Case Study II: Secure the Network

Running head: NETWORK DESIGN 1

NETWORK DESIGN 7

Network Design

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Local Area Networks

Project Overview

The aim of the project is to design the appropriate computer network for a dental office within the neighborhood. The computer network design is set to meet the current and future IT needs of the two dentists owning the place, their staff, and their clients. This project recognizes that the stakeholders involved desire a robust, fast, reliable, flexible, and secure computer network at an affordable cost. The network design would ensure that there is access to shared resources like printers and servers. The design of the dentist office's computer network will ensure that there would be an efficient process of storing, retrieving, manipulating, and sharing of client information and other medical information.

Computer Hardware

The computer hardware present in the network includes a router, switch, two printers, 6 desktop computers, a server computer and a wireless router.

Printer Overview

There are two printers in the facility. One of the printers is at the reception office and is not available for sharing. The other printer however, is available for sharing. The shared printer is connected to the switch where other users in the network could request for it through the switch. The printers model is HP LaserJet Pro MFPM22fdw. Its print speed is 28ppm and the paper capacity is up to 300 sheets.

Network Design

The network design is the star physical topology. Every device on the network is connected to a central point which is the switch. Each device on the network is connected to the switch via the CAT6 Ethernet cable. The two laptops are however connected to the switch via a wireless router. The switch is then connected to the internet via an external router. A switch is ideal for this network design because it eliminates codations. With the absence of codations, the network is fast and efficient. The star physical topology also makes the network fault tolerant, thereby reducing any chances of the entire network shutting down in case one device goes down.

IP Addresses

The IP address used in the network design is IPv6. All the devices in the network, except the external router connecting the local area network to the internet has private IP addresses ranging from 192.168.20.3 to192.168.20.30. Each device on the network has its own IP address except for the unshared printer. The two laptops have no static IP address since they get assigned at random by the wireless router. The wireless router acts as the DHCP server. The IP address for the external router is 176.30.12.15.

Pricing Information

The printers cost $537.80 while all the computers cost $300.00 each and the laptops $500.00 each. The total cost for the Ethernet cables was $100.00. The cost of the router and the switch was $60.00 and $300.00 respectively. The labor costs was $1000.00.

Network Design Diagram

Reference

Wu, C. H. J., & Irwin, J. D. (2016). Introduction to computer networks and cybersecurity. CRC Press.