101.247.52.128 /25 101.247.53.0 /25 101.247.53.128 /26 101.247.53.192 /26 101.247.54.0 101.247.54.64 101.247.54.80 101.247.54.88 101.247.54.96 /26 /28 /29 /29 /30 101.247.54.100 /30 101.247.54.104 /30 101.247.54.108 /30 101.247.54.112 /30 5 http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=31276 4 Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study Hardware Requirements ROUTER Cisco 2900 Series integrated Services Routers (ISR) provide rich media collaboration and virtualisation to the branch offices of ADC which reduce costs. The Cisco 2900 Series provides five main benefits which are Services on Demand, Services integration, Investment protection, Energy efficiency and High performance. Services on demand provide all of the Cisco IOS technology that can be activated with a software license. Services integration provides increased levels of services integration with voice, video, security, wireless, mobility, and data services, enabling greater efficiencies and cost savings. Investment protection allows flexibility to keep up to date as the business progresses. The benefit of energy efficiency allows the business to use high efficiency power supplies at a lower cost and also benefits the environment. The Cisco 2900 Series allows for high performance speed WAN environments with services allowing up to 75 Mbps. It costs approximately $1938.25. Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services Routers provide better services integration and quickness. It is designed for scalability, the architecture of these platforms allows ADC to grow and adjust with its changing needs.6 It is best suited for the Head office of ADC, which is a high usage area, in comparison to the lower usage areas such as the Epping and Bankstown home offices, which are lower usage areas and therefore do not require such advanced routers. The Cisco 1800 Series fixedconfiguration routers are designed for secured broadband access, Metro Ethernet, and wireless connectivity. SWITCH Cisco Catalyst 2950G-24 is another model of the Catalyst 2950 Series Intelligent Ethernet Switches, and is a fixed-configuration switch that provides wire-speed fast ethernet and Gigabit ethernet connectivity. The Catalyst 2950 Series is a cheap product that comes with technical services, such as better security, high availability and superior quality of service while maintaining the simplicity of established LAN switching. It costs approximately $3,850.90 AUD.7 Also the Catalyst 2950 Series incorporates the Cisco Network Assistant, which is a free management application that makes the administration of Cisco switches, routers, and wireless access points much easier. Cisco Network Assistant offers user-friendly GUI interface to easily configure, fix and monitor the network. The same applies for the switches, where this switch is better suited for the high usage areas which are the branch offices. The home offices, which are lower usage areas, will employ a smaller, cheaper switch such as the wired Cisco SRW2016 Gigabit switches which are approximately $460. 6 7 http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10537/index.html http://www.ciscoguard.com/2911.asp 5 Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study Networking Topology for ADC The Tree topology is a combination of several star topologies that are integrated together onto a bus. The hub device is the only device that is directly connected to the tree bus, and each hub operates as the ³root¶ of a tree of devices. The Tree topology supports future expandability of the network unlike a bus (limited in the number of devices due to the broadcast traffic it generates) or a star topology (limited by the number of hub connection points) alone. The bus topology would become rather slow due to the broadcast traffic that it would generate from all the extra devices. The star topology is limited to the amount of hub connection points. If one device on the star topology fails, the other devices would continue to operate, whereas if there is a failure with the hub operations, all other devices would cease to operate.8 Tree Topology 8 http://compnetworking.about.com/od/networkdesign/ig/Computer-Network-Topologies/Star-Network- Topology-Diagram.htm 6 Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study Star Topology Internet Provider As the business is planning for future growth, it must establish an internet connection which can handle high usage without delays in internet speeds or issues from the internet service provider. The two internet service providers detailed below are TPG and Telstra Big Pond. Each of these companies provides similar deals which make them special in their own way. The internet deals are as follows: TPG The next similar offer is from TPG. It includes: Plans Monthly Monthly Access Usage Charge ADSL2+ Business Grade 3 $79.99 Unlimited Connection Speeds Peak (7am-7pm) Up to 20Mbps Connection Speeds Off Peak (7pm7am) 4Mbps/1Mbps Plan Features y Fast ADSL2+ speeds y Static IP address. y Free spam filter and virus protection. y 20 email accounts and 30MB web space. y Supports multiple users - ability to share an Internet connection amongst multiple y PC's. Suitable for high volume sending and receiving of emails, downloading data, transferring large files including graphic rich content, high quality video & audio and applications. 7 Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study Basically it includes unlimited access on the internet. However its internet speeds are not stable. TPG offers up 20Mbps between 7am- 7pm and 4Mbps between 7pm and 7am. This can be bad if the business decides to operate between 7pm and 7am. Telstra The other matched offer is with Telstra. It is called the Big Pond Elite 200 GB offer. Telstra offers 200 GB of usage every month for a fee of $99.95 a month. It is a 12 month contact and its speeds reach up to 30Mbps. Its features include: y 24/7 technical support y No peak or off-peak data restrictions y Free network anti-virus and anti-spam y No additional usage charges (speed slows once usage allowance reached) The type of internet access that is proposed would be the Telstra Big Pond Elite offer as it by far, is the best offer. The reasons are as follows: 1. Although each of the deals provides data usage of up to 200 GB each offer has its own variation in internet speeds. Telstra Big Pond provides the quickest internet service of up to 30bmbsp. This is a major issue and the business workers need to be seated in an environment which provides quick internet access in order to carry out business operations and thus making the business successful. 2. Also there are no off peak or on peak data usage or speed changes. It has a 200 GB set unit which can be used anytime during the day and fast internet speeds which stay throughout the whole day. This is convenient as the business may descide to operate at night hours rather than day. 3. Also Telstra Big Pond provides an internet service for a reasonable amount. Although TPG is cheaper by $20, it can¶t be matched to Telstra due to its speeds and off peak and on peak trends. 4. Telstra Big Pond also provides 24/7 technical support and business can downgrade the plan free of charge. This is an expense for the business if it was to choose another internet service provider. Therefore, it can be seen how Telstra would be perfect for the business as it provides, a great deal of usage every month to the business, provides the fastest internet speeds which is essential and has no off peak or on peak trends. Conclusion This proposed solution considers different available mediums, networking topologies, hardware requirements and internet service providers and justifies why this decision was made. UTP cables were the most appropriate in comparison to the wireless and fibre optic options and the star and tree topology were chosen with regards to ADC¶s needs. Also, Telstra, in comparison to TPG, was the most feasible option available. This company is looking to grow and expand in the coming 5 years and therefore it is essential for it to be prepared and adequately equipped to meet the growing needs of its market and shareholders and maximise its efficiency and effectively increase its profitability. 8 Networking Essentials Advanced Digital Computer Company Case Study Bibliography 9