Critical Requirements for Rapid Freight - Case Study Example

? Rapid Freight Analysis Rapid Freight Analysis Following the dramatic changes taking place in the global, technological arena such as challenges regarding growth and expansion, freight companies continue to struggle with the problem of instituting significant measures to counter the challenges. This paper will examine Rapid Freight Company, describing five essential requirements and analyze them. This paper will subsequently offer valid proposals to furnish Rapid Freight with a converged network solution, explaining how the elements of such solution, as well as the entire solution, satisfy the company’s requirements as identified. One of the most critical requirements for Rapid Freight is to provide additional bandwidth amongst its offices in the US and the chief data center. In order to fulfill this need, Rapid Freight needs to augment its Ethernet provisions to Gigabit Ethernet. This move is bound to improve the company’s Internet access speed significantly. This is because Gigabit Ethernet grants greater bandwidth for enhanced performance and practically eliminates the event of bottlenecks. In addition, the Ethernet provides full-duplex capabilities, which essentially magnify the efficacy of the bandwidth (Jain, Bakker & Anjum, 2004). With regard to cost-benefit analysis, the acquisition of the Gigabit Ethernet entails low cost, as well as low ownership costs since the bandwidth will have the capacity to transmit massive quantities of data over a single network quite quickly. Gigabit performance facilitates ample file sharing capacities over high bandwidths. This ultimately increases employee productivity by enhancing access speed to databases, as well as messaging applications, which are all attuned to the existing network. This will reduce expenses such as those incurred in running new wiring, control standards of networking to attain tremendously effective networks and add network management to cope with environments having enormous network comprehensively. In addition, Rapid Freight has a significant requirement to guarantee that the numerous Rapid Freight locations within large metropolitan cities coordinate amongst themselves. In order to achieve this requirement, Rapid Freight should put into operation technologies that provide high speed internet between offices within a single metropolitan location. For instance, the established of WIMAX 802.16a technology is a vital move in the correct direction given that it provides an avenue for the transmission of data up to 70Mbps over a 30 miles radius (Jain, Bakker & Anjum, 2004). The technology is a standard 2-11 GHz wireless metropolitan area network technology that is bound to endow broadband wireless connectivity to nomadic and fixed devices. More to the point, while the 802.16a is the perfect solution for metropolitan area networks, WIMAX allows users to obtain broadband connectivity without necessarily being in direct line of sight with the central station. In addition, the technology provides complete data rates reaching 280Mps for every base station. This is essentially sufficient bandwidth to take care of the needs of hundred of business having either T1 or E1 connectivity, as well as thousands of households having DSL connectivity models from one base station. With regard to connecting cities such as Baltimore, Chicago and Los Angeles, the company can establish a satellite microwave connection. This is the best option since such technologies allow for easy connection over vast distances that separate the cities. Normally such distance causes inefficiency to position ground cables to connect the metro regions. Satellite microwave technology is highly beneficial compared to its costs since the signals travel from the ground station based on earth to a satellite then revert to another ground station, thereby covering enormous distances (Jain, Bakker & Anjum, 2004). Another requirement is the need to establish a secure and highly reliable network to contain its planned development, as well as the unpredicted events. This requirement can be met by employing technologies such as WIMAX technologies, Gigabit Ethernet, as well as the satellite microwave technology (Fazel & and Kaiser, 2008). The use of 802.16 creates a weighable system with regard to the system’s capacity, thereby making the introduction of new sectors quite easy. Furthermore, this strategy provides a channel bandwidth. In essence, even though the company makes new, future acquisitions, it does not require buying new software and hardware, or even establish new wireless technologies. A newly acquired network simply requires to be supplemented to the existing WIMAX system in the metro regions where it is required. The satellite microwave, which will by then be in place, will link the metro area to the remainder of the company’s national network. Furthermore, Rapid Freight requirements also entail the need for lower spending on telephone services than the company spends to date. The chief objective here is to enhance the relevant services while at the same time protecting the company against increasing costs with regard to its ISDN service provider. In terms of the telephone service, Rapid Freight should change to VoIP telephone services. This move is essential because VoIP allows the company to make phone calls through the Internet, which will consequently reduce the company’s telephone costs (Jain, Bakker & Anjum, 2004). Since the company will already have a well functioning Internet network, Rapid Freight will not require the acquisition of fresh telephone hardware since it can use its existing Internet infrastructure can allow personnel to make calls, thereby lowering the company’s overall monthly phone bills. Finally, since productivity and efficacy are essential for the rapidly growing rapid Freight. The essence of all the aforementioned technologies is to help Rapid Freight achieve increased efficacy and productivity. For instance, the implementation of systems like VoIP will result in companywide efficacy because of the technology’s likelihood to reduce the company’s monthly bills and lower maintenance costs. Conversely, VoIP provides the company immense flexibility in terms of providing access to organizational resources at any time and from any place (Jain, Bakker & Anjum, 2004). VoIP allows its users to check emails and voice mails; use project data and make calls through a single network while using one device. The following image illustrates the speed and mobility of different systems. It is evident that WIMAX technology has both speed and mobility. In conclusion, Gigabit Ethernet offers low ownership and acquisition costs, as well as increased opportunities for personnel productivity (Fazel & and Kaiser, 2008). Therefore, implementing such technologies will ultimately resolve Rapid Freight’s network convergence challenges, as well as provide a viable cost effective model for future growth. When all is said and done, the implementation of the aforementioned advanced technologies in the company’s current, ancient network will provide a secure, proficient and dependable network that will, in turn, ultimately help Rapid Freight to achieve its demand for all its approximately 5,000 employees and hundreds of thousands of customers across the globe. The technologies will further provide Rapid Freight with scalable futuristic growth and development. References Fazel, K. & and Kaiser, S. (2008).  Multi-Carrier and Spread Spectrum Systems: From OFDM and MC-CDMA to LTE and WiMAX (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Jain, R., Bakker, J. L., & Anjum, F. (2004). Programming converged networks: Call control in Java, XML, and Parlay/OSA. Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. Read More