Network Design Solution for Classic Studios Limited - Coursework Example

? OPERATING SYSTEMS AND NETWORKING Network Design Solution for ic Studios Limited Part A Background and requirements Background description Classic Studios Ltd is an online games development and services company based in Ashford, Kent. Other than the top management personnel, the development team made up of software engineers, creative designers, animation professionals, technical writers, quality officers, web developers, and database administrators is also based here. The core activities of the company is to develop computers interactive applications and games which users can access online either through their computers or smartphones. They develop puzzles, racing games, quizzes, social games, action games, and sports games; with some of them designed to support remote multiplayer functionality. Some games are free to play, while others are only accessible after paying a small fee. The games also incorporate other features and services such as advertisements, promotions, and competitions to woo more and more clients. The marketing department is based in London. Here, they conduct market research and monitor customer responses and other behaviour in response to the company products. There are for data centres for online games strategically distributed across the country: in Sunderland, Norwich, Birmingham, and Southampton. The company faces strong competition from other established games companies across the United Kingdom including, Attention to detail, Bullfrog, glass ghost, DMA Designs and many others. Requirements Analysis Classic Studios Limited requires a network that will ensure continuous and reliable quality of service that will support real-time data transmission of the games and interactive applications. This calls for a network with high speed, high bandwidth, and a strong security policy. The following components will be required to achieve this network: a) Hardware requirements This will include the networking devices and the terminals for the company personnel. They include: Computers – they will form the majority of the nodes. They will provide terminals to carry out business functions and to configure networking equipment Workstations – they are more powerful than ordinary computers. They will be used mainly by the development team and also at the data centres Servers – they will store data and other resources and will make them available and accessible to the right people whenever they are required Printers – for printing technical documents and business reports VoIP phones – company workers will use them to make calls to each other over the internet Routers – they will connect the company’s network to the internet and the outside world Switches – they will be used inside the local area networks to provide redundant and secure paths for data packets within the network b) Software requirements Network software (e.g. Cisco IOS) – for programing the network equipment Operating system – will run on the computers, servers, and workstations c) Connections requirements Copper cables (UTP) – for linking up all the equipment in the local area networks Fibre optic cables – will be used to connect the different local area networks together Network Architecture and Design The headquarters, marketing offices, and data centres will each form a local area network. Transmission of data will use the TCP/IP standards.Logically the network will support multiple accesses within each of the LANs and point to point links between the LANs gateways. Multiple access means the several nodes with communicate with using the same shared media. A media access control such as CSMA/CA will have to be used to prevent collisions and overheads. Physically, the network will make economic utilisation of IPv4 addresses through the use of classless subnetting techniques (Metcalfe & Boggs, 2000). Below is the design diagram of the proposed network. Network Components Network connections Copper UTP cables will be used within the headquarters, marketing office, and the data centres for connecting devices in the work area and also for wall or horizontal wiring. UTP cables offer the following advantages: a) They are able to offer the high speed of data required in this network (upto 1gbps) b) Less costly (compared to Shielded Twisted Pair cables) c) Most buildings already wired with UTPs and many transmission standards have been adapted to use them. They will be therefore cheaper to implement. But UTPs have the following disadvantages: a) They span a limited area of 100m or less. So repeaters will be required when offices expand to occupy several floors in a building. Having used UTPs to effectively link up devices within the LANs, Fibre optic cables will link up the LANs themselves.This part of the network will be implemented by the ISP. Fibre optics offers the following advantages: a) They have highest data speeds of up to 10Gbps b) They have immunity to electromagnetic interference because they carry data as light pulses and not electrical signal c) They transmit data over long distances without repeaters d) They are secure because they do not emit external signal Disadvantages of fibre optics: a) They are expensive b) They require special skill to install and maintain Networking components The networking devices that will be used include: a) Routers They will be positioned where the LANs connect to the ISP backbone network. They act as gateways between two networks. They also ensure that data is directed to the right destination and prevents it from going to where it is forbidden. This ensures or guarantees continuous network availability. b) Switches They will be used to connect computers, workstations, servers, and VoIP phones within the local area networks. They control which packets go to which devices to ensure efficient communication. They help realise sharing of public resources such as servers, and allow efficient access to shared data in the network. c) Repeaters In this case, they will be used by the ISP in the backbone network to regenerate optical signals. The repeaters will help maintain the signal integrity and ensure that data will safely travel over the long distances to where it is required. Part B Critical Analysis and Reflections Critical Analysis This network has been design with priority to Quality of Service and security. Classic Studios Limited will enjoy efficient coordination between the headquarters, marketing offices and the data centres. This improved coordination will bring along better service delivery and increased customer satisfaction which will consequently see the revenues of the company grow. At the headquarters where the developers reside, the network can be extended by applications that will enable the developers work remotely from home and still enjoy the services of the shared resources. On the other hand, this network will require strict monitoring and administration which may be expensive. Since the company’s products require real-time availability, any failure on the ISP side will drastically affect the business. This however can be solved by insuring the network against all possible risks so that the company can claim damages in case the network fails. Reflections The main lesson I have learnt in network design is that it is very important to understand the requirements of a network depending with the kind of problem we want to solve. Once the correct requirements are captured, a good design will lead to networks that function as expected, can be expanded easily, and that will be easy to maintain and manage. I have also learnt about the strengths and weaknesses of the different topologies which can be employed to implement networks. Reference Martin, M., 2000. Understanding the Network: The Networker's Guide to AppleTalk, IPX, and NetBIOS. Indianapolis: SAMS Publishing. Metcalfe, R.M. & Boggs, D.R., 2000. Ethernet: Distributed Packet Switching for Local Computer Networks. Palo Alto: Xerox Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center. Read More