Problem
1. Potential Errors: In this section, you will discuss common network errors and how your proposed solution will minimize and address these issues.
a. Based on your previous report, anticipate common network errors that the new location may encounter.
b. Describe effective troubleshooting approaches to the errors you identified, such as problem isolation, trace routing, and pinging.
c. Explain how these approaches would ensure the resolution of the errors. Be sure your response is specific to the business location.
2. Additional Considerations: In this section, you will make recommendations for industry standard documentation for ongoing network support.
a. Identify options for network monitoring that includes maintenance for network hardware and software (for example, port scanning, interface monitoring, packet flow monitoring, etc.).
b. Identify patch management options that will help acquire, test, and install multiple patches on existing applications.
c. Describe how you will control inventory, including how to discover and track assets on your network.
Scenario
Throughout this course, you have been writing various reports as parts of Milestones One and Two for an advertising firm that is opening a new office in Fayetteville, NC.
This mid-size advertising firm already has offices in Albany, NY, and Springfield, MA. The Albany headquarters is home to the executive team and 150 employees. The headquarters also stores the corporate data and is the corporate internet backbone. It hosts the IT department that centrally manages all LAN services, including the wireless LAN. The IT department also manages the wide area network (WAN) that connects the two offices via site-to-site virtual private network (VPN) tunnels. The Springfield office hosts about 50 employees. Approximately 50% of these employees are mobile, defined as traveling more than 80% of the time.
To hire and retain the best talent, the firm allows employees to work from home. This removes the constraint that employees have to live within commuting distance from the firm's offices. Remote and mobile employees are provided access to the corporate network via a VPN client. The VPN client requires employees to have access to reliable internet services to allow for effective collaboration across teams and for access to media content. The company provides all employees with a laptop with full disk encryption, data loss prevention (DLP), and antivirus software. The IT department manages all corporate laptops and has the ability to log into all systems for support. This means that all laptops are centrally managed by the one IT department.
Due to an increase in opportunities for expansion to new markets, the firm has embarked on an initiative to hire and train new college graduates for the company's Future Vision program. Future Vision focuses on expansion beyond the regional northeast footprint. The initiative is to hire graduates into the marketing, finance, and IT departments. You were hired as part of the Future Vision program and have been working at this for some time now. You have spent a considerable portion of your time troubleshooting and analyzing the organization's computer network to keep it running smoothly. Your direct supervisor and lead network administrator have been very impressed with your skills and fast learning abilities.
To determine whether you are ready to take on more responsibility, you have been asked for your input regarding the new Fayetteville, NC, office setup project. Your task is to conduct research on this area and deliver a report to the team with key considerations and recommendations for the setup of the network infrastructure. The Fayetteville office will be home to 50 employees, including the new executive vice president of sales and marketing. All the possible sites have offices located in an office building with access to fiber, cable, and T1 internet service providers. In addition to the standard network, the site must support live video teleconferencing calls with employees based at the other sites. It must also reliably send print jobs to billboard printers located in the company headquarters in Albany.
My Paper
When designing a network for a new location, the first step is to determine the workplace requirements. This includes finding out how many users will be on the network, what services and applications will be used, and the anticipated rate of network expansion. The next stage is to design the network based on these requirements. The network should be able to interface with the current network and be tailored to the specific needs of the new office. Redundancy and scalability should be built into the network design to prevent single points of failure and to accommodate future growth. Prior to putting the network into operation, it is important to test it to ensure that there are no problems and that the network is functioning properly.
Some key considerations for meeting the organization's needs and supporting business goals and objectives include the number of users, the type of services and applications being used, the need for dependability and accessibility, the prevention of unauthorized access, scalability, ease of operation and maintenance, compatibility with the current infrastructure, and the ability to support long-term goals.
The appropriate communications media for the new network would be copper wire or optical fiber, and the recommended data transfer method would be Ethernet.
The common network hardware components for this new location would include routers, switches, and networking cables.
Important IP range considerations for a company of this size include ensuring that each office has its own distinct IP range and that there is enough overlap between the two ranges to allow devices in each office to communicate with each other.
LAN topologies that could be used at the new location to support the desired architecture include a hub-and-spoke topology, a mesh topology, or a star topology.
The identified LAN topology possibilities are compared based on their relative strengths and weaknesses regarding support practices. A single, flat LAN is easy to set up and operate but is susceptible to a single point of failure. A dual redundant LAN is more robust but more difficult to administer. A meshed LAN is the most durable but also the most complex.
The appropriate LAN topology for this location is a star topology. This topology allows each office to connect to the main server in the Albany office and have its own dedicated server. This provides the Springfield office with access to the same information and software as the Albany office while maintaining its autonomy.
The most appropriate internet service provider for the new location is DSL. This is because it offers high speed, security, and reliability.
The hardware and software solutions that should be used to meet the needs of the new office location include a printer configuration solution and a bandwidth and device solution. The printer configuration solution should be able to meet the distance printing needs of the new office location. The bandwidth and device solution should be able to meet the teleconferencing needs of the new office location.
The most appropriate printer configuration solution for this location is an online printer. This is because it can better serve most businesses and work environments today.
The most appropriate bandwidth and device solution for this location is a video conferencing solution. This is because it can provide the best possible video conferencing quality.
In view of the examination, the main contemplations for recognizing a web access supplier for the new area are accessibility, speed, unwavering quality, and security. DSL is the proper internet service for this area since it is a fixed wireline broadband web that utilizations existing copper phone lines to send information. DSL became the earliest accessible broadband association after the dial-up time in the last part of the 1990s. Download speeds from 1 to 500 Mbps, Upload speeds from 384 Kbps to 8 Mbps, Prices from $20 to $300 each month.
The equipment and programming answers for address the issues of the new office area are an organization printer and a video chatting arrangement. The organization printer will give adaptability and proficiency to all office representatives, and the remotely coordinating arrangement will consider live video remotely coordinating calls with workers based at different locales.
The transmission capacity and gadget answer for meet the video chatting requirements of the new office area is a remotely coordinating arrangement with a transfer speed of 1 to 500 Mbps.