Assignment 2: Network Upgrade

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Assignment 2: Network Upgrade

Due Week 4 and worth 100 points 

Imagine that you are the administrator for a small accounting company, which currently employees 200 people. The CEO announces a merger that would double the number employees to 400. Your current network design is as follows: 

• 200 host machines running Windows 8 with 10/100 auto sensing NIC
• 9 Cisco Catalyst 2960 Switches (100 Mb)
• 1 Cisco Catalyst 2960 Switch as the Core Switch
• 1 Cisco 2651XM Router with T1 module for Internet/WAN
• Category 5 Ethernet cabling 
• Class C network address (supporting 254 addresses)

Write a two to three (2-3) page proposal in which you:

1. Recommend one (1) strategy to upgrade the company’s current infrastructure to support the new / additional employees.
2. Recommend one (1) strategy to create a high-performance network.
3. Recommend one (1) new network address that will allow you to scale your network in the event of additional mergers which (assume double the number of users again). 
4. Design the new addressing scheme for the network through the use of graphical tools in Microsoft Visio or an open source alternative such as Dia. Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the required page length.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
• Include charts or diagrams created in Visio or an equivalent such as Dia. The completed diagrams / charts must be imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Summarize the basic components and media of network systems and distinguish between Local Area Networks (LANs), Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), and Wide Area Networks (WANs).
• Compare, contrast, create, and assign IP addresses to Class A, B, C, D, and E networks. 
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in Internetworking. 
• Write clearly and concisely about basic internetworking using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Click here to view the grading rubric.