Southern Cross University
CSC00240 – Data Communications and Networks
Assignment 2
Network Design for a Modern Software development company
Due Date: Part 1 15% of total unit marks 28 August 2017 11:00 PM
Due Date: Part 2 25 % of total unit marks 6 October 2017 11:00 PM
Marks: Complete Report (Part 1 and Part 2) 40% of the total unit marks
Background:
A private biomedical development company (5 Star) is located in 2 adjacent three-story buildings. It developed software for programming machines which it has built and sold for many years. They plan to develop a web version of their machine. Each building is approximately 50 metres long and 15 metres wide.
They are set about 40 metres apart. The company needs your expertise to upgrade their existing network.
Their current network is old and will need to be replaced. The managing director has asked for a “software development company of the future, using the latest technologies with a network which can accommodate the load now and for another five years”.
Current – see attached Organisation chart
The 5star company has currently 250 employees with only two dedicated computer rooms each with 10 computers and printers. Most employees work in production and do not need computers.
A computer room is in one building (software development) while the other computer room (technical development) is in the other building. The network was installed in 2011. Network operating system is Windows Server 2008. The network is simple hub and switch connected to the server.
There is one router connected to each of these two servers. There are also 20 computers in second building for administrative staff again with a hub, switch and server and they use the same router. There are three LANs all connected to the one router. Employees cannot log in using their laptops. It is a very simple network.
Future
The software development company of the future will have all software developers issued with
Laptops/iPads and all the desktop computers have been removed from the new software development lounge area. There will be now two computer rooms each with 20 computers one for Software Programmers and the other for Multimedia/Web Designers. The company plans to make virtual machines to be delivered online as well as their current machines. The production will need 60 new computers to control the 3D printers. There will also be 60 new computers in the admin building.
One building will have computer room for software programmers and web designers, the second building will have a computer room for technical department and the business employees. The software developers, technical department and company employees each form communities of users with different needs and loads on the network. This understanding of communities of users is a key part of your assignment.
This company also needs to connect with a WAN at a branch office which has just been opened. There will be 100 computers in branch office and videoconferencing is vital for success. This branch is located approximately 200km from this private software development company. They need to be linked to the existing software development company network. This is a case for understanding distance remote situations for WAN.
Important objectives of the Future Network:
The two main objectives for the proposed solution are:
• A modern network for the company and
• To ensure that these company has videoconferencing between the main office and their branch.
The network is proposed to achieve the above objectives considering the company’s following business and technical goals.
Business goals:
• Improved communications, wireless, videoconferencing, etc.
• Spare no expense,
• Protect company information,
• The company of the future will have over 500 employees,
• Be excellent in technology.
Technical goals:
• The current network, computer rooms are to be upgraded to a modern network (campus design) to meet developers and employee’s needs,
• Scalability – remember they plan to double in size,
• Availability – Wireless network access is available in all employees as well as some outdoor areas for software developers and employees,
• Employees have access to company resources from both company and home (different servers),
• Performance – network performance must be high,
• Reliability – no single point of failure,
• Security – protection of company information and other IT assets,
•
What you need to do
You are required to design the network you would recommend and how it would be configured. Remember the goal of building a new network is that it will support the company’s needs for the next five years. Your recommendations are to be submitted as a formal report containing your analysis of the present situation, and your recommended network solution.
Please see next page for Part 1 details including assessment criteria
Part 1
Due Date: 28 August 2017 11:00 PM
Marks: 15% of the total unit marks
For part 1 report, you are required to:
• Analyse user network requirements
• Describe and analyse the current network
You will need to make a number of assumptions (see below) regarding the existing organisational structure including management hierarchy, software, hardware, circuit, user communities and network use patterns , etc. which will need to be documented in the appropriate sections of your report.
Employees form communities of users based on their roles.
Hint Work out the needs for each of these communities of users.
You will need to identify all the circuits (cabling) and network hardware of the existing network(s) and explain their function, performance, capacity, etc. You will need to include both logical and physical network diagrams for the current network. You will also need to provide a layout of your software development company showing where your network devices are located. Presentation is important. No marks are allocated to referencing, however, you are strongly encouraged to do so if relevant.
Assumptions
The list below may not exist for current design but will exist in proposed network. You are also free to make your own assumptions as you wish to assist you.
1. Microsoft Office suite (Microsoft Word, Power Point and Excel Files),
2. Internet Browser
3. Email
4. Desktop Operating systems
5. Accounting, Finance, and HR applications
6. Web designers (text, audio, video, graphic and animation) application and authoring tools
7. Anti malware
8. Network operating and Management Application
9. Programme (software) Development
10. Desktop conferencing
11. Video conferencing
12. Whiteboard Software for company
13. Company management system
14. Software for mobile devices
15. Software for remote access
Assessment criteria for Assignment 2, Part 1
Marking Criteria Max Marks
(out of 100)
Part A. Analysis of User Requirements 30
Analysis of communities of user requirements (expected functionality, etc.) 30
Part B: Description & Analysis of Current Setup (based on your assumptions) 60
Circuits 5
Network Hardware 15
Logical network(s) topology 5
Network physical topology including network diagram(s) 15
Analysis of existing network(s) (functionality etc.) 20
Part C: Presentation Style and Writing 10
Report format and Presentation 5
Clarity of exposition & Readability 5
Make sure you read CAREFULLY the marking rubric provided on MySCU to understand how your work would be graded against each of the above criteria.