Home Network Components - Essay Example

of the of the 29 October Introduction The paper will initially discuss network components individually. Thesecomponents will combine with each other to make an operational home network. Moreover, along with the construction of a local home network, we will incorporate an electronic learning or distant learning system. E learning is a concept and tool used to deliver the information in a simple way. The objective is to utilize the home network for simplifying learning methodologies. Exploring different methods on E learning in different ways, bundles with rich experience and 24 hours availability of the learning resources construct it an exceptional learning tools most importantly at home. The visual technology with rich animated graphics helps the learners to understand better. Everyone can discuss the lectures and suggestions on forums making a virtual learning environment. Home users can participate online by uploading their suggestions on a particular topic and at the same time sharing the videos and suggestions with the peers. Evaluation of the students is also conducted by E learning, which is an added feature which is beneficial for the home users. 1 Home Network Requirements 1.1 Cable Category 5 cables are used for the data transmission in a home network design. CAT-5 is in the form of twisted pairs. This cable consists of 4 copper wire pairs, connecting the network node with RJ 45 connectors.CAT-5 supports up to 100 to 1000 MHz speeds in a full duplex mode (Category 5 Cable. 2007). The length of the cable depends on the distance which needs measurement in the school premises. 1.2 Switches What are switches and why they are required for deploying a network? A good illustration is available on network dictionary states “A network switch is a device that joins multiple computers together at a low-level network protocol layer. Technically, network switches operate at layer two (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model” A simple definition is available on eFast Ethernet Cisco switches supporting VLAN functionality are implemented. As compared to the old 10 base-t, the 100 base-t provides 10 times more speed supporting the MAC and MTU. Almost all network adapters supports 100 base-t technology making it a cost saving and efficient choice for local area networks ("Fast Ethernet" 190-190). We will install and configure a 12 port switch, keeping in mind the expansion of the network will not affect by purchasing new network equipment. On the ground floor of the home there is only one switch that is operational and one is installed on the second floor and will be considered for future expansion of the network. 1.3 Routers Router is the core components of any network. They perform administrative and traffic distribution tasks. A good definition is available on the network encyclopedia which defines them as “Routers are physical devices or a software system within a switch operating a layer 3 of the OSI model. A router forwards and routes data packets along networks. A router connects at least two networks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP network”. There is only one routers installed for routing the traffic to and from the Wide Area Network. 1.4 Printers One printer is required for printing documents. 1.5 Servers We will configure three servers i.e. the file server, email server and the firewall / proxy server. The file server will be the for the data distribution system. The email server will route the email, inbound and outbound of the home premises. The application layer for accessing email service will be “Microsoft outlook express”. The data servers are located in the two specific rooms that are on a home network. 1.6 Access points Access point installation is required. Access points are the wireless devices which broadcast signals for Internet connectivity. The models of access points vary in the context of broadcasting signal strengths and ranges. In the home premises two access points are used on the first floor for providing secure wireless connectivity to the laptops. On the second floor, one access points are installed. Keeping in mind, the supporting network resources for network expansion two switches are installed for connecting any new access point in case of new development of the new departments. 1.7 Wide Area Networks As per network encyclopedia wide area network is defined as “a computer network covering multiple distance areas, which may spread across the entire world. WANs often connect multiple smaller networks, such as local area networks (LANs) or metro area networks (MANs)” ("Wide Area Network." 525-525). Home premises will be equipped with broadband access defined as “Broadband Internet Access is a high data-transmission rate Internet connection. DSL, ADSL, Wireless WAN and cable modem, all popular consumer broadband technologies, are typically capable of transmitting 256 kilobits per second or more, starting at approximately four times the speed of a modem using a standard digital telephone line” which can also be called Digital Subscriber line. The DSL is implemented for catering the needs of the home network. A device used to connect to the telephony company for Internet access.There is no superior requirement for downloading data from the Internet. The home network runs on the local area network. DSL supports up to 3 Mb/sec downstream speeds in an asynchronous mode means only the downstream. The upstream speed is from 128Kbps to 768 Kbps. 1.8 Support Local technical department of the home will handle incident management. After the implementation of the network, network administration is required in order to manage the network security related incidents. To troubleshoot issues related to system administration and support. 2 Routing Protocols SNMP Version 2 is the predecessor of version one. The feature which was modified as compared to the previous version was the message format and replacing SNMPv1 ‘Trap’. Version 3 is the major improvement in terms of security and remote communication capabilities. User based security model (USM) was introduced for the security of messages. View based access control model (VACM) was introduced for access security. The architecture of the SNMP v3 also supports concurrent utilization of access control, different security models and message processing models. 2.1 SNMP Architecture This architecture including the CMIP and the CMIS never accepted globally as compared to SNMP. The architecture of SNMP comprises of ‘Manager / Agent’ model. The model consists of a ‘Manager’ and an ‘Agent’ sharing a database among them. The role of the database is to manage objects and network protocols. The role of the manager is to provide an interface among the realistic network manager and the management system. The role of the agent is to provide a communication channel between the network manager and the physical network devices which are currently installed on the network. The Management information base (MIB) is the hierarchical database employed by the SNMP for depicting the information of the specific device currently monitored on the network. MIB uses a small set of commands. It identifies each variable with unique object identifiers (OID) in SNMP messages transmission. The architecture of SNMP is beneficial for organizations in various ways. The organizations adopt SNMP because it is a cost effective solution and reliable. SNMP is an ‘open standard’ protocol means it is not proprietary. One of the prime features of SNMP is that it implements on the existing local area network (LAN) of the enterprise. The implementation of SNMP on existing LAN or wide area network (WAN) results in considerable savings for the enterprise. SNMP is an ‘open standard’ protocol which means that it has support from multiple vendors due to its acceptance and usage globally. SNMP is also a flexible protocol which can expands on almost any network providing a common interface for accessing all the devices on the network regardless of different types. 2.2 Protocol Provision SNMP govern commands to achieve what is required. The communication of messages from the manager, Human manager and agent require protocols for transmission. Every type of action or message required a different logic. SNMP uses simple messages for communication including Set (Control), Get (GetNext), Get (Response), Trap (Alarm). 2.3 Set (Control) Messages The set messages are initiated by the manager offering a request to the agent for modifying the value of the specific variable. As soon as the agent receives the messages, it sends the messages by using the Get (Response) message. This message contains the information of whether the change has been made or not. If the change has not been made that a response message states reasons for that. 2.4 Get (Get Next) Messages / Get (Response) Message The Get messages facilitate manager to retrieve information for a specific variable. As soon as the agent receives the messages, agent will give a response in the form of a response message including “The changes has been made” or an error message stating “The request cannot be processed” 2.4.1 Alarm Messages The alarm messages allow the agents to impulsively update the manager regarding an important event. All the other messages including Set (Control), Get (GetNext), Get (Response) were initiated by the manager, but the alarm messages are initiated by the agent. The response of these messages is effective as the agent communicate these messages as soon as the alarm occurs. The messages are relayed directly to the human manager and not to the SNMP manager. 2.5 Management Information Base (MIB) The management information base is the hub for communication for some criteria in the SNMP architecture. Each SNMP variable has a unique OID containing numbers and hexadecimal values. The code book which can also be assumed as a data dictionary used to assemble data. It works as an interpreter for the SMNP messages. When the SNMP manager wants to retrieve any specific value or characteristics including system uptime, name of the element or device, the MIB will assemble a get packet. If the code is found in the ‘code book’ a response packet is sent including the current value of the object. If the OID is not found in the code book, an error message containing the reason is sent by using the response message. For example, the Internet protocol translation table used to bind the IP address to the physical address is ::={ IP 22}. When an element sends a trap package, it consist OID, value information and bindings to elucidate the event. 2.6 Innovative SNMP Contribution For embedded systems developers, robust end to end solutions are required which may communicate between the clients and devices. The ‘OSGi’ is initiating an open architecture that assists services, management and communication between clients and devices. A design of an SNMP agent is implemented for scalable remote management solutions. Open service gateway initiative ‘OSGi’ platforms have designed a solution for accessing multiple remote resources. SNMP protocol allows the integration of different enterprise elements connected on the Internet in to a standardized remote management methodology. It facilitates the remote management of complex and dynamically changing environment on a scalable network. Sequin based on Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) was launched to Track Quality of service (QoS) metrics in real time. This system was implemented by the Internet Service Providers (ISP) to track the bandwidth, Service, UPS, Switches, and Routers etc. The ISP provides services to corporate clients with Service Level Agreements (SLA). This means that they have to provide Internet connectivity in spite of any failures occurring on the network. This system lays a solid foundation by keeping track of the parameters defines with the help of SNMP. SNMP ALG protocol sequence analysis was deployed for intrusion detection system to capture data from the source and the sender. Data transmission is not affected as the SNMP ALG 64 Byte structure is not difficult to capture data from the network. A monitor and a network can be added on order to improve security of the network. 2.7 Installing and Configuring SNMP Service (Windows XP) 1. Click Start button >> Control Panel >>Add or Remove Programs >> Add/Remove Windows Components  2. Click Management and Monitoring Tools >>Details select SNMP feature. 3. Select Simple Network Management Protocol feature. 4. Click OK>> Next  5. Two new services will be installed: SNMP Service SNMP Trap Service Windows do not allocate any community string to the SNMP service by default, ‘Localhost’ is only allowed. Advance configuration is needed to append a preferred community string, which will take action to prompt the password for granting response to any SNMP request from remote scheme. 2.7.1 Configuration of SNMP Servicse (Add “public” community string) 1. Click Start >>Control Panel. 2. System and Maintenance  3. Open Administrative Tools. 4. Click Services applet. 5. Right click SNMP Service >> click Properties. 6. Click Trap tab in SNMP Service Properties. 7. “Community name” text box, enter any case-sensitive name for SNMP community to which this computer will send trap messages. 8. Click Add to list. 2.7.2 Security Configuration 1. Click Security >>“Accepted community names” section, click Add button 2. Select the suitable permission level in the “Community Rights” drop down list to indicate how the host process SNMP requests from the chosen community. READ ONLY is suggested. 3. Type public in the “Community Name” box 4. Click Add. 5. Click Accept SNMP packets from any host to send and receive SNMP packets from any inbound and outbound network. 6. Click Accept SNMP packets from these hosts to bound the reception of SNMP packets, 7. click Add ,type suitable host name 8. The Simple network management protocol provides a convenient and cost effective solution for managing network fault detection and monitoring. SNMPv3 is widely adopted globally as compared to the previous versions. The simple architecture of the protocol makes it efficient and robust when performing in a large network. The protocol operates on existing LAN and WAN making organizations to save time and cost. The flexible features of SNMP make it more demanding due to its expandability features. It can be expanded depending on the size of the network. The efficient use of MIB enables the agent and the manager to communicate with ease. Lot of research is conducted and the explicit behavior of the SNMP protocol is utilized to its full potential. There is lot of support available for SNMP and the applications it supports. Due to open standard, it is compatible on almost every network device. SNMP is modifying towards a supporting role in which certain responsibilities are assigned according to the functional requirements of the software application in which the SNMP protocol is integrated. By connecting and configuring switches, routers, servers, workstations, cables, a local area network is operational. Now we will discuss the integration of a virtual learning system that will utilize the network architecture of the home network for establishing connectivity. 3 Integrating Virtual Learning System at Home Network X stream is a virtual learning environment with a sole purpose of enhancing learning techniques. It is a virtual learning environment that can be accessed via Internet. Every user is provided with credentials to ‘login’ to the virtual learning system. In fact, there are different protocols associated to accomplish a remote session. For instance, a user wants to connect X-stream from home, various computational processes are conducted in order to establish a remote session. Moreover, Internet connectivity is the prime requirement for establishing a session. 3.1 Creating a Session When a user wants to connect to X-stream virtual learning environment, user open the web browser and enters ‘www.x-stream.com’, in order to access the website. The host accepts the request that is forwarded by hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). However, due to strict security issues, HTTPS is deployed, abbreviated as ‘Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure’. Furthermore, after the arrival of the request, website is presented for the user’s web browser. Authorization and Authentication is required for getting access to the system. This procedure normally involves credentials including ‘User ID’ and ‘Password’. When the user authenticates him or her, permission is granted to access all the resources of the virtual learning web based system. However, the authentication server matches the ‘User ID’ and ‘Password’ to grant or deny access for creating a session. The X-stream system supports email which may also require authentication and authorization in some cases. In Fact, some websites require flash, video and voice support to interact with the user via web browser. 3.2 Connection-Oriented and Connection-less Protocol The connection-oriented protocols are reliable as they are connection-oriented. In addition, these protocols support segment retransmission and flow control by the process called windowing. Furthermore, connection-oriented protocols also support segment sequencing and at the same time supports acknowledges for missing segments. In comparison, connection-less protocols are unreliable and do not guarantee a successful delivery of data. Furthermore, connection-less protocol do not support windowing and retransmission of data packets if they are lost or corrupt. Likewise, no sequencing and acknowledgment is present in these protocols. X-stream system operates on both connection-oriented and connection-less protocol. One example for connection-oriented is transmission control protocol (TCP), and user datagram protocol (UDP) for connection less. 3.3 X-Stream Online Features As the X-stream system supports other features for instance, digital library, Email, online help, news and events and voice and video support for the users, various protocols are incorporated in order to make these features functional on the web based online portal. The file transfer protocol (FTP) is a connection less protocol that may be used to upload or download a project, file, assignment, essay, or coursework from the X-stream system. Consequently, video streaming services available on the X-stream system also operates on connection less protocol. Another prime feature for interacting with students is the voice support. However, voice support requires an additional device called a microphone for communication and a high speed Internet connection; VOIP adds value and instant assistance for students. However, VOIP is a connection less protocol; it is emerging to be a most sufficient and cost-effective way for voice communication. VoIP congregates voice data signals and exchange the data into digital format to route over the Internet and to be transmitted to its objective, that can be anywhere in the world. Consequently, for adding more value, email services are also offered in order to provide electronic communication between students and instructors. Furthermore, with the help of email, student can ask any questions and queries related to the current topic or lecture. In addition, financial assistance, fee issues, and students may also inform any issue related to health and sick leaves etc. Email operates on ‘simple mail transfer protocol’. The SMTP is connection oriented protocols that guarantee trustworthy delivery of email. In fact, SMTP is extensively used by government, education organizations and is also the most efficient protocol for mail transfer. “The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol would be an "application layer" protocol when slotted into the OSI model. It is an open protocol because the only assumption it makes of the transport mechanism below it is that it will provide a reliable service. In most cases, SMTP is used in conjunction with the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) service, which provides the reliable transport layer (Service). Other transport mechanisms that are mentioned as supported in the specification are the Network Control Program (NCP) service, the Network Independent Transport Service (NITS), and the X.25 service ("Smtp." 186-186) 3.4 X-Stream Data Access Methodology Accordingly, for accessing databases to read and access online books, object oriented database (.odb) extension is applied to all the electronic documents. The Open Document Format (ODF) is also deployed, that is an extensible markup language (XML) compatible file format for representing electronic documents, such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents such as word processing documents, spreadsheets, object-oriented database, presentations, graphics and for mathematical equations. Consequently, the digital library of the campus or educational organization is scanned to make every book digitized with the help of optical character recognition (OCR), so that the students can read any book they want virtually from the X-stream system. The scanned images can be viewed by the web browser or PDF viewer. Furthermore, the X-stream system also provides access to various research databases. Students can research on any topic or subject that may help them to increase their scope of understanding. 3.5 Multimedia Support The simultaneously support for video and voice is made successful by the online flash players and VOIP. The user datagram protocol (UDP) executes a flash based interactive player to display live videos on the web browser of the user. Although, user must install Flash player in order to initialize the flash player on the browser. Furthermore, to broadcast video, camera is required at the user end, to capture live video. UDP handles this broadcast in terms of data packets. However, UPD is not a connection-oriented protocol, performs the job that is quite acceptable. The VOIP support is also handles by UDP. A high bandwidth connection is recommended for video conferencing, whereas, Dialup connection is not acceptable to perform this task efficiently. However, “UDP is widely used for streaming audio and video, voice over IP (VoIP) and videoconferencing, because there is no time to retransmit erroneous or dropped packets” ("User Datagram Protocol." 508-508). Work Cited "Fast Ethernet." Network Dictionary (2007): 190-. Print. "Router." Bloomsbury Business Library - Business & Management Dictionary (2007): 6516-. Print. "Smtp." Essential Internet (2003): 186-. Print. "User Datagram Protocol." Network Dictionary (2007): 508-. Print. "Wide Area Network." Network Dictionary (2007): 525-. Print. Read More