Virtual Private Networks - Report Example

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL Table of Contents 2- Background 3 3- Proposed Solution 4 4- Office Plan 4 4 Requirements for the Network 4 4.2- Network Specification 5 4.3- Network Components, Devices and Equipment 6 4.4- Network Design Diagram 7 5- Benefits of the Proposed Network Solution 8 6- Requirements Achievement 9 6.1- PC Requirements 9 6.2- Selection of a System 9 6.3- System Specifications 10 7- Operating System Requirements 12 7.4- Specification of Operating System for the Business 12 7.2- System Selected 13 7.3- Total Cost of the Operating System 13 7.4-Support of the Windows 7 OS for the Business Operations 13 8- Additional Hardware and Software Requirements 14 8.1- Internet Connections 14 8.2- Network LAN 15 8.3- Microphone + Headphones 15 8.4- Network Firewall 15 9- Conclusion 16 10- References 16 1- Introduction “A computer network consists of two or more computers that are connected with each other with the intention of sharing information and other peripherals or resources such as printers and scanners (Nash, 2000). In fact, the computers on a network are linked through telephone lines, cables, radio waves (wireless technology), or infrared light beams. In addition, a computer network is also acknowledged as simply an information network or simply net. In this scenario, the Internet is the most popular information network. It distributes data and information between internet users. Additionally, a computer network uses any network operating system that is responsible for managing and co-coordinating the operations of computers that are connected to the network. Some of the well known examples of these operating systems are: Windows NT, Linux, Unix etc. (Nash, 2000; Tanenbaum, 2002; Turban et al., 2005). This project proposal presents the specification of a new network technology based system that will allow data sharing and communication for the effective management of the corporate areas. This proposal is based on the given scenario. Our business is a small architectural business with different working teams. For superior interaction and communication we need to establish a computer network that can offer an excellent support for working remotely as well as communicate with business headquarters. 2- Background As discussed above, we have a small architectural business, with a Chief Executive, Finance Director and Sales Director. Apart from the mentioned hierarchy there are four architects, two administrative staff members and two architectural engineers. In this scenario, architects and engineers could be working at remote locations and would need communication facilities. Regarding this situation, we need a corporate network that can offer an excellent support for managing and coordinating tasks. In addition to this, it could be a web based network or system that can offer the capability to communicate and collaborate effectively. 3- Proposed Solution A new “network arrangement” will be established that will offer the facility to communicate effectively with business staff, share resources, data and facts remotely. In addition, this network will be supported by the Internet and can make use of workstations, network server and handheld PDAs for the establishment of overall communication of our business. 4- Office Plan In order to establish a network on the basis of the above given set-up, we need a more flexible network arrangement that would be able to support every area of our business and offer a capability for mutual sharing and handling of corporate resources. 4.1- Requirements for the Network In this setting the main requirements for the new network technology implementation are as follows: The established network must offer the means to communicate effectively The established network must offer an effective data sharing environment The established network must offer the secure data access points The established network must offer an excellent communication facility The established network must offer the remote access to network The established network must offer an effective remote data transfer and access mechanism The established network must adopt and implement the new and enhanced data communication framework The established network must offer effective data safety and access points The established network must adopt and implement a superior capability of data handling The established network must develop a better data handling mechanism The established network must allow for the suitable data backup and recovery mechanism The established network must offer an excellent data transfer speed The established network must offer an effective user management The established network must implement the strict security login and access methods 4.2- Network Specification After analyzing the basic needs and requirements of our architectural business and operational capabilities, required by the corporation, I am going to suggest a new and innovative network arrangement for the business. In this context I have decided to implement the VPN (virtual private network) for this corporation. Actually, “a virtual private network (VPN) is referred as a network structure that is based on a public telecommunication arrangement such as the Internet or the Intranet, in an attempt to offer the remote offices or individual clients secure access to their organizations communication network”. Moreover, a VPN is very much different than a traditional system of leased or owned lines that can be used by any business. Furthermore, the basic goal of a virtual private network is to bring a lot of benefits at a much lower cost (Collins et al., 2000; Cisco, 2012; Tyson & Crawford, 2012). 4.3- Network Components, Devices and Equipment For the development of a virtual private network we will require following hardware related components: (Tyson & Crawford, 2012; Cisco Systems, Inc., 2007) Leased lines such as ISDN (integrated services digital network, 128 Kbps) Corporate internal single wide-area network (WAN) for the business Cable Connectors Wireless devices for data transfer Business workstations Data servers Network servers Backup server Router Micro Hub Transmission cable UTP Transmission cable STP 4.4- Network Design Diagram Figure 1 shows the implementation of this network: Figure 1Diagram to show Proposed Network Arrangement 5- Benefits of the Proposed Network Solution The proposed network for our architectural business is aimed to offer an excellent support for the management of business and corporate operations. The successful implementation of this network will offer the following advantages: It will offer the better data recording It will offer a superior data storage capability It will offer a superior data safety mechanism It will offer a excellent data collection mechanism It will offer an online and remote access to corporate network It will offer proper authentication and system security It will offer proper data backups and security It will offer a capability to manage business operations effectively It will offer a superior data and resource sharing capability It will offer an excellent data management facility It will use a proper user authentication mechanism It will offer a remote access to the data It will offer a data analysis capability It will cause less dirty data It will cause less data duplication It will offer thee effective data management 6- Requirements Achievement 6.1- PC Requirements This section is based on the specifications for the new business management workstations. In this scenario, we will need to adopt some of the latest standards and mechanism that we will follow all through the network development in order to form an efficient network arrangement. For this purpose, the requirements for the new business workstation are outlined below: Most latest technology should be used to build the new infrastructure A new system should be able to offer an excellent support for the entire business operations and their management The new system should be able to offer a capability to manage business tasks effectively The new system should be simple and offer a high speed The new system should be less expensive 6.2- Selection of a System In order to select a suitable system that can fulfill all the requirements of the business, a detailed market research was conducted which suggested that Vostro 230 Slim-Tower will be the best solution for the business. In view of the fact that this system is attractive, nice looking, and looks beautiful .Moreover, the processing capacity and storage facility offered by this system are outstanding. I have outlined below a detailed specification of the mentioned system along with a picture: Figure 2Dell Vostro 230 Slim-Tower, Image Source: http://www.techlocation.com/files/2010/03/Dell-Vostro-Mini-Tower-Price-580x420.jpg 6.3- System Specifications This section outlines the detailed description of the selected system: taken from (Dell, 2012) System Components Specification Hard Drive (Main Storage) 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ Processor This system integrates an Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5800 w/VT (3.2GHZ, 2MB L2, 800FSB) Operating System This system comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit Office Software This system contains wonderful support for the Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word and Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook Services and Warranty This system will be delivered to us with 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service. Memory RAM This system will offer us 3GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHZ - 1x2GB 1x1GB Optical Drive (DVD) This system comes with a Single Drive: 16X DVD-ROM Drive Video Card Integrated Video card Intel® GMA X4500 Monitor It comes with the LCD monitor of Dell 18.5 inch Widescreen E1910H Flat Panel Display Security Software It comes with a wide variety of software applications such as Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services, 15-months - A $39 Value! Modem and Wireless There is no Modem Option in this system Media Reader Like modem, there is no option of media reader as well Keyboard and Mouse It contains a Dell USB Optical Mouse and Dell USB Keyboard System Speakers This specification does not include any speaker thus we will add speakers in the accessories. Base System This system is based on Vostro 230 Slim-Tower Base. Mouse This system comes with a Mouse included which is included Bluetooth selection Documentation and Power Management This system has the options of Vostro 230 Documents and 110 Volt Power setting Network Interface This system also contains an Integrated PCIE 10/100/1000. Total Cost of the System The total cost of the system is $389.00. Thus, this system is an affordable option. 7- Operating System Requirements Regarding this, the operating system that we are going to select for this system has to be compatible with the system in presenting better services and support for business management. 7.4- Specification of Operating System for the Business This section outlines the specification for an operating system that we require for our architectural business. For this purpose, we will need an operating system that can offer: An excellent architectural business support Efficient security mechanism Superior techniques for the data protection It should take less time for learning a system It should be easy to use It should offer an excellent support for the business transactions It should offer an excellent mechanism to protect the system from online virus attack It must have simple and adaptable user interface 7.2- System Selected Here I will outline the operating system we have selected for our architectural business. According to the given scenario, Windows® 7 Home Premium 32 bit best fits our corporate structure and system. 7.3- Total Cost of the Operating System This operating system will come with the system free of cost. Thus, we will not have to pay any fees for this operating system. Thus, we can have this operating system without paying any additional cost. 7.4-Support of the Windows 7 OS for the Business Operations In this section I will outline some of the main advantages and facilities that are offered by the Windows® 7 Home Premium 32 bit system: are available at (Microsoft Corporation, 2012; VistaHunt, 2012) It offers a simple interface which makes the things easier with an excellent desktop working and navigation. It allows us to launch and use software applications quickly and more easily. It allows us to use the Internet quickly and simply. It allows us to build a home network and connect our PCs to a printer with HomeGroup easily. It allows us to establish a connection with business networks conveniently and securely through Domain Join. We can easily avail latest back up and upgrades for all the editions of the Windows operation system. By using this operating system we can protect our secret data and information. It allows us to operates in the language we select out of 35 other worldwide languages. Establishes the wireless network connection quickly and simply. 8- Additional Hardware and Software Requirements This section is based on the additional requirements of a new network system for our architectural business. For this purpose, I will outline software and hardware related packages which are indispensable for effective management of our architectural business working and aspects. 8.1- Internet Connections In order to achieve high performance and perform the business operations quickly and smoothly, we will need to use a high speed internet connection that can allow audio communication among service center personnel and customers. In addition, our high speed internet connection must be able to offer all the desired services and essential support for communication of business data between business departments and customer areas (inside as well as outside the organizations). 8.2- Network LAN In order to establish connections and communicate inside the organization, we will need to implement a business LAN that can offer an excellent support for internal data travel and communication between people. This will also offer support for client and customer order processing response through fast order processing and customer complaint management. 8.3- Microphone + Headphones As discussed above, the system we have selected does not have speakers. So we will need to purchase a microphone or headphones in order to listen to the music or access the videos. In this scenario, Panasonic RP-HT21 Lightweight Headphones with XBS Port by Panasonic can be best choice. This device is available at $4.69 (Amazon, 2012). 8.4- Network Firewall In order to ensure the data and information security we will entail the network firewall. This network firewall will offer a great deal of potential to deal with security related issues and attacks on the business database and systems. 9- Conclusion A computer network consists of two or more computers that are connected with each other with the intention of sharing information and other peripherals or resources such as printers and scanners. A computer network is also acknowledged as the information network or simply net. In this scenario, the Internet is the most popular information network. It distributes data and information between internet users. Additionally, a computer network uses any network operating system that manages and co-ordinates the operations of computers that are connected to the network. Some of the well known examples of these operating systems are: Windows NT, Linux, Unix etc. This report has presented a detailed plan for the implementation of a new network technology based system at an architectural business. This report is based on the given state of affairs, for which we had to form the network. Network technologies and equipments that can be used to build a network have been discussed in this report. 10- References Amazon, 2012. Headphones. [Online] Available at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=headphone [Accessed 04 March 2012]. Cisco Systems, Inc., 2007. Cisco VPN 3000 Series Concentrator. [Online] Available at: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/pd/hb/vp3000/index.shtml [Accessed 03 March 2012]. Cisco, 2012. Virtual Private Networks (VPN). [Online] Available at: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps5743/Products_Sub_Category_Home.html [Accessed 02 March 2012]. Collins, T., Keeley, R. & Waye, D., 2000. virtual private network (VPN). [Online] Available at: http://searchenterprisewan.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-private-network [Accessed 01 March 2012]. Dell, 2012. Vostro 230s Slim Tower Desktop. [Online] Available at: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/vostro-230s/pd?sc_err=noocs [Accessed 03 March 2012]. Microsoft Corporation, 2012. Windows 7 Home Premium. [Online] Available at: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare?T1=tab04 [Accessed 03 March 2012]. Nash, J., 2000. Networking Essentials, MCSE Study Guide. California: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. Tanenbaum, A.S., 2002. Computer Networks. London: Prentice Hall. Turban, E., Leidner, D., McLean, E. & Wetherbe, J., 2005. Information Technology for Management: Transforming Organizations in the Digital Economy. New York: Wiley. Tyson, J. & Crawford, S., 2012. How VPNs Work. [Online] Available at: http://www.howstuffworks.com/vpn.htm [Accessed 02 March 2012]. VistaHunt, 2012. Advantages and Disadvantages Of Windows 7. [Online] Available at: http://www.vistahunt.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-windows7.html [Accessed 03 March 2012]. Read More