ICT703 Network Technology and Management

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ICT703

Network Technology and Management

Assessment Task 2

Assessment and Submission Details

Marks 35% of the total assessment for the course

Due Date – Week 12, Friday 5pm (AEST)

Submission details

Please submit this assignment as a single MS Word document (.docx) via SafeAssign on Blackboard.

All assignments will be checked for plagiarism and/or collusion between individuals. Refer to your

course outline or the course Blackboard web site for a copy of the “Student Misconduct, Plagiarism

and Collusion” guidelines.

Refer to the assignment rubric on Blackboard for the marking criteria and standards. The

assignment will be marked out of a total of 100 marks.

Note: Each student MUST retain a copy of the assignment and this copy MUST be produced within

24 hours of it being requested by the Course Coordinator. Failure to produce the second copy of

the assignment when requested may result in loss of marks or a fail grade for the assignment.

Requests for an extension to an assignment MUST be made to the Course Coordinator prior to the

due date. Requests made on or after the due date will only be considered in exceptional

circumstances.

Notice: Parts of this assignment brief are adopted from the Cisco Networking Essentials course that

is copyright material. © 2017 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) is a Cisco Networking Academy.

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Background:

You have obtained a contract position at a medium-sized marketing and advertising firm called

Priority Advertising. Your contract responsibilities are to help them plan their emerging networking

and communications requirements and update some of their IT resources. Priority Advertising

currently hires 95 employees and operates from Level 10 and 11 on the X Tower in Brisbane CBD.

Priority Advertising has recently purchased a five-story building in a Brisbane suburb – see Fig. 1 for

the floor plan – where they can allocate a separate floor to each of their five departments, namely

(1) marketing, (2) advertising, (3) graphic design, (4) photography, and (5) HR and accounting.

They plan to move to their new office in a three-month period. Also, Priority Advertising’s list of

customers has greatly expanded to other cities, mainly Toowoomba where their customers in

Toowoomba are demanding more interactive advertising media, including video presentations.

The management recognizes the business potential in this new market in Toowoomba and have

leased a small office in Toowoomba (aka Priority Advertising’s sixth department) – see Fig. 2 for the

floor plan – to host 8 local employees.

They have hired you to review their existing IT resources and produce a proposal that allows the

company to take advantage of their firm’s expansion. The management has stated that if the

proposal meets their requirements, they may hire you full-time to implement and manage these

new resources.

Brisbane Office Floor Plan (five identical floors)

Figure 1: Brisbane Office Floor Plan (similar for all 5 floors)

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Toowoomba Office Floor Plan

Figure 2: Toowoomba Office Floor Plan

You now have an idea of the scope of the project that you have undertaken, but do not have all

information required to proceed. Using the details provided in the following sections you are

required to prepare a professional business report of 2500 words addressing the seven activities

identified below.

Part 1: Gather System Requirements.

Priority Advertising has provided a written summary containing floor plans for their Brisbane and

Toowoomba offices, and notes from a verbal interview with the management team. Gather as

much information as possible from these two sources to help you plan a technical solution for

Priority Advertising’s networking and communications requirements.

Step 1: Review available information.

Priority Advertising Information: Because Priority Advertising is a medium-sized enterprise, it has no

IT department. Everyone has taken care of their own resources in the Brisbane office. If they could

not fix the problem, they would call in an outside service technician. Currently, the machines are

connected together through fourteen (14) 10/100Mb switches (with 10 ports each). Employees

work with older PC tower computers with 2 Gb of memory, a 250 Gb hard drive, and 7 USB ports.

The processors are AMD Athlon 64 x2 dual core processor and a CD/DVD read/write drives.

Additionally, graphics production editors (team of 10 employees in Brisbane) utilize PCs with 8 GB

of memory and 500 Gb hard drive to run special editing software that uses very high-resolution

graphics.

The systems are all still running the Windows 7 operating system, and there is a low-capacity,

monochrome laser printer attached to each machine. These machines are not capable of running

the software application required for video development.

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The Toowoomba office will be operational soon, and additional employees will be hired to handle

the new video production work. The company will have the following employees at the

Toowoomba office:

Toowoomba Department Manager – Duties include scheduling work, hiring and

managing part-time workers, weekly payroll, and project tracking. The administrative

manager uses spreadsheet and database software and must be able to use email.

Film Production Editor – Requires special editing software that uses very high-resolution

graphics and requires at least 16 GB of memory to run effectively. The software also

interfaces with a video capture interface board that uses PCIex16 slot in the computer. This

specialized software only works in a Windows 10 environment. It is important that the

computer purchased for this position supports high-resolution video and has enough

memory to enable the editor to work quickly. The production editor produces the final

copies of the films and works within very tight deadlines. The editor must also be able to

use email.

Film Crew – The other six employees are mobile workers, consisting of two production

assistants, two camera people, a production manager, and a film director. They are in the

Toowoomba office an average of two days per week. The rest of the time is spent either at

customer sites or on film locations.

Because all the mobile workers are required to have access to email and production

schedules, both at the office and while on location, it is important for them to be able to

connect to the main office from anywhere. They have no special software requirements,

but they do need a large hard drive to store the film files while they are working on them.

The mobile workers must work at various locations and may not always be able to plug

into a data port. It is important that they are able to connect to the internal network

wirelessly.

Because of the sensitive nature of some of the documents and records required by the managers

of all six departments, private color laser printers must be installed in the managers’ offices in both

Brisbane and Toowoomba. Combination copiers/printers and high-resolution scanners must also

be purchased and shared among all employees.

For the purposes of training and compatibility, all the computers should use the same operating

system and applications, if possible.

Step 2: Interview with the Management.

Below are the notes collected during an interview session with the management team.

• Priority Advertising employees need access to email, which they currently get from their ISP.

The email system that the ISP provide uses a web client that Priority Advertising employees

can access over the Internet. Priority Advertising employees are also able to access this

email from their home computers.

• Priority Advertising want to be able to internally set up email accounts for employees to use

while they are working with them. Any maintenance work such as Hardware or Software upgrades to the email server must not interrupt access to files.

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• It is necessary for managers and employees to share files between themselves. These files

are usually spreadsheets and documents, but sometimes, they must send large film files

back and forth between the mobile workers and the office. Files must be available for

download during the day, and also at night, when employees are away from the office.

These film files are usually between 5 GB and 20 GB in size.

• The management wants some project files to be kept securely and backed up regularly in

the Brisbane office building and can be accessed and shared only by the department

managers from both office locations. Any maintenance work such as Hardware or

Software upgrades to the file server must not interrupt access to files.

• Color printers that are also capable of making copies are required for each workspace, i.e.,

one on each floor of the new Brisbane office and one in the Toowoomba office. Because

the printers are expensive, it is necessary for everyone to be able to print to it when they

are in the office. Some of the storyboard documents are over 100 pages, with lots of

graphics.

• Wireless internet access should be made available in all six departments.

• In response to the Priority Advertising’s enquiries regarding their IPv4 needs, their ISP has

advised that Priority Advertising can continue using their current block of public IPv4

addresses, that is 194.32.9.160/28.

• Each department should maintain an individual network, while all the departments and

the Toowoomba office should be able to communicate with each other, and any

necessary internal server(s), and access the Internet. Network management protocols must

be deployed to make identification and management of network devices easy and

convenient.

Step 3: Select the appropriate equipment and services.

After you have gathered all the appropriate information, it is time to do some research. You must

now use your knowledge and research skills to propose an appropriate technical solution for their

limited budget and time requirements. Proposing a solution that is beyond the financial capabilities

of the company is of no benefit. However, it can be helpful to propose a solution within the

current budget, and offer suggestions that would improve network performance or productivity if

additional funding becomes available. If you can justify these extra expenditures, the company may

consider them for later implementation or may even find the extra funding needed.

When developing a plan, it is often easier to start at the end user and then work back toward the

network and any shared resources, and then finally, any external connections to the Internet or

other networks. Many different forms have been developed to help with planning and equipment

selection. It is a good idea to use one of these forms or to design your own to keep everything

organized.

Activity 1

Propose a computer system for each of the specific uses, i.e., general use, graphics production and

film production. Search the Internet or local sources for availability and pricing information.

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Activity 2

Use the following form to propose a server that can support their email and FTP requirements.

Server Planning Form

Location:

Component Recommendation

Processor: (Manufacturer, Model, Speed)

Memory: (Type, Amount)

Hard Drive: (Type, Capacity)

CD-ROM/DVD: (Read, Read/Write, Speed)

USB Ports: (Number, Location)

Video Card: (Manufacturer, Model, Video RAM)

Sound Card: (Manufacturer, Model)

Modem: (Internal/External, Speed, Standard)

Network Card(s): (Ethernet: speed, Wireless, Standard)

Operating System: (Manufacturer, Version, Compatibility)

Monitor: (Size, Resolution, Refresh Rate)

Printer: (Manufacturer, Model, Type, Speed)

Speakers: (Manufacturer, Model, Type)

Internet Connection: (USB, Ethernet, Wireless)

Activity 3

Develop and demonstrate a complete network layout plan for Priority Advertising requirements.

Because the company has limited funds available for this project, it is important that where possible

only equipment designed for the small business and home markets be used.

Activity 4

After the end-user systems and network layout have been selected, it is time to look at the

workflow and decide on any shared components and network technology to support this

workflow. This can include such things as shared printers, scanners, and storage as well as any

firewalls, routers, switches, access points and integrated service routers. When planning a network

infrastructure, always plan into the future. For larger companies, because it is usually a substantial

investment, the infrastructure should have a lifetime of about 10 years. For smaller companies and

home users, the investment is significantly less and change occurs more frequently.

Using the Internet and locally available resources, research available high-speed color

copiers/printers/scanners, access points, switches and routers that are suitable for the Priority

Advertising offices. In your report include a write-up for at least two devices of each equipment

type and provide supporting details to justify your selection. Included in the write-up should be a

description of the device, including the manufacturer, the model, the seller, the cost, and a brief

summary of the manufacturer specifications.

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Activity 5

It is necessary to plan the Internet connectivity, and which services are provided by the ISP and

which services must be provided in-house. Larger companies usually provide services in-house,

while small businesses and individuals normally rely on an ISP to provide these services. Most ISPs

offer a variety of services and service levels.

In your report include the specifics of internal services (networking and security) that must be

offered by Priority Advertising, and the devices and protocols that provide these services. Provide supporting details to justify your answer.

Part 2: Plan the installation.

After the equipment has been selected and the required services planned, the physical and logical

installation is planned out. Physical installation includes the location of equipment and devices,

along with how and when these devices are to be installed. In the business environment, it is

important to minimize disruption of the normal work processes. Therefore, most installations,

changes, and upgrades are done during hours when there is minimal business activity. Physical

installation should also consider such things as adequate power outlets and ventilation, as well as

the location of any necessary data drops. Planning for physical installation is out of the scope of this

assignment.

Equally as important as planning the physical layout of the network and equipment is planning the

logical layout. This includes such things as subnetting, addressing, naming, data flow, and security

measures. Servers and some network devices are assigned static IP addresses to allow them to be

easily identified on the network and to also provide a mechanism for controlling access to these

devices. Most other devices can be assigned addresses using DHCP. Note that both a server and its

backup server must be accessed via the same public IP address.

Activity 6

Devise subnetting and addressing schemes for Priority Advertising. The schemes must provide

servers and some other network devices (where necessary) with a static address and allow all other

hosts to be configured via DHCP. Identify and list the details of all internal and external subnets and

the ranges of useable IP addresses (and default gateways) for DHCP within each internal subnet,

and also assign an appropriate IP address (and default gateways) to network devices that should

use a static IP address.

Use the following tables to report the required setups for subnetting and addressing.

Table 1: Subnetting Table (to be used for all Priority Advertising internal and external subnets)

Subnet Network Address

Subnet Mask

First Usable IP Address

Last Usable IP Address

Broadcast Address

.

.

.

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Table 2: Addressing Table (to be used for all devices/interfaces with static IP addresses)

Device Interface* IP Address Subnet Mask Default Gateway^

.

.

.

*Can be NIC, Serial, FastEthernet, etc.

^ Use N/A for routers.

Note: Show all your workings for subnetting in an appendix.

Activity 7

Priority Advertising is concerned that their files and resources may be vulnerable through the wired

or wireless networks. Explain how the use of public and private IP addresses together may address

this concern and provide a security plan that allows only Priority Advertising employees to connect

to the network and gain access to company information and resources.

Part 3: Prepare and present the proposal.

All gathered information and the proposed technical solution must be assembled into a format

that makes sense to the company who has asked you to provide a solution. The formal report

usually contains many different sections, including:

• Title page

• Executive Summary

• Tables of Contents, Figures and Tables

• Introduction

• Project proposal, comprising needs statement, goals and objectives, methodology and

timetable, technical solutions and evaluation, budget summary, and future plans.

• Recommendations and Conclusions

• Bibliography and List of Refences

• Appended information

The report is often presented to various groups for approval. When presenting the report, present

it in a confident, professional, and enthusiastic manner. The report must be technically accurate

and free from spelling and grammatical errors.

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Assignment Requirements and deliverables

You are to prepare a formal proposal report for Priority Advertising that includes all the

components listed above by detailing the equipment, management and security requirements for

the above case study and justifying suitable technologies to enhance the business’s

communications and networking within and outside the organisation. Be sure to include all cost

information and network diagrams.

The report must be written in Microsoft Word. Multiple files will not be accepted.

Report Structure: The report must be formatted using the following guidelines:

• Paragraph text: Use 11-point Calibri single line spacing

• Headings: Use Arial in an appropriate type size

• Margins: 2.0cm on all margins

• Header: Report title

• Footer: Page numbering – up to and including the Table of Contents use roman numerals

(i, ii, iii, iv), restart numbering using conventional numerals (1, 2, 3, 4) from the first page

after the Table of Contents.

• Title Page must not contain headers or footers

• The report is to be structured as a formal business report.

• Refer to the following references for details on report structures: Summers, J., Smith, B.

(2014), Communications Skills Handbook, 4th Ed., Wiley, Australia

Referencing: The report is to include appropriate references and these references should follow the

Harvard method of referencing. Note that ALL references should be from journal articles,

conference papers, technical papers, recognized experts in the field or vendors’ and service

providers’ websites.