Network Systems and Technologies - Blue Line Assemblers - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxx Title : Network Systems and Technologies Institution : xxxxxxx @2010 1. Introduction Blue Line Assemblers are a company who specialize in the assembly of all utility trucks ranging from refuse collectors, to fire fighters to heavy commercial transporters. They now have a steadily expanding clientele base that has needed to be served with efficiency in mind in order to give Blue Line Assemblers their competitive edge. The demand for trucks and trucking services is steadily increasing and may soon outwit the demand that is provided by Blue Line Assemblers unless drastic measure are taken. The top management has realized the need to embrace information technology strategies and employ the power of networking and the internet to try and achieve this. Blue Line Assemblers deal in assembly of trucks and the sale and supply of spares to a number of dealers who are geographically dispersed. Blue Line Assemblers has been carrying out all processing from a central office at the headquarter office. Lately sales statistics have indicated that the dealers and sales men have found a new client base which is steadily growing and generating huge sums of money in sales. The region is in a densely populated area that is roughly three hundred miles from Blue Line Assemblers’ head offices and has a large number of construction activities going on there, the very reason why trucks are in very large demand. The basics road infrastructure has made road transport in this region to be highly dependable. This has provided a unique opportunity for Blue Line Assemblers who now realize that the high truck demand is directly to the construction and transport demand in this region. The managing director has been considering opening a branch of Blue Line Assembler sales office in this region to enhance the Assembler’s hold on the market and effectively address the growing demand for trucks. However the managing director realizes that he will need to carry out a restructuring process at the head office and then consolidate it with the new office to be set up at the region. With this in mind the managing director of Blue Line Assemblers has engaged Pneuma Communication Solutions to establish the feasibility of this restructuring and the establishment of a satellite sales office at the region of interest. 2. A background of Blue Line Assemblers Blue Line Assemblers has a number of departments each with unique functions. The company is currently utilizing information technology at a limited capacity. The following are the typical department at Blue Line Assemblers office Production engineering At this unit the designing and specification of special trucks and all associated equipment is carried out. The production of documents detailing the breakdown structure of each assembly is carried out here. These serve as input to the bill of materials file which is forwarded to the computer system at the IT department to produce the material requirements report. Assembly planning The building of trucks is planned here. Units to be assembled and their specific requirements are produced here and forwarded to the IT and computer processing department. Sales and Order processing On confirmation of dispatch from the IT computer system an invoice is produced and forwarded to the accounts department. The clerk at the accounts department checks the invoice and dispatches a copy of the same to the customer. Another copy remains at the department while a third copy is sent to sales to confirm the processed order. Blue Line Assemblers dispatches all spare orders within 24 hours of order receipt. These orders are received by telephone, email, post and fax. These orders are arranged and forwarded to the computer processing department. Purchasing A batch run report indicating stock items below the re-order level is produced and forwarded to purchase officers who then contact the suppliers and place orders. Information Technology and computer processing The order processing and stock control here is batch processed. This is carried out twice a day, five days a week. Assembly processes reports and dispatch orders for spares are generated here. The stock file is updated accordingly Each department has the necessary information technology equipment to enable them to run their processes. However the departments have not explored the possibility of networking the departments so that Blue Line Assemblers can have a local area network (LAN). This is going to be Pneuma Communication Solution’s line of action. One area that will be streamlined by the introduction and adoption of a LAN will be speeded information and data exchange between the departments. Prior to this, information and data has been transferred manually where one has to physically carry the reports and all form of storage media from one department to the other for continued processing. Even though the departments are located in one building the time lapse in the transference of data and information has had an undesirable cumulative effect on the overall process efficiency at Blue Line Assemblers head office. The activity at the sales and order processing department has elicited the management’s interest because of the new and strong market that has been realized in the region that is about three hundred miles from the head office. As the project head from Pneuma Communication Solutions I will assign this region a tag namely Region A. The immediate need for Region A will be a duplicated and standardized sales and order process such as that one at the head office, perhaps with a little added functionality. Blue Line Assemblers can well connect the Region A office through the Internet which can serve as the network link between the two offices. Pneuma Communication Solutions have been mandated by Blue Line Assemblers to come up with an Internet based sales and order processing system that will be operational at Region A. While operational the system at Region A should be able to handle the standard order processing transactions, provide financial advisory services and provide marketing information. The managing director wants the whole system up and running in 1 year beyond which period the opportunities at Region A may have been lost to competitors and the setup costs may become prohibitive for such a venture. After an initial investigation and a high level feasibility study, Pneuma Communication Solutions feel that the following approach will be most appropriate based on the director’s initial request. It will be necessary to acquire the main hardware system platform from a major manufacturer with whom Pneuma Communication Solutions has dealt with a number of times previously. Considering that Blue Line Assemblers are a first time client for Pneuma Communication Solutions, they must be served by highly reputed firms in every area of requirement. The actual configuration will be based the UNIX system which is normally delivered within 1 month after the receipt of the configuration specifications. Most of the major software components for transaction processing, derivers, network infrastructure and interfaces will be supplied within 4 months from the order confirmation a sub contracted company. All these products are standard and therefore will ensure uniformity in processing between Region A and the head office. The internet access package can be commercially acquired as a commodity product from an internet service provider or a software supplier at a fixed annual cost based on user licensing policies. Accompanying this also is a site license for the central system component. This platform will come with a specialist accompanying component. This component is a proprietary database development and management tool which will be used to develop (restructure) the main customer file at the head office. This database development and management tool will run on the main system platform. While Blue Line Assemblers are going to interconnect over a LAN and through the internet to Region A, we have considered another necessary component, a small but complex network security management component. This component will be developed specifically for Blue Line Assemblers in other words it will be a bespoke development by a software development firm of choice. This security management element will ensure preserved commercial confidentiality even when Blue Line Assemblers interact with Region A through the internet. Additionally this component will ensure secured transaction processing and payment over the network. Blue Line Assemblers’ managing director insists that the overall system have the capacity to support all present applications and traffic and increased size and performance for at least the next three years from the implementation date. After having done their research Blue Line Assemblers indicate that traffic is likely to go up by as much as 95% per year over the initial estimates. Due to the urgency with which the Blue Line Assemblers have intended to implement the new system Pneuma Communication Solutions has put in a number of considerations. As already indicated earlier software components are a crucial part of the overall system and its success during implementation depends on how well these components are going to integrate in. Under consideration for this part of the project are the following software development houses. Run Projects Ltd They have a vast experience in the field of network security management with a reputed list of clients. They are therefore the most preferred suppliers of the network security management component. They have a 30 man dedicated staff with a turnover of $ 3 million. Run Projects Ltd could also provide the database implementation. This can be done using their general staff though it has been on record that they have not faired well in similar endeavors after delivering poor quality and a late scheduled product for one of their clients. It should be noted however that they are new to this field and are yet to make inroads in this area of database design and development. Strattos Database Developers Ltd These are an established database developer house with high repute. They boast of great understanding in database technology for medium and large scale commercial firms. Strattos Database Developers have a turnover of $45 million and a very strong financial base. They have also successfully performed several similar database implementations in the past to a high standard. 3. Stake Holder Identification Blue Line Assemblers Blue Line Assemblers will be looking to increase their market share at business level and also attract more customers at Region A and the head office. While all this is being considered Blue Line Assemblers have their eye on their competitors in order to maintain profit levels at both sites. Pneuma Communication Solutions Pneuma Communication Solutions know that Blue Line Assemblers are a first time client who will need to be accorded extra attention thereby keeping them happy by delivering suitable financial returns from the solution implemented. Pneuma Communication Solutions having a general idea of the technology requirements and some knowledge of the financial market. They will be charged with taking the client’s statement of requirement in this instance Blue Line Assemblers and assess its feasibility in both project timescale aspects and technically. This process needs an in depth discussion. High level prototypes can also be used to enable Blue Line Assemblers validate the working and connect the problem and potential solution. Run Projects Ltd At a turnover of $3 million Run Projects Ltd will be looking to make a name in big business. They are likely to be under the microscope for this engagement where by the client’s expectation are high. Strattos Database Developers Ltd Strattos Database Developers Ltd is a well established firm as indicated from their turnover. They have the necessary expertise to deliver on this project and are more concerned with maintaining a market position and reputation. Blue Line Assemblers’ customers It is true that Blue Line Assemblers customers may not know what is technically possible, and further more for them this is of very little concern. However a market survey can be carried out to determine what they expect. Once this has been elicited the fact that they will need to be attracted to the system will be observed and this is likely to be the strong point of sale for Blue Line Assemblers. Prototypes can be used as well to elicit their views and validate that the product design actually meets the expectations. Both Strattos Database Developers Ltd and Run Projects Ltd may not be aware of the target market. They will bring to the project process their vast knowledge of current and emerging technologies. With this input analysts from Pneuma Communication Solutions will use this to draw out a prototype to aid them in further discussions. Software and hardware suppliers and internet access software will also offer their view of future trends particularly over the period of the system’s lifespan. They are also charged with the provision of technical and interface support. 4. Project planning Pneuma Communication Solutions will manage the implementation of a new LAN at Blue Line Assemblers’ head office as well as support the internet based order processing system at Region A. The configuration is based around the client server architecture which can support up to 40 users on one site. Each user will have a dedicated personal computer to access the range of network applications available on the server. The server will be a powerful high end dual processor setup that can handle multi user request as well as offer network communication duties effectively. The LAN will employ a high speed optic fibre ring topology backbone (Stallings 2000, p.523) with a bus structure approach on Ethernet for the various departmental setups at the head office. Region A will have a number of workstations supporting a few personal computers or and laptops over a powerful optic fibre ring circuit as the LAN backbone just like the one at the head office. A dedicated gateway will serve to connect Region A. local Area Network through the internet to the head office. The implementation of various internetworking standards and practices will ensure a well secured private network over the internet a phenomenon known as virtual private network. The managing director had spoken of the need to have the company confidentiality maintained even as we employ internet technology as part of support infrastructure for the order processing at Region A. The board of Blue Line Assemblers wants a high level demonstration of the overall implementation picture. This has been scheduled in 7 weeks time which time the project must be compiled. An invitation to tender exercise to identify the potential software suppliers has been successful carried out. The following companies have been awarded according to the tender process by Blue Line Assemblers. United Cabling Inc. They have been awarded the tender to supply all cabling according to the standards to be employed. They will supply copper Cat 5, twisted pair, fibre optic and coaxial cable. This forms the basic cables requirements to interconnect the various computers at the head office. Proto Links Ltd They have been tendered to supply the hardware which includes additional workstations, personal computers and servers, to be placed at both the head office and the Region A office. Any other peripheral equipment required like laser printers, LCD projectors, laptops, and plotters for the assembly planning and engineering department will be supplied by them as well. NetSoft Inc They are reputed as internet service providers and will provide the network and application software. They will closely liaise with Run Projects Ltd to ensure a standardized LAN at head office and Region A office. 5. Project Brief Pneuma Communication Solutions project manager is tasked with developing an overall project plan which will be followed in the implementation of the LAN and WAN project efficiently and effectively. The plan will include a breakdown of the main activities, identification of the relevant milestones, a schedule of the resources and summary of the costs involved. 6. Project Activities The following are the activities involved in the implementation of this project Installation, Configuration and Testing a) Of all cabling b) Hardware and network / application software The user support and training plan will include the following:- 1 – Day hardware operations training for the users 3 – Day application software usage training for the users 2 – Day network support configuration training for the network support staff 7. Resources and Costs Pneuma Communication Solutions has undertaken to identify resources on two levels namely external and internal. The tenders received from the external suppliers were clearly indicating the work breakdown of the services offered and their associated costs which were summarized in the following report below. The supply of all the cabling requirements at a cost of $25,000 Installing the cabling ($5,000 5 man days) Testing the cabling for both sites (head office and Region A) $3,500 3 man days Hard Systems Ltd They will supply the hardware, both conventional and network for both sites. They will also supply the operating system. This is going to be in the tune of $50,000. Hard Systems Ltd are also charged with the responsibility of installing and the hardware and operating system. This is to the tune of $40,000 for 5 man days. They will also test the hardware and operating systems ($3,000 3 man days). They are also charged with the responsibility of providing hardware operations training ($400 per day per person, maximum of 10 people per course) Open Soft Ltd They are charged with the supply of the network software at $60,000. They will also install and configure network software ($1,000, 1 man day). They will also test the network configuration at a cost of $ 1,000 1 man day. They will also carryout the network support and administration training at $500 per person per day. Open Soft Ltd are also given the responsibility of supplying user application software ($2,500 2 man days) in addition providing user application training pegged at $300 per day per person, a maximum of 10 people per course. The total cots therefore of employing external resources will run to about $128,500broken down as follows:- Supply of equipment and software $66,000 Installation and testing $20,000 Training of the users and 5 support staff at $42,500 Senior management has objected to the cost of the external resource acquisition process as prohibitive in terms of cost and have asked that we consider an internal option. The IT computer processing department has a number of resources which can be utilized for this project. Andrew (LAN engineer $300) He can install hardware and operating systems He can test hardware and operating systems He can install network cabling and test the cabling Jeniffer (Network Support Specialist $200) She can install hardware and operating systems under instruction She can test hardware and operating systems under supervision Ruppet (PC Technician $350) She can install application software She can test the application software She is able to organize and run user application training courses. Chandaria (Training instructor $300) He can effectively run user hardware operation training courses He can also run user application training courses. All staff is able to prepare and write technical documentation relating to their areas of specialty. 8. Resources and Time restrictions Because of the day to day commitments and involvement in other company businesses the staff identified will be available for redeployment to this project on a part time basis. Therefore the maximum number of days that each of these staff can be engaged productively in the project are summarized below Andrew – 15 days Jeniffer – 5 days Ruppet – 12 days If training is carried out in house then the relevant trainers must be allocated an extra day of preparation to develop the training materials. The first time a course runs one additional day must be added, however the time reduces the next time the same course is run because the materials will already have been prepared. 9. Connecting the head office and Region A The network protocol suitable for this case will be Point to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP). Point to Point Tunneling Protocol packs various protocols inside the Internet Protocol (IP). This lets the non Internet Protocols to travel through an IP network without user intervention. That is the key because it will save on Blue Line Assemblers need to build a proprietary and dedicated network connection for their remote users at Region A and instead let them use the Internet as a conduit. While using public networks and the internet there is always the possibility that the data information in transit can be accessed by unauthorized parties. The employment of the PPTP will provide a secure tunneling by encrypting or encoding the data and information in transit. The network operating system security will be implemented at two levels, the share level security whereby the user at each computer can decide which resources (folders and printers) from the local computer can be shared over the network. The shared resources will be secured by use of passwords. The user level security on the other hand is used on server based networks typical of which is this one under implementation. The network / LAN administrator can share resources hence making them available for the network users. Users are assigned login passwords and privileges accompanying them to access the resources allowed for their user group. The messages to be transmitted over the Internet between the two sites can be further secured by the secure socket layer (SSL) protocol which manages message security over the internet. (Stallings 2000, p.732) Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) implementation is being considered to provide data and information backup on both sites. This approach is especially well suited because of the bulky graphical data generated from the production engineering and assembly planning departments. Bibliography Explain the Concepts 2010, LAN, WAN.EDI and Modems?-Blurtit viewed on 20/03/2010. Sample project plan 2010 viewed on 20th March 2010.< http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/tividd/td/ITIM/SC32-1708-00/en_US/HTML/im460_plan98.htm> Spurgeon, C 2000, Ethernet: The Definitive Guide O’ Reilly and Associates. Cambridge, MA. Stallings, W 2000, Local and Metropolitan Area Networks, sixth edition Upper Saddle River NJ Prentice Hall. Types of Networks 2010, LAN WAN MAN and Area Networks viewed on 20th March 2010.< http://compnetworking.about.com/od/basicnetworkingconcepts/a/network_types.htm> Appendix A SECTION OF THE GENERAL GANNT CHART SHOWING THE MAIN TASKS TO BE UNDERTAKEN AT BLUE LINE ASSEMBLERS The whole process will take 40 days, the diagram above indicates the major tasks only, which are sub divided in more detailed gannt chart diagrams to be developed at later stages of the project. A DIAGRAM OF THE PROPOSED BLUE LINE ASSEMBLERS WIDE AREA NETWORK CONFIGURATION The diagram shows the proposed network configuration for the head office connecting through the Internet to the Region A local area network. Read More