NETWORK CONFIGURATION, MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT - NETWORK MANAGEMENT
602- Network Configuration, Management and Performance
Outcomes for Network Management Project (602) -
- Apply specialised knowledge of networking protocols and technologies to configure, maintain and monitor networks.
- Analyse networking performance scenarios and recommend remedial actions to maintain acceptable organisation service levels.
Learning Outcome(s) for Network Management Project (602) -
1. Determine business and technical needs to design, configure, maintain and monitor an organisational network.
2. Apply networking protocols and technologies to configure, maintain and monitor an organisational network.
3. Evaluate network performance using different network management technologies, tools and techniques. Range: Network Management Systems, Protocol Analyser, NetFlow
4. Analyse networking performance scenarios and recommend remedial actions to maintain acceptable organisation service levels.
Project Aim -
In this project, students first analyse and evaluate the network performance of an organizational network. This exercise enables students to recognise the strengths of different network management technologies and tools. Students present their findings in an analysis report.
Each student then applies their analysis to design an organisational network using their specialised knowledge of networking protocols and technologies. The design is simulated in a realistic scenario using a simulation software model. Based on the performance analysis of the simulated model, the network is enhanced and maintained for different levels of traffic.
The student is required to submit a design and simulation report to demonstrate the successful design, configuration, maintenance and monitoring of the proposed organisational network.
Assignment Type: Simulation Project
Assignment Title: Network Management Project
Requirements Summary - The project is divided into two main phases:
1. Network Analysis
a. Students will complete Network analysis on the Abacus Lab.
b. The Abacus Lab network is to be analysed using Wireshark
c. The analysis results are to be documented in a report for evaluation (details of the report below)
2. Network Design, Configuration and Maintenance
a. Simulate the Abacus Lab network
b. Update the simulated network from the results of the student's network analysis
Phase 1: Network Analysis
This phase is the analysis of Abacus Lab's existing network, using Wireshark. This networking tool provides all the features required and fulfils the main objective criteria for network analysis. The goal is not only to become familiar with Wireshark's features; it is also to understand the core networking concepts arising from the analysis.
The network analysis results are to be submitted in a report entitled "Network Stats Summary Report ". Details of the report content and network analysis process are provided below.
The system documentation and help links are provided in "Appendix A" for this phase.
Network Statistic Report -
This report is to document the Abacus Lab network analysis statistics, in a presentable way. Wireshark is to be used to analyse the network statistics and to provide visual proofs of the analysis performed and the results of the analysis are to be included as evidence. The main report is to be structured as per the sections below. The system documentation and steps to be followed are listed under the Appendix, (where appropriate).
Required: Complete each section as described below
Section 1: Introduction
The introduction must outline:
- An overview of the organization and statistics of the network being analysed
- The purpose of this report
- The scope of this report
- Who the report was prepared for
Introduce the network status analysed for Abacus network in this section. The details of each parameter/statistic are not required. However, a short introduction of each network test performed should be included. The report should include analysis of the following network statistics:
1. Capture Network Traffic : capture network traffic in real time
2. Protocol analysis: determine different networking protocols being used for inter network and intra network communications and list all different networking protocols being used
3. Packet analysis : dig down into packet details for each network protocol captured from protocol analysis and identify problematic packets
Section 2: Method
The method section must outline:
- The methods of analysis being used
- The specific tests and tools being used
- Any assumptions used in the tests
- Any limitations of the analysis
Section 3: Findings (Network Statistics)
Set up Wireshark to analyse the Abacus Lab network and record the network statistics. This section's aim is to capture the network statistics for performance analysis. The network statistics to be captured and included in the report are listed below.
Note: The Wireshark documentation for capturing network statistics is included in "Appendix A"
Section 3.1: Network Traffic
Wireshark is used to capture real time network traffic for the Abacus Lab. The purpose is to explore different ways to capture traffic in Wireshark and save network traffic snapshots. This section should include documentation of different network traffic capture options and including visuals of network traffic captured. An analysis of the captured traffic is not required in this section.
This section should include snapshots of real network data/packets including:
- Dump files
- Screenshots/pictures of Wireshark capturing data packets
Section 3.2: Protocol Analysis
In this section, Wireshark should be used to analyse different network protocols on the Abacus lab network. This is a detailed analysis of the traffic snapshots captured in section 3.1 (as network dump files).
The network traffic of the Abacus Lab (as captured in real time) should be analysed in Wireshark by exploring different packets of data and filtering on the types of network protocols used. Five different snapshots of network data should be captured and analysed to answer the following questions for each snapshot:
1. How many different network protocols are visible / available in a snapshot?
2. How many packets of data are captured for each network protocol?
3. Which network protocol has the maximum number of packets received?
4. What is the frequency of data packets received for each protocol?
Wireshark colour coding is to be utilized to capture different network protocols with different colours.
The visuals of the real-time network traffic and protocols, as visible in Wireshark, should be included in this section as proof of analysis.
Section 3.3: Network Packet Analysis
In this section, you will analyse the data packets deeper and analyse different parts of information in the packet. The snapshots of traffic data (as captured in section 3.2) should be opened in Wireshark and analysed at a packet level. Three network packets of each type of protocol should be analysed to answer the following questions:
1. What is the main format of the data packet? (Hint: the network protocol knowledge should be used)
2. How much data is being transferred in the packet? (Hint: the body of network packet)
3. What type of checksums is included in the data packet?
4. Is the packet complete or does it have missing/lost information? (Hint: checksum theory should be used)
5. Is the information contained in each pack encrypted or not?
The packet analysis should be supported by providing screenshots from Wireshark to show how the packet analysis was performed. If the answer to any question cannot be found, the reason for the limitation should be noted.
Section 4: Analysis Summary
This section summarizes your findings from section 3 on the network. Describe the results from the network traffic and packet analysis (above) in an objective way (i.e. the major network protocol in the Abacus Lab's network is X with Y number of packets being transferred /minute). Try to add as many objective statistics as you can from in the analysis in section 3.
Section 5: Conclusion
This section presents your conclusion on the traffic analysis of the Abacus lab's network. You must identify the issues you have found and describe the level of improvement that could be made. The conclusion should be an extension of the analysis summary including a discussion of the pros and cons of the current network (i.e. description of packet loss is a conclusion). The major parameters to address in the conclusion include:
- Network throughput (number of packets transferred per 30 seconds)
- Packet/Data Loss Identification
- Data Security (is the data encrypted)
Section 6: Recommendations
This section is to recommend improvements to the Abacus Lab network based on the statistics captured in sections 3 and 4. The recommendations must address improvements in the network performance and data security. All the recommendations provided in this section will need to be simulated as part of Abacus Lab simulation in phase 2. This section must contain:
- Three recommendations; one of which (at a minimum) is for the improvement of network performance and data security.
- Each recommendation must refer to items or statistics from the network analysis and utilize the theoretical knowledge of network protocols and topologies.
Phase 2: Network Design, Configuration and Maintenance
This phase utilizes the theoretical knowledge of networks and simulates the Abacus Lab network in Psimulator2. The network analysis statistics from Phase 1 are used as a baseline to simulate the Abacus Lab network. The intention in this phase is NOT to simulate each and every part of the existing Abacus Lab network. Instead, the intention is to define the network (i.e. a sub-network of the Abacus Lab) and then to simulate the network. The simulation process must cover all the subject areas of Network Design, Configuration and Maintenance.
The outcome of this phase is to improve the simulated Abacus Lab network applying the recommendations from Phase 1 (i.e. The results from the Abacus Lab analysis). All the configuration changes on the network and analysis are to be performed on the simulated Abacus Lab network and not on the actual Abacus Lab network.
The system documentation required and help links are provided in "Appendix B" for this phase.
Network Simulation Report
The details of the network simulation are to be presented in report format. The sections required are outlined below.
Required: Complete each section as described below
Section 1: Introduction
The introduction must outline:
- An overview of the organization and statistics of the network being analysed
- The purpose of this report
- The scope of this report
- Who the report was prepared for
Note: This report is for the Abacus Lab network, although the simulation will provide understanding of how the Abacus Lab's network will perform if the improvements are made.
Section 2: Method (Simulation Network Details)
The method section must outline:
- The methods of simulation being used
- The specific tools being used
- Any assumptions used in the simulation
- Any limitations of the simulation
Section 3: Network Design
This section includes the details of the Abacus Lab network or part of network lab network to be simulated. This section should provide a basic diagram of the network to be simulated. The network diagram should be made in Visio. The network diagram does not need to be detailed at the network protocol level or be tool specific, at this stage. The network must contain the following:
- The number of computers connected in the network
- Any switches/hubs on the network
- Connections between the computers
- Communication protocols used between computers
Section 3.1: Network Topology
This section describes the network topology of the simulated Abacus lab network. The best approach is to simulate the actual network topology of Abacus Lab network. If the topology of the network cannot be determined, Star Topology should be used for simulation. This section should provide details of the network topology and possible challenges for using the topology in the network design paradigm (i.e. positives and negatives of the network topology).
Section 3.2: Network Nodes
This section should provide details of the network nodes connected through the network topology of the simulated Abacus Lab network. Each network node connected in the network should be described with the following details:
- Node name/Label (i.e. name of the network node)
- Operating System installed on the network node
- Network communication protocol used by the node
- Hardware/External devices connected to the node
Section 3.3: Internal Network Interfaces
Define and describe the internal network interfaces for the simulated Abacus Lab network in this section. All the points of interconnection between nodes are to be defined using a network interface. If multiple network interfaces are being simulated, each interface is to be labelled for identification. Capture and document the following details:
- Network interface name /label
- Internet Protocol
- IP Addresses assigned to the interface
- DNS Server address
You do not need to simulate the External network interface for this network simulation.
Section 3.4: Ethernet links
This section defines the cable/ethernet links between different nodes of the simulated Abacus Lab network. Any routers/interfaces used to connect the nodes are to be defined for each section. Every connection between the nodes to be simulated should be listed and the following details should be recorded for each connection:
- Connection is between which nodes?
- Any interface/routers between the nodes
Section 4: Network Simulation Process
This section documents the process of the simulated Abacus Lab network, as defined above. Each detail captured for the network simulation in section 3 and all of its sub-sections are to be simulated in Psimulator2. The screenshots of the network simulation process are to be included in this section. This section is to capture all the practical work done on the tool itself for simulation of the network without focusing on the analysis of the network or details of the network itself.
The system documentation is provided in Appendix B for this section and all its sub-sections.
Section 5: Simulated Network Analysis
This section captures the details of the simulated network in real time, using Wireshark. The network analysis in this case does not need to be as detailed as in Phase 1. However, the following details of the simulated network should be captured with screenshots:
- How many different network protocols are visible / available in a snapshot?
- How many packets of data are captured for each network protocol?
- Which network protocol has the maximum number of packets received?
- What is the frequency of data packets received for each protocol?
Section 6: Network Performance Improvements
This section documents the process of simulating the recommendations of the network improvements from Phase 1. Even if the recommendations from the Network Analysis phase 1 cannot be simulated, some performance improvements should be applied to the simulated network. At least two main performance issues should be resolved by changing network configurations on interfaces or modifying network topology or adding/removal of network components.
The details of what is included in this section depends on the type of improvement. The main goal is to focus on improving at least a couple of things and providing proof of improvement afterwards from the captured traffic in Wireshark.
Section 7: Conclusion
This section summarizes the output of the network simulation exercise. The focus is not to duplicate the details from above sections. Instead, this should document the outcome of the exercise and what has been learnt. Any limitations and challenges faced during the simulation process should be included in the conclusion. Be concrete and objective in your conclusion instead of being too subjective or theoretical.
Attachment:- Assignment File.rar