Data Communication & Networking: Hotwire Pty Ltd - Case Study Example

? IP Network Executive Summary Hotwire Pty Ltd (HPL) is engaged in the process of redesigning its network for Web Development Company. The company requires a bandwidth that can support its network for more than five years to come. All the networks will have to pass through the Ryde Office network and have a connection to the internet. The IP version that is suitable for the proposed design is IPV4. Hotwire Pty Ltd (HPL) therefore requires a plan for the network, including the budget. The requirement and the budget are large since they depend on the large number of employees in every office. Requirement and Cost The project will require Web Development Company (WDC) to provide a list of items in two categories, hardware and software. The software includes original licensed applications and programs. The hardware in this context includes high quality workstation terminals. The Web Development Company (WDC) will require server systems with capacity for data storage and high-speed processor for the purpose of high performance. In the market, the cost depends on the decisions of the vendor. The budget of the project will be determined by the average costs after doing detailed market survey. The budget is as shown below: ITEM NUMBER PRICE FOR ONE ITEM TOTAL COST     US $ US $ Workstation 200 1500 300,000 Windows Server 7 1800 12,600 Unix Server 7 42000 294,000 Color Printer 100 300 30,000 Color Printers (High Volume) 7 500 3,500 Switch 7 300 2,100 Router 5 350 1,750 Windows XP SP 3 200 100 20,000 Linux Red Hat Release 3 7 18000 126,000 Windows Server 2012 8 500 4,000 Patch channel 5 300 1,500 NOD 32 Internet Security Antivirus 10 200 2,000 Firewall system 1 200 200 Installation Costs 1 150000 150,000 Total     947,650 The budget is within the provision of US $ 1,000,000, which the Web Development Company has set aside for the project. Considering the bulk purchase of the hardware and software items, the budget may fall even further because of the discounted rates offered in the contemporary market. Network Addressing The generation of network IP addresses will consider assigning a range of IP addresses related to the subnet masks and in relation to the number of users of each local area network. The IP addresses have to be generated in a dynamic IP naming table summarizing the range of possible IP numbers in the IP version 4 formats. The IP address range applies to all hosts within the network. In the process of allocation of addresses, there has to be an allowance for enough IP addresses to enable the network to expand as the Web Design Company desires for the future. Each branch will have to provide additional host together with a new hosts whenever a new branch is being established. At the same time, each new branch will require point-to-point addresses. The architecture and the topology have to be designed in such a way that they support the mobile workers since they communicate through the Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections (Moussavi, 2011, p.56). Further to that, there is need to have additional IP addresses allocated to the other components of the network, for example, network photocopiers, scanners and printers. In every department, the average number of employees who will require using the printers, scanners and cameras is about 50. A minimum of one printer is required for every 50 employees in a department. Alternatively, the printers will be allocated to different web sites for each subnet. Some sites are extremely very small. It therefore means that they can only have one printer to serve the number of staff in that department. Such small sites include Hornsby and Penrith, which require just one printer and one photocopier. Some versions of photocopiers are of combined functions, having photocopier, with an inbuilt printer and scanner of high qualities. As required by the subnet naming, each printer and photocopier will get the last available number in the subnet range to which it belongs. Bandwidth Optimization Subnets will be used to separate the servers that are located at the Ryde office server. As they exist in separate subnet masks, they will have completely static IP Addresses supplied within the network. The network will consider each tele worker as a point-to-point connection. It therefore will address each of the tele workers as an individual (Harrison & Stephen, 1996, p.38). It appears from the network expansion plan that more IPv6 will have to be introduced so that they can be used in the future. This is in consideration of the bandwidth to be used in the future. The network will have at least one router for every office and department. The routers will have to be accompanied by many switches, which the Web Design Company will decide on. 1. IP V4 Network Plan The table below shows the IP V4 network plan for the Web Development Company. The plan uses all IP Addresses described in the network requirement and the Default Gateway addresses assigned to each component of the network. 1.1. Head Office Ryde Penrith Hornsby IP V6 Point-to-Point links Choice of Network Topology The requirement of the Web Design Company demands the use of star network topology. This is based on the decision to have the Ryde Office as the central Server through which all other servers will connect. It means each branch will have a separate star network with the branch server at the centre, and the branch network then connects to the Ryde office server in a wide star network spectrum. Separate Local area Networks Star Topology for the whole WDC Company Justification for the Topology The star network is suitable for this network type for two main reasons. Principally, the topology minimizes the cost of connection in the sense that all servers are connected to the same server centrally located between them. Secondly, the failure in one server does not affect the entire network. It only affects the local network to which it is connected (Cassel & Austing, 2000, p. 43). The only challenge is when the main server such as the Ryde Office server fails then the entire network goes off, but the chances for such a failure are minor. The star network is suitable for testing the functionality of the Web site through local servers at each branch without necessarily having to reach the main server. Justification for internet Use WDC intends to conduct many businesses through the Internet. It therefore requires both LAN, WAN and internet Communication through the same network topology. It therefore requires high speed unlimited access of the Internet as a necessity, not an optional application. The internet will assist in the demonstration of internet sales services and sharing of vital informative resources. Physical Network Topology Network Topology Key A – Layer 3 Switches B – Data Outlet to various Offices C – Telecommunication cabinet D – Fire Wall E - Router F – To Various ISPs G - Layer 3 Switches H – Patch Panel I – Link to Tele user J – Hornsby Office K - Server L – Ryde Office M – Head Office city N – High Speed Internet O – Penrith Office P – Internet connection Physical Network Architecture Key Label Object Represented Electricity Cable Data and Voice Cables A Outlet Socket B Printer C Copier Machine D Data Room with Servers E Service Panel Network architecture Naming and Security Plan In the network, every item has its own unique name, which is given during its configuration. After creating one item with a name, the server allows the IP addresses to be created automatically. Tele users are only able to log into their individual terminals. However, when the web pages are ready, they are hosted in the server at the Ryde office. Any tele user can access the pages by just inputting the URL of the server (Shannon, 2006, p. 42). The settings for IP addresses are set from each of the computers in the offices where they are located. The process is the same throughout, and is illustrated in the figure below. IP Network Setup Dynamic Network IP Address Set Up With this setup, the IP address is automatically generated, each time taking the next available number in the series. The DNS (Dynamic Naming Server) also automatically sets the DNS suffix in each computer and other components in the network. Network Security Plan The security of the network for the Web Development Company is the function of the administrator (Bagad & Dhotre, 2009, p.72). The administrator is the same person responsible for creating the users of the network in all offices using unique user names. The administrator also determines the roles of each user and their privileges on the entire network. Each office has a unique domain name, which users refer to as they log into their terminals. This implies that each user can only log into a specific domain related to his or her function. In this regard, there will be a list of domain names as listed below: Domain Name Domain name Head Office Point-to-Point links Management Online Developers Retail Sales Hornsby Ryde Online Marketing Accounts Retail HO - Ryde Online Sales Retail Dispatch and Accounts Ryde – Penrith Penrith Ryde - Server Ryde – Hornsby Tele users are able to use the URL of the websites after their hosting processes to access the services from the company such as online sales, marketing and support. Administrators of the network therefore have the task to offer support to the developers by being able to locate their computers remotely and on any workstation or from the servers. Other devices such as the photocopiers and the printers will be accessible on the local domain of every office and department. It means for example, that the sales staff will not have to print on the photocopier belonging to the developer team, or the online sales team to print on the printer belonging to the Ryde’s server room. The administrator also restricts the rights of other users on the network. For example, the administrator disables the rights to install software applications from any ordinary user’s terminal. Type of Media The type of media that is suitable for this network at the Head Office to link to all other branches is the use of copper wire connections. This is because of its efficiency, and cost effectiveness. However, the connection may suffer from low-speed connectivity and poor data quality. The Web Design Company has need for a wide bandwidth that will sustain its data traffic for more than five years to come. This media may nevertheless be able to support future expansion of the connection by adding computers and other network components in the future. The server at the head office will have allowances to support more computers since it meets the requirements and the standard of IP configuration at every branch. It means the same system of IP naming will not necessarily have to change as the Web Design Company opens new subsidiaries in the future. The cost of the copper wire data cables is about US $ 3 per Meter, even though it was not considered in the budget. Approximately 10 Km (10, 000M) of the copper wire data cable will be needed to link all the branches because each local Area Network centrally connects to the Ryde Office server. Installation of the data cables between the offices and the Ryde server station will require about US $ 2000 in total. The fiber optic connections between each of the offices to the Ryde office server will have to be provided by the Web Design Company’s ISP. In this case, the connections that require fiber will not be a challenge hence it does not have to be included as part of the media requirements. Alternative Media In case the offices are located far away from the server, it may be necessary to change to wireless connection. This is because the distance covered by the fiber optic media may overwhelm the company. It will thus be appropriate for the procurement team to construct an architecture in which they will only use wireless signals. The hardware components to be added in this connection include satellite dishes. The choice of internet service providers in this case will be a critical factor because there is a risk of selecting poor service providers (Larry & Bruce, 2011, p. 62). Speed of the connection matters a lot and must be kept to the maximum. Another alternative is that of fiber optic. Considering that the service provider will provide it at no cost, the cost implication is a subsidy. The media would then be the best because of the expectation in terms of data quality, connectivity speed and efficiency. Web Design Company will have to subnet the network IP v4 address system (VLSM), which belongs to its internet service. Web Server Testing Assuming that the web servers have been installed and Configuration is completely documented, the test of web pages can begin. The first step is to set the web server application running. The next step is to input the URL address of the pages to be displayed from any client terminal. The pages will appear as shown in the samples below. The server will be set to run on both IP V4 and IPv6 and on multiple server platforms. The first test will be done on windows server 2012 with the server as IIS. The second test is done with Apache Web server in UNIX server. References Bagad, V. S., & Dhotre, I. A., 2009. Data Communication & Networking. London: Technical Publications. Cassel, L. N., & Austing, R. H., 2000. Computer Networks and Open Systems: An Application Development Perspective. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Harrison , T. M., & Stephen, T.,1996. Computer Networking and Scholarly Communication in the Twenty-First-Century University. New York: Sunny Press. Larry, L. P., & Bruce, S. D., 2011. Computer Networks: A Systems Approach. New York: Elsevier. Moussavi , M., 2011. Data Communication and Networking: A Practical Approach. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Shannon, S., 2006. Computer Networking and Networks. New York: Nova Publishers. Read More