Network Design for a Company - Report Example

Networking Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Network design for a company with various departments located separate buildings. The distance is less that 1000 M. The department include reception and conference rooms, management and personnel, administration and finance, human resources on a four or more story building and stores and inventory, sales and marketing, design and production and assembly on a three or more story building. Network and computer requirement of the company is that, reception department and conference room should have at least 3 PCs, human resource having about 18 computers a printer and a data base server, administration and finance having 22 PCs , printer and database server, management having 19 pc and a printer , design and assembly having 35 PCs two printers , file server database server , a web server , stores and inventory having 15 PCs, a printer, file server, and a database server , finally the sales and marketing having 14 PCs , a print server , and a data base server. Network architecture and protocol Data packet takes different routes, sometimes they may arrive at their destination with errors or duplication of data network protocol software therefore helps in reassembling packets into correct sequence to eliminate duplication (Mansfield and Antonakos, 2010) LAN, Local area network, is proposed. This kind of network allows computer within a limited geographical area to connect, either office to office in the same floor or a different floor in same building or a different building (Jarvin, 2005) Protocols Ethernet protocol LAN uses protocol which is a set of rules for communicating between computers. It governs format timing sequencing, and error control. Networks need access methods are the term given to set of rules which network arbitrates the use of a common medium. The network shall implement a protocol operating at layer three of the OSI model, the Ethernet protocol. The system consists of three elements that are crucial, Physical media that carries the Ethernet signals, media access rules and Ethernet frames consisting of bits that transmit data. Ethernet protocols are part of the LAN network established under the 802.3 standard set by IEEE (Jarvin, 2005). Ethernet is the common access method and data is transmitted at 10 mbps using CSMA/CD protocol. Meaning that when computer wants to seed information it does so when the cable is not in use every computer receives the message. The message has to be addressed. The computer that addresses receives the message. CSMA/CD currently transmits data at sped of 2 Gbps (Chowdhury, 2000). Ethernet network architecture is the most common in networks, (Groth, McBee and Barnett, 2001). Computer that will operate under the Ethernet protocol operates independently; there is no centralised controller, data rates defined for Ethernets for fiber optic and 10, 100, 1000 Megabytes per second cables twisted pair. They vary is type for instance a cable with base 10 capability (Jarvin, 2005). Virtual LAN (VLAN) protocol This another set of LAN protocol which describes a scenario where group of more than one devices configured and communicate as if they were attached to the same transmission media. They offer advantage of flexibility since they are logically and not physically established. It is helpful in host/user management, band width allocation and optimisation of network resources. There are set of virtual LAN which shall be implemented, Virtual LAN with ports having member’s list collection of VLANs needed for access. MAC-based VLAN has a list of members is used to map MAC addresses to VLAN, Protocol-based VLAN having a switch with a list configures maps layer 3 protocol types to VLAN membership filtering IP traffic from nearby end user-stations by use of IPX protocol and finally a ATM VLAN, which employs the LANE protocol in mapping of data packets into the cells of the ATM in order to deliver packets to their destination (Jarvin, 2005). Fiber distribution data interface protocol, FDD 1 and FDD-2 Since fiber optic cable will be used a set of protocol that affects performance of Fiber is used. Fiber distribution data interface this collection of protocol for transmitting data over the fiber-optic cable. These kinds of networks are mostly used as the backbone technology. This is because of the advantage of supporting a high band width and greater distance. FDD-2 an extension of the FDD1 cable has the capability of handling voice video and data in full duplex technology, (Jarvin, 2005). Subnets Each node on TCP/IP is assigned a unique IP address 32 bit number that is used to locate and identify nodes in subnet is a network portions and is logical not physical, e.g. to 255.255.255.192 when large amount of data will be sent, it is best to have it advised to set up a virtual circuit between machine, this is possible though use of virtual private networks (Mansfield and Antonakos, 2010) CABLING THE NETWORK Hardware and transmission media Transmission media Latest transmission is be used. Twisted pair copper cables UTP cables are used together with hubs stitches and 10/1000baseT equipment. There are two types of UTP, Straight through and Crossover. Patch code is used to connect two different network devices this could be NIC to a switch and vice versa, NIC to router, NIC to printer. Straight through on the hand is used to connect similar network devices, NIC to NIC, hubs- hubs switch to switch, (Mansfield and Antonakos, 2010). CAT 5 e and CAT 6 cables are used due to their capability to handle huge data. Fiber optic cable Fiber Optic cabling is made of a delicate center glass core and is enclosed by several layers of protective materials to protect the inner delicate part. Fiber optic cable , relies on light pulses to carry information, these does not suffer common problems as experienced in copper, such as loss of signal, and limited band width the one suggested for use is 10baseFL standard of about 2000 metres in length they support huge data rates of gigabytes. This is the faster communication in networking (Dukda, 2000). Hardware used in LAN Computer Network interface cards (NIC) Nearly all computers are designed with a single network interface card unless for the cases of servers where two NIC are inbuilt in the mother board, NIC network allows the computers to communicate with each other over the network, (Mansfield and Antonakos, 2010) Repeaters Repeaters are used to amplify signal at maximum length of network cables. They are connected to two network segments to broadcast packets. They operate at layer at the physical layer of the OSI model (Mansfield and Antonakos, 2010). Use of repeater helps in restoring data and collision signal. Through amplification of signal repeater will also increase network diameter and allow additional users access to the network (Chowdhury, 2000). The passive nature of the repeaters makes them ignore the contents of the packets flowing across the wire (Groth, McBee and Barnett, 2001). Hubs Hubs work just as repeater and operate at physical layer of OSI model it acts like a repeater to amplify packets except if broadcast packets to all available ports (Chowdhury, 2000). Bridges and switches Bridge partitions networks into groups of nodes as the network grows in size. A switch works the same way bridge does. It however has several ports that directs packet to several different segments. Allows further network partition they have out capability of 10/100 Mbps, (Mansfield and Antonakos, 2010). Bridging is an important internetworking technology since bridge can provide translation services that are required to connect unrelated media access architectures for instance Ethernet and Token Ring. Types of bridges include, transparent bridging, source-route bridging source-route transparent bridging (Groth, McBee and Barnett, 2001). Bridge will work to transfer frames from one different type of LAN to another after making decision as well as configuring frames based on address. Currently available Ethernet switch are categorized into two, stackable and modular switches, (Chowdhury, 2000) Router and firewall Router is the basic building block of internet; they function to connect two or more networks that use different technologies such as addressing method, media type format and speed. An example Linksys cable modem/DSL router or instance allows 254 devices to share internet access through a single connection. They operate under layer 3 of OSI model. Firewall inspects the network traffic, denying or allowing the traffic according to the set rules, (Mansfield and Antonakos, 2010) Network operating system and the services it offers NOS, choice and benefits The network operating system for server will be Linux. Negus, (2010) argues that other being open source Linux has quite a number of advantages over the other network operating systems such as windows. The benefits of Linux are that, it has a longer uptime meaning that there is no constant rebooting. It can stay all year round, running the whole day the whole week all days of the year. Even after initial system installation is done additional software can be installed or uninstalled without rebooting similarly running services such email web server can be stopped and started without interrupting other.it has software portability on different plat form LINUX, UNIX or BSD, more so its applications are downloadable that is for those application that did not come with the version of Linux. Linux do not have hidden code in registries and run on GUI with mature desktop X windows. Since it is free one has the freedom of choosing different version (Negus, 2010). Linux scales well to perform on today’s scientific, engineering and network task because it’s mainframe heritage (Smith, 2001). Linux is offered under the open source license knows as the general public license abbreviated as (GPL), which allows anyone to download and change the source code. (Opensource.org, 2014) Client’s computer will run on Microsoft windows operating system, Windows 7 or higher purchased under the Microsoft Volume Licensing which only that gives users the right to run a Microsoft software product. It is relatively cheap thus affordable to run software on multiple computers within an organization, (download.microsoft.com, 2014) NOS Services Computer networks require software require protocols to control communication protocol that provide networking function, the services provided by the network operating system include, DCHP( assigning IP to clients, email, authentication web server, ftp server for transferring file, web server telnet server from remote connection (Mansfield and Antonakos, 2010 PP 10-11) DCHP services Through dynamic host configuration protocol Linux server acting as DHCP shall manage the settings of many otter computers When a client boots up it sends broadcast massage searching for the DHCP server which replies by giving the client the information it needs in order to communicate with other computer the that is unique internet Protocol address, network netmask, network gateway and Domain Name Server IP address (Smith, 2001). Remote access server They allow user to have access on one computer to run application on another computer, Linux uses Telnet services .Remote access is achieved through use of firewall, TCP wrappers xined passwords and through file permission, (Smith, 2001). Firewall could be a trusted machine or computer secured with configurations including set of rules allow or deny traffic over the network offering protection of the internal organisation from the world. This protection is important against, an authorized access, denial of service eavesdropping among other attacks (Kirch and Dawson, 2000). Web server This will host the company’s website and other web based application locally. A web based server running Linux apache MySQL and PHP is set up and secured using web traffic with SSL/TSL, (Negus, 2010) The proposed management system is MySQL since it, easy to install and configure, and providing excellent performance and stability, (Pachev, 2003). Apache is the most widely used HTTP-server in the world today and out do all other free and commercial competitors in the market (Mourani, 2000). Mai l server With Linux an email server is set up and hosted by a separate email server dedicated machine, the mail system is used internally. To offer a web based access there is use of Squirrel Mail. The email communication with SSL/TSL (Negus, 2010) Print server Sharing of printer not only enables printing efficiency but it is also cheap. Printers are shared by being attached to a Linux system making available to other computers. Linux printer server uses the remote CUPS or samba printer services. Samba is used in scenario where there are windows based systems clients (Negus, 2010). Samba is strong it shares file and printer on nearly all operating systems available (Mourani, 2000) File server A centralised Linux sever backed up and preserver all stored data. It focuses on getting files to the end users rather that rather running user application that uses client’s resources (Negus, 2010), Benefits of the proposed system Companies want to have competitive advantage of their competitors. Network is one of the way in which is by use of networks to transfer files in huge capacity, perform client server computing and be able to handle high network traffic loads. To meet this and many other needs. The network system proposed network provide more band width , offer both data video capabilities on the same media , it is scalable to meet the future needs of the growing business fault tolerant in case of disaster. Since all server shall be running on Linux, it will cut down the cost of purchasing lower task capable and expensive server from competitors of Linux LAN design, cabling system used and configuration issues Consideration when cabling the network When cabling the LAN it important to consider the network application; since the type of network will influence the cabling to be done, any expected changes upgradeability of computer hardware and software and any other equipment, the and how long they can last; how long will it last, distance cable is to cover, the routing cable consideration bending radius and space available for running cable, Fire risk; abide by all regulations concerning fire. Presence of existing redundant cables, consideration of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) and any other environmental limitation that could affect cable choice Structure cabling system It was developed in 1980s in order to facilitate floor wired. It replaces all different cabling with a single system covering all the floor building with different traffic requirements (Chowdhury, 2000). Cabling structure is sometimes referred to as premise and are constructed on a range of related building blocks called functional element which are divide into two, cable and connecting cable, (Elliott, 2002) Transmission is the key to any network; it is the foundation of internetworking. The cabling system should be flexible in order to cope with topology changes in technology, in order to allow cross-talk as well as easy of management. Copper and fiber optic for example can be linked together to carry voice video an internet traffic in a building. The facts that are hidden within buildings and ceilings it will maximize data optimize network and optimize network efficiency (Chowdhury, 2000). Topologies describe the structure of the connection between computers in a network, (Mansfield and Antonakos,) The network subsystems ANSI/TIA/EIA-56 standard , a structured cabling system of six functional subsystems, entrance facility, equipment room, backbone cabling, telecommunication closet , horizontal cabling and work area components (Chowdhury, 2000) Entrance facility Entrance facility links the cables designated for outdoor as well as those designated to be used indoor (ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-B, 2014). They normally provide an interface between outside cabling interfaces and intra building backbone cabling (Dukda, 2000). It marks the start point of the out door cable backbone building’s backbone cabling (Blackbox, 2014).Entrance facility provides the following functions. It function is to demarcates the network for the regulated access to public provider and private network providers. It also functions as a source of electrical Protection. Inter building cables and antennas usually ned protection from power surges. When designing, it is important to seek consultation from the local access provider in order to work in line with local practices and requirements (ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-B, 2014). Equipment room Equipment’s with high complex nature usually greater than those contained in telecommunication closet are normal found here (Dukda, 2000). The equipment include PBXs, servers etc. (Blackbox, 2014) Backbone cabling This is the vertical or secondary cabling that contains backbone cable, arranged between BSR and FSR. This cable connect to different floors of the building or separate room on other floors (Semenov, Strizhakov and Suncheley, 2002). It consist of those cables that run from telecommunications, equipment rooms , entrance facilities, as well as those running between several building , (Blackbox, 2014) . they normally provide communication between telecommunications closets; equipment rooms and entrance facilities using backbone cables patch codes in a cross-connection to backbone-to-backbone of a network (Dukda, 2000). All the grounding should meet the basic standards and requirements. Appropriate network topology should be used. For backbone network cabling hierarchical star network topology is the best where connection to the main connection with horizontal connection is just one cable, no additional connection should be made. More that two backbone connection is discouraged. The connection should be bridgeless taps with splitter. The backbone cabling length from one point to another is determined by the type of physical media used. Backbone Cabling Distances Physical communication Media Distance in KM between main cross and horizontal cross-connect Distance KM between main cross and Intermediate Cross-Connect Distance between in Km main cross and horizontal Cross-connect Copper of 100-ohm capacity 0.88km or (2624.7 feet.) 0.5km or 1640.4 feet. 0.3km or 984.3 feet Fiber optic, multimode in nature 2km or 6561.7 feet 1.7k m or about 5577.4 ft. 0.3km or 984.3 feet. Single-mode Fiber 3km or 9842.5 feet 2.7km or 8858.3 feet 0.3km 984.3 feet Based on the current and future need the cabling is expected to server user needs for 3 to 10 years (ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-B, 2014). Optical fiber is the best medium since it is not affected with distance as evident with other forms of twisted pair cables, (Groth, McBee and Barnett, 2001) Horizontal cabling It consists of everything in between the telecommunication to the out let in work area (Blackbox, 2014). Horizontal cabling extends from, telecommunication out let in the work area into the horizontal cross-connect in the telecommunication close. It consist of the physical media that will be used to connect outlet to the closet, various cable can be used depending on its strengths and weaknesses. Those applications with specific components are not to be installed in in any part of the cabling system; other consideration is closeness to the electromagnetic interferences (Chowdhury, 2000). Single transmission is permitted between dissimilar types of cables, while for outlets for each individual work station is two. Outlet number et being 100 W UTP and the second being either 100 W UTP, 150 W STP-A or 62.5 /125 µm. grounding must meet the applicable codes of the building as well as ANSI/TIA/EIA-607 standards (Chowdhury, 2000). Recognized cables to used include a 4-pair 100 W UTP (CAT 5), 2-pair of 150 Ω (ohms) STP AND 2- fiber of about 62.5 /125 µm (Nano meter )optical fiber. For network scalability, additional outlets may be provided, however it should not replace the minimum requirements (Chowdhury, 2000). The, maximum cable length should be 90 metres long. Consideration issues Setup a plan for future scalability, this include running cables to all areas of the building, Setting up the system to allow for on-going maintenance, Consider network equipment that not only meet the current network need but can also allow for network scalability, Consider the availability of space to run the cables, Do a thorough documentation and pay keen attention to high in EMI. Telecommunication closet This where the all the distribution cables are terminated, including the horizontal and backbone cabling. Jumpers and patch codes are used to do the cross-connect (Chowdhury, 2000). Equipment room designed to meet the specification. Two walls about 2.6 meters in high, or 8.5 feet and thickness. Three quarter alternating current plywood for the purpose of offering support to the other machines and equipment, it advised that real ceiling board should be installed. Specification for lighting systems is that lights should be positioned at a distance of five hundred foot candles, adding to about 540 lux. Walls, floor and ceiling should have bright colors in order to reflect light their by boosting strength of the existing light system. 24 hours 7days a week 365 day a year service provision of HAVC should be ensured. Fire detection and fighting mechanism should be in place. 2.5 kpa, hinged, sliding or removable Door with lock with should be about 91 cm by 200 cm should be installed. Concerning the electric out lets, minimum of two duplex should be in place, they should be separated by different circuits however extra duplex outlets can be mounted at a height of 1.8 m around the room. Work area components Between the outlet and the workstation is the Work area. Components of the work area mainly extend from telecommunication which the information out let to the station equipment. Components of the work area are computers, data terminals telephone, adapter PCs, jumper’s physical communication that is the cross over cables, modular codes and fibre cables adapter such as BALUN which is eternal to the telecommunication outlet (Chowdhury, 2000). Irrespective of the type of networks or its implementation there is use of all classification of SCS (Semenov, Strizhakov and Suncheley, 2002) According to the recommendation by TIA/EIA-568-B there shall be installed minimum of two telecommunication outlets, UTP wiring should adhere to T568A or T568B, each equipment cord patch cable and modular jack should have the same performance, electrical wiring and structured cabling should use two different path ways electrical out let being installed at about 3 feet approximating to 9.1 m. Wiring Colour Codes Color Pair Tip or Ring T568A Jack Pin number T568B Jack Pin number White Blue 1 Tip 1 5 5 Blue/White 1 Ring 1 4 4 White Orange 2 Tip 2 3 1 Orange/White 2 Ring 2 6 2 White/Green 3 Tip 3 1 3 Green/White 3 Ring 3 2 6 White/Brown 4 Tip 4 7 7 Brown/White 4 Ring 4 8 8 Cabling path ways Conduit This is just a pipe either metallic or non-metallic that is rigid and emanating from work area to a wiring closet. It is advantageous in that during construction engineer include it in some building, so no need to incur additional expenses. ANSI/TIA/EIA-569-A, suggest that standard conduit routes both the horizontal and the backbone cables while the fire stopped conduit .It servers as connection to wiring in many storey building, other buildings however put different specification that for all cabling same conduit should be used. When this is the case all communication cables should be insulted or have a physical insulation to prevent contact with electricity cables Cable trays This provides alternative methods of routing the cables. These are just wire racks, they are used to support horizontal cables due to their high stress resistance level, they come in shape of L or J placed at either four or five feet interval of less than five feet but more than three feet Raceways They are designed to be used in surface mounting of horizontal cables. They are normally attached on the wall that normally does not have telecommunication cables. In other cases they are used to give protection to fibre cables Wire closets Two types of wiring closet exist, telecommunication closet and equipment closet. ANSI/TIA/EIA-569-A gives important consideration; telecommunication closet must only be used for telecommunication function meaning that equipment not related to telecommunication should not be in it. They must be strong enough to support weight of up to 2.4 kilo-Pascal with adjacent be connect at a minimum of 3-inc 78-mm Cabling racks and equipment Racks allows for organization of cabling infrastructure. They include the wall-mounted brackets, used in smaller installation. Skeletal frame is most common designed and build as per the EIA-310C standards. When setting up a skeletal frame it is important to note that enough space should be left between racks and the wall in order to accommodate the installed equipment. A good example is the Ortronics Mighty Mo II rack which is mounted on the wall with capability of cable management Full equipment cabinet This the most expensive rack because it offers security of lock and key. In a LAN which requires high security this kind of cabinet is used. Cable management accessories, There are those wires that require other accessories. While some rack are designed with wire management require additional use cable management accessories Cross- connector devices These are cabling components that are implemented to assist in ease the network change. Example include the, the 66 Punch-Down, the 110 and S-210 punch-Down blocks, modular Patch Panels, Consolidation Points, Fiber-Optic Connector Panels (Groth, McBee and Barnett, 2001) Benefits of structured cabling system The benefits from the structured cabling include greater flexibility, ease and simple to manage and is less costly, since it has the ability to carry high band width it will not get out-dated in the near future, consistency , same cabling system for data voice and video, this helps in reducing maintenance cost, interoperability , the cabling system supports application from various vendors and varieties supports any changes in the system scalability, it offers support for future application such as multimedia, video conferencing fault tolerance support because it separate and divide the entire system into small sizeable blocks that are easy to test and isolate points of that are problematic and correct them without having to disturb the whole network References ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-B, (2014). 1st ed. [ebook] QUANG DUNG TECHNOLOGY. Available at: http://www.csd.uoc.gr/~hy435/material/Cabling%20Standard%20-%20ANSI-TIA-EIA%20568%20B%20-%20Commercial%20Building%20Telecommunications%20Cabling%20Standard.pdf [Accessed 23 Apr. 2014]. Blackbox, (2014). Guide to structured cabling. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.blackbox.com/resource/genPDF/Buyers-Guides/Black_Box_Cabling_Guide.pdf [Accessed 23 Apr. 2014]. Chowdhury, D. (2000). High speed LAN technology handbook. 1st ed. Berlin: Springer. download.microsoft.com, (2014). 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/7/0/a70853c1-a783-4d48-a7ad-f404abdb1e7d/Microsoft_Volume_Licensing_Reference_Guide.pdf [Accessed 23 Apr. 2014]. Dukda, S. (2000). Introduction to Structured Cabling. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.dit.gov.bt/sites/default/files/cablingstandard.pdf [Accessed 23 Apr. 2014]. Elliott, B. (2002). Designing a structured cabling system to ISO 11801. 1st ed. New York: Marcel Dekker. 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