AOC Network Solution - Essay Example

AOC Network Solution due: Table of the components of the network Desktop and laptop computers 2. Smartphones, tablets 3. DHCP and DNS servers Design of a LAN network solution A local area network; abbreviated as LAN refers to a network that is isolated within a single building, floor, or even a limited area. The network allows for communication between devices placed close to each other. This means it handles local communication such as in a home setting. Even though LAN is a private network, it allows an exchange of information between a variety of user computers and devices such as printers at high speeds over limited distances. LAN provides a popular solution of the client/server computer configuration by allowing interconnection of devices such as servers, clients, sharing of printers, OCR readers, and high-resolution monitors. In addition, LAN is an infrastructure for the Intranet. There also exists various topologies that support various network design (Faircloth, 2013). In this paper, a discussion will be made on the best possible LAN design for America One Car (AOC) dealership. Topology and cabling of the enterprise LAN Regardless of the network adopted, a topology is created by the geometric arrangements of the link together with the nodes making up the network. Link, in this case, is the communication path between two nodes, where a node is the endpoint to any branch of a network. Since AOC would like to set up a LAN network serving desktop and laptop computers, I recommended the star topology which would be the most suitable in such a setting. The star topology works well in a setting where the control of the network is centrally located in a node or a switch. This means all the routing of the network messages traffic from the central node to outlying nodes will be performed by the central node. This helps to relieve outlining nodes of the control function. In this topology, the central control is a single point of network failure. The disadvantage is that if the central control goes down, the entire network goes down with it. The central node serves as the timesharing host (Targowski, 2003). The central switching hub, characteristic of the star bus, is considered as a point of a very short-length bus. Optimization of networking costs for the network design has to take into account minimal cabling costs, cable plant labor costs, and flexibility for a future upgrade as well as maintenance costs. Since cabling costs are of prime importance, I recommend a linear layout since it provides a favorable solution by providing minimal cabling length. Moreover, I would choose coaxial cable, which is efficient and relatively cheaper compared to the optic fibre cable. In anticipation of the future growth of AOC, the cable plant has to reach to every office within the building. The star layout will allow cable plant maintenance, modification, and servicing since the design is very much similar to the addition of conventional local loop for usual phone connections (Nikolik, 2003). Servers The most suitable server to use in this case is DHCP. The server allows automatic assignment of new IP addresses whenever users connect another computer to the network. This is convenient especially when the users connect and disconnect laptops and other portable devices to and from the network. For this to work, a DNS server is also required so as to convert Internet addresses to numeric IP addresses, even though the DNS server does not have to be part of the LAN (Ross, 2009). Internet access Since the basic network of AOC is intended to serve areas with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, I would recommend the use of LTE/WiMax. This will ensure avoidance of running expensive cables within the enterprise, and has speeds running in the range of 5-10 Mbps which is the same as DSL. LTE/WiMax are 4G technologies and multiple support input and multiple output (MIMO) antenna technologies. The technologies use a modulation technology based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). WiMax technology proves to be a great choice for private mobile broadband wireless networks, suitable for a private enterprise such as AOC (Taha, Hassanein & Ali, 2012). Clients In the AOC’s LAN design, the clients include desktop and laptop computers to be used in the office of the general manager and that of the salesman. The other clients are mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, as well as printers. Server data backup/recovery mechanism To enhance data backup in the LAN design, a LAN backup will be useful. The backup server receives data and metadata from application server across the LAN. The LAN is impacted .the application server in turn is impacted by storage I/O. The backup is performed on one computer and stored on another remote computer or a device connected to the same network. The storage media is physically stored in a secure area. The performance of a LAN backup will involve the management of AOC to determine where to store the data. They may choose between one remote server, the network drive, the dedicated FTP or better still in a secured SFTP/FTPS containment. A dedicated software can also be used for network backup, such as Handy Backup Server Network edition. This will involve copying or restoring the chosen data through the LAN. The LAN backup will greatly improve the versatility and safety of backup operations (Odom, 2008). Security measures for clients and servers in LAN Since the network is vulnerable to attacks from intruders, there has to be some security mechanisms put in place. The intrusion is in terms of packets originating from maliciously minded persons. The security will be enhanced by using modern routers, which provide various means of access control. The access control is based on filtering and access control list. A filter checks the source IP address and only forwards packets from permitted source addresses to given destinations. This ensures that only certain outsiders get access to certain data and computer files. In addition, non-transparent routers may be used to perform translation of network address. Such routers will translate the IP addresses in the IP packet headers from public internet addresses to private internet addresses used in the LAN. This is very effective since the number of available IP addresses within the LAN is almost unlimited and thus difficult to come by. The second advantage is that only the NAT converted addresses can be reached by intruders. To further enhance the security of the clients and servers in the network, sophisticated routers which act as proxies can be used. A proxy acts as a gateway between an outside host and a client or server who is within the network. The outside host cannot, therefore, communicate directly with the client or server who is within the network. The proxy client or proxy server acts on behalf of the real client or client server. The proxy will interpret the higher layer protocol requests of the outside host and then chooses which requests will be permitted, and which ones will be rejected. The proxy then forwards the request to the real client or server, according to the necessity. The use of the proxy, both server and client, concentrates the network security measures in a single device. This ensures avoidance of the need for specific security measures for each client and server. This will, however, attract some additional costs since it requires sophisticated hardware and software (Clark, 2003). Conclusion As it can be seen in the discussion above, the design of a LAN requires the designer to put into considerations some factors. For instance, the topology chosen is dependent on the number of clients and servers making up the entire network. The cost of the system has to in line with the budget of the client. The budget will determine the types of hardware and software to use. Sophisticated ones such as the ones for security enhancement will be more costly. Security of a network is a key issue to consider because some of the company’s data is very sensitive and cannot be compromised. Backup of the data is another key area that had to be considered in the design of the network. There has to be a data recovery mechanism just in case of any damage. The backup storage device should be physically stored away from the main system. The design of the LAN also has to accommodate future changes such as scaling or relocation. References Clark, M. P. (2003). Data networks, IP and the Internet: Protocols, design and operation. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley. Faircloth, J. (2013). Enterprise Applications Administration: The Definitive Guide to Implementation and Operations. Burlington: Elsevier Science. Nikolik, D. (2003). A Managers Primer on e-Networking: An Introduction to Enterprise Networking in e-Business ACID Environment. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Odom, G. (2008). U.S. Patent No. 7,330,997. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Ross, J. (2009). Network know-how: An essential guide for the accidental admin. San Francisco: No Starch Press. Taha, A.-E. M., Hassanein, H., & Ali, N. A. (2012). LTE, LTE-advanced, and WiMAX: Towards IMT-advanced networks. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K: Wiley. Targowski, A. (2003). Electronic enterprise: Strategy and architecture. Hershey, Pa: IRM Press. Figure 1: LAN components Read More