Second Draft Week 5 network design (first draft attached )

Running Head: NETWORK DESIGN PLAN

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NETWORK DESIGN PLAN

Network Design and Management

Introduction

The design of a network is a complete overview of the computer network devices, selected topography, network component interfacing and other specifications required to meet the network requirements for a particular group of users. The selected topic on designing a network design for a law firm involves description of a network to support 100 employees’ communication spread out on two floors of a story building. Currently, the organization is using a Windows 7 platform for its devices with an implementation of MS Office 2010 products. Though this network is supportive of the communication requirements, there is need to have a scalable network due to the anticipation of future expansion of the company. The network will have to support operations like sending emails, bookkeeping, running payroll applications, Internet services, creating and sharing legal documents, and calendaring (Ivanov, 2010). This research paper will document all the network requirements, scope and objectives to develop an effective network plan for the law firm’s network.

Project Scope

The project will implement various aspects of a network starting from the analysis of the network, to design, proposal and implement a new computer network. The following are items in the project scope:

Analysis of the current computer network: this scope item will include a detailed study of the current system with an aim of discovering various limitations of the current network. The scope also involves considering the business requirements and studying the business workflow to help determine the interactions between various network components (Agyapong, Iwamura, Staehle, Kiess, & Benjebbour, 2014). Lastly, the network design will analyze the current network to determine the difficulties and issues that deter the administration and other staff members from accessing the network resources efficiently.

Proposal of a new network design: the project team members will analyze the identified issues and difficulties to propose a new network design that will also be in accordance with the identified workflows. Under this scope item, the following items will be handled:

· Introducing a Virtual Private Network to the organization to help secure the communication through a public network or the internet.

· Securing the network by implementing a layered security, security network devices and protocols.

· Provision of a wireless network to allow access of remote workers to the network resources.

· Provision of a dynamic addressing through implementation of a DHCP and other sub netting techniques.

· Design of a network maintenance and backup plan

System documentation: this is the last scope item where the project team will document the project in terms of a detailed project charter, network configuration, network design and architecture, budget and cost analysis (Ivanov, 2010).

The project will consider the following out-scope elements: training the employees on the network design, practical network design implementation, video conferencing and voice calling design, real-time data collection, database design and implementation of database management system.

Project Goals

To establish a reliable communication link between the two floors of the building through a computer network: the project aims at providing a reliable computer network that will cover the two stories of the building by implementing both the wired and wireless technology.

To establish a collaborative communication through file sharing, emails, payrolls and calendars. The project will ensure the project design implements network collaboration techniques like scheduling techniques, internet browsing, bookkeeping, sharing and creating various legal documents, and emailing. These are the core business operations hence the network should strive to meet these needs (Aydın, Zaim, & Ceylan, 2009).

To provide a wireless access to network resources: employees will bring their own devices and access to the network even from their homes. The network should have network access points for wireless devices thus allowing the users to share information, create legal documents and perform other tasks while working from offices for remote clients. However, the network will implement 802.11 authentication standards to regulate the access in an aim to ensure secure wireless access.

To achieve network security through various techniques like a Virtual Private Network, firewalls, and network intrusion detectors. The network should be secure to avoid loss of data, intrusions, and authorized access and manipulation of network data. Additionally, the project aims at protect business data in the internal network to avoid confidentiality, integrity and availability of information issues.

To establish a disaster and business recovery plan. Various events can lead to destruction of the network infrastructure. Events like earthquakes, fire, floods, power blackouts, tornadoes and storms can destroy the entire infrastructure of the law firm leading to downtime. The project aims at reducing this downtime and preventing loss of business due to unusable computer network. Therefore, the network will have a backup server and other backup plans.

Network Requirements

The current network is assumed to have a bus topology, no backup server, and minimum implementation of security controls. Therefore, the network requirements for this case will be as follows:

Need for employees and the administration to access the network resources: the major need of this network is to have the entire 100 employee connected and communicating through the network. Additionally, the network needs to allow access to internet services, emails and other collaborative platforms. Therefore, this calls for a complete and comprehensive network to address the connectivity issues since the current network is not effective for communication (Seddigh et al., 2015).

Need for network scalability: the law firm is a small firm that is currently experiencing a growth phase and will even expand more in the new future to accommodate more users and network resources. The law firm requires a network that is flexible and easily scalable. The network should be easy to expand without redesigning it or have a complete redevelopment. This will save on costs of network hence increasing the Return on Investment (Agyapong et al., 2014).

Security requirement: this requirement involves implementation of various techniques like a Virtual Private Network, firewalls, and network intrusion detectors. The network should be secure to avoid loss of data, intrusions, and authorized access and manipulation of network data. The network should allow the administration to access business data, historical data and employee data through the network without loss of confidentiality and privacy.

Compliance with policy, environmental, social, and ethical regulations: this is a non-functional requirement. The network needs to ensure consideration of environmental issues like pollution. The network devices should be eco-friendly. Additionally, there is need to implement rules and integrate with the network to ensure appropriate use of network resources. The network also needs to meet various regulations including the federal and state information regulations (Ivanov, 2010).

References

Agyapong, P. K., Iwamura, M., Staehle, D., Kiess, W., & Benjebbour, A. (2014). Design considerations for a 5G network architecture. IEEE Communications Magazine, 52(11), 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2014.6957145

Aydın, M. A., Zaim, A. H., & Ceylan, K. G. (2009). A hybrid intrusion detection system design for computer network security. Computers & Electrical Engineering, 35(3), 517–526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compeleceng.2008.12.005

Ivanov, D. (2010). Computer network for a company with remote branch offices. Linnaes University, 1–70.

Seddigh, A., Stenfors, C., Berntsson, E., B????th, R., Sikstr??m, S., & Westerlund, H. (2015). The association between office design and performance on demanding cognitive tasks. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 42, 172–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.05.001