Example Of Network Consultation For Designit Essay

Network Design

According to Erl (2006), in designing a network for an organization, it is important to consider the size of the organization, the business needs and goals and the number of employees. This will determine the kind of network design to implement in the company. The company has adequate space to accommodate two designers and a receptionist. The designers will used sophisticated software and design tools for their work, frequently communicate with clients and with one another. Additionally, design involves teamwork and this will mean working together on a single project. Therefore, the best network design to implement in this organization is the server based Local area network that will sustainably serve the organization.
Given the nature of business and the requirements as described for DesignIT design company; there are two possible ways of implementing the LAN network designs suitable for implementation in the company. One, the company can install a peer-to-peer network design where all the users of the system are equal hence no hierarchies. Secondly, the company can implement a client-server based network design where the network is controlled by a server and access to data and information must go through the server. This will require personnel to monitor the network and manage the server (Erl, 2006).
In my expert opinion the best network design is to use the server based Local Area Network (LAN) as the network design in the organization. The six computers will be connected to the servers through a switch in a star topology layout. The Microsoft IIS web server, Microsoft Server 2008 file server and the server 2008 small business server will be stored in the designated server room. The two designers can be placed each in their individual rooms. The receptionist will be stationed at the reception desk with a computer. One of the cubicles will be used as a printer room where the three color laser printers will be stationed; this will allow adequate printing space. The conference room has one computer that is used for presentation purposes and is also connected to the Local Area Network.

Network architecture.

The network architecture entails the complete framework for the network including its layout, hardware, software, communication channels and protocols, connectivity and mode of transmission (Perahia & Stacey, 2013). The company is a relatively small enterprise with little network requirements. Consequently, the network architecture will also be a simple framework. Essentially, the network architecture will entail the three servers placed in a server room, the two workstations for the two designers and the reception desk together with the conference room. The office will have two computers that are also connected to the network through a switch.
The star topology is the most appropriate topology given the structure of the acquired space. It will reduce the number of cabling required. All workstations are connected to the network server in the server room which is in turn connected to the other two servers. The three color laser printers will be configured as network printers and shared with all the network users.
Internet access to the network is provided through the web server located in the server room. The work stations will be configured to connect to the internet through the network server. Additionally, the work stations will access documents from the file server through the network server. Data and information in the network can easily be shared with all workstations when individual workstation makes it public.

LAN and Wireless LAN (WLAN) wiring considerations. 

The IEEE802.11 standard is one of the best standards for implementing the LAN and the WLAN in the company. The IEEE802.11 networking standards allows us to consider specific requirements that will be relevant to the end users (Baghaei & Hunt, 2004). These considerations include;
Installation: this affects both the users and the cable operators and always determines the effectiveness of the network design and architecture. From the survey of the site and the office space layout, the LAN and WLAN will face no major interference. The working space is designed to allow the wiring of the LAN to be implemented by installation along the walls of the office space. The Local Area Network laid out in a star topology will be effected by network cabling. The cables used for connection will be the twisted pair cable CAT5e/6 that will be terminated using the RJ45.
Each of the network cables will be connected to each work station and connected to a 12 port network switch that is then connected to the server. The data transferred in this network range from small data transfers, voice calls and large data file transfers. This can be achieved by installation of the simple LAN that is completely wired, the only wireless communication for the company will be internet access in the company. According to industry standards every wired connection should be 100 meters or 330 feet in length. Luckily the office space is relatively small hence this requirement is easily met; the longest cable will be approximately 50 meters.
Area layout and obstacles: it is important to remember that metal is a major obstacle that causes interference to the wireless signals. It can at times completely block the wireless signals or cause multipath that can confuse access points (Baghaei & Hunt, 2004). Special considerations must be made while installing wireless infrastructure in areas with a lot of metals. However, in this context the company will utilize less wireless communication in the network most specifically for internet and external communication.

Hardware options and costs.

Several hardware requirements are needed for the completion of the network in the company. As mentioned in the description the company will need six computers to be used for different purposes. Two of these computers will be used by the designers for designing purposes; they will therefore have higher specifications. The computers must have Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66 GHz processor, 32 GB Ram, 1 Tb sata h/d and Ati Radeon 2400 HD Pro video card. These machines will go for approximately $250 each. The rest will basically be office computers for carrying out office work, hence, the specifications will be normal to any other machine. These machines will cost approximately $100 each. Other hardware needed for completion of the network include the Cisco Ethernet switch at $250. Additionally, a Cisco router at $120 will be needed for the necessary internet and wireless communication devices and external communication.

Security considerations for: 

Firewall
The firewall is one of the most effective and efficient methods of securing a network. This small network can be protected by using a hardware based firewall that can effectively secure the entire network at lower costs. The proposed firewall integrates a hardware firewall with software controls into a comprehensive security solution for the network. The firewall is chosen based on considerations such as affordability, ease of use and peace of mind.
Some of the commonly used firewalls that can be employed to achieve this objective include: Watchguards (XTM 2 series), Sonicwall TZ series, ETGEAR ProSAFE™ FVS336G-200NAS 2 x RJ-45 10/100/1000 Base TX WAN VPN and Cisco ASA 5500 Series. These devices range from $250 to $ 1000.

Antivirus software

Antivirus software should be installed in each machine in the network to provide security against worms, Trojans, virus, malware and other threats. The antivirus’ effectiveness depends on the nature of operations in the organization and the type of information shared among the internal and external users. Several factors are considered in the implementation of the antivirus software; top among them is its effectiveness and the cost implication.
Essentially, an antivirus should provide prevention against virus attacks by detecting threats and neutralizing these threats effectively. Some of the commonly used antiviruses for network protection include; McAfee antivirus, Kerspersky antivirus, Norton, Eset endpoint and Bitdefender network security solution. Notably Kersperky antivirus normally comes in a three user package that could substantially save the company some costs.

Software options and costs.

Several software requirements will be needed for ultimate functioning of the network. The common software includes operating systems, antivirus software and the desired design software and basic application software such as the Microsoft office suite.
The designers will require an Adobe CS6 design software each going for $60 each. Six operating systems preferably windows 8 are needed for each of the machines. This will cost approximately $200 each. Antivirus software for the machines at approximately $50 each. A firewall software to control the hardware based firewall $100. Six Microsoft office suite programs for each of the computers in the network at $100 each.

Labor costs, equipment costs, and service costs.

Single point of failure, and potential mitigation strategies.
The network faces one major point of failure and that is the server. The server is the single point where the entire network is unified and access to network resources is achieved. In case of server failure the entire network will be paralyzed. To address this, a recovery and backup plan will always be maintained at all times in the company to ensure business continuity in case of such eventualities.
Mitigation can be achieved by employing redundancy, this means providing redundant software and hardware components by deploying multiple, replicated instances of the directory Server on the hosts or use of redundant Arrays of independent Disks (RAID) to store directory server databases. The most efficient way of ensuring mitigation against single point of failure is redundancy with the use of replicated director servers.

References

Baghaei, N., & Hunt, R. (2004, November). IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN security performance using multiple clients. In Networks, 2004.(ICON 2004). Proceedings. 12th IEEE International Conference on (Vol. 1, pp. 299-303). IEEE.
Erl, T. (2006). Service-oriented architecture: concepts, technology, and design. Pearson Education India.
Perahia, E., & Stacey, R. (2013). Next Generation Wireless LANs: 802.11 n and 802.11 ac. Cambridge university press.