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IT-640-Q2781: Assignment 5-3
SNHU
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A high-level overview of SNHUEnergy’s network architecture has been presented
here. The various kinds of physical network devices that are used in the organizational
setting for the purpose of connecting all the devices across the entity have been captured
(Greenberg et al., 2016). The thorough evaluation of the traffic patterns has been carried
out to capture the critical elements of the business undertaking. The potential
performance concerns and security concerns that might arise in the present network of
the business undertaking have been presented here. The changes in the network
architecture would help SNHUEnergy to strengthen and simplify its business activities.
Types of physical network devices
In a network, there exist a number of network devices which connect all the
equipment and devices in the wide organizational setting. The main network devices that
make it possible for SNHUEnergy to operate in the dynamic market setting include
hubs, routers, switches, servers and firewall. Each of these devices performs their
respective functions which enhance the technical aspects of the organization. e e
➢ Personal Computers – It is the main device that is used by the clients of any
server to access any information and execute an application that has been
provided by the server.
➢ Hubs – They exist at the very end of the networking food chain. Their utility is
extremely important in the case of SNHUEnergy as they can be joined together
for the purpose of creating larger networks. These simple instruments direct data
packets to all the devices that have been connected to the hub (Networking
Devices, 2019, p 2).
➢ Routers – In the network of the organization, the routers are used to create larger
networks. They are able to conduct this function by combining or joining 2
network segments. A router is able to route the data that it receives from one
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network to another network. After the networking device has received a packet of
data, it goes through the header of the packet in order to ascertain the destination
address. Once this is done, it looks into its routing table to comprehend how to
reach the destination address (Networking Devices, 2019, p 8).
➢ Switches – These are the connectivity points which establish the link with the
Ethernet network. This networking device basically forwards the data to the
specific connection that is supposed to receive it. Its role is of paramount
importance to strengthen the overall network performance. It establishes a direct
path between 2 network devices and manages their communication (Networking
Devices, 2019, p 3).
➢ Servers – It is an indispensable device of the network as it offers service to the
client. The computer program is responsible to process client request and deliver
the requisite data to the client over the network connection (What is server,
2019).
➢ Firewalls – This networking device manages and controls the overall access to
the organizational network. In the case of SNHUEnergy, the objective of the
firewall is to safeguard the organizational data and digital resources from any
kind of external threat. These network elements are basically placed at the entry
or exit point of the firm’s network (Networking Devices, 2019, p 5 ).
These are the basic network devices that make it possible for a network to
effectively function and act as a medium to share data and information. In the case
of the SNHUEnergy organization, these network devices play a key role to give
shape and structure to the network of the business undertaking.
Traffic pattern currently used in SNHUEnergy and Patterns across the
Infrastructure
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All business organization s including SNHUEnergy wish their network to
function in a smooth and effective manner. But in the practical setting, the smooth
functioning of a network is not a key. This is due to the involvement of a wide range
of variables that can influence the ultimate network performance. As per the Traffic
Flow Wireshark Capture, the IP address 10.0.6.73 sends data to the IP address 10.1.6.7
and vice versa. The Transport Control Protocol (TCP) is used for this purpose. The
protocol titled ‘MySQL’ exists between the two IP addresses. It showcases that on one
side the data that was created with the help of the program is edited and it is sent to
the other side for the purpose of review and making alterations. After the same is done,
it is again sent back (IT 640 Traffic Flow Wireshark Capture, 2019). The
communication that takes place within the organization via Transport Control Protocol
includes the core applications that are used in the organizational setting like emails. The
same situation can be observed between other IP addresses as well including 10.0.8.73
and 10.0.8.42 (IT 640 Traffic Flow Wireshark Capture, 2019).
The kind of interaction that takes place between the IP addresses 67.16.104.172
and 10.0.6.73 is made via the Real Time Protocol (RTP). It primarily uses the VoIP
phone system as well as Video Conferencing to enhance the communication of
SNHUEnergy. The IP address 127.0.0.1 which uses the TCP protocol is the same in the
source as well as the destination (Paszke et al., 2016). This is a unique case which
generally does not take place. Such behavior could lead to the creation of a network
loop in the network of the organization. In this specific case, when the switch receives
any broadcast from the network device, it will be forwarded to other ports. Since in the
case of 127.0.0.1, the source and the destination are one and the same, the network
device will get the very same broadcast as it will presume that it is a new broadcast and
it will forward it to other ports causing a network loop. It can adversely affect the
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performance of the network of the entity (Rost et al., 2016). This is because there will
arise communication challenges in the network. In order to optimally manage the
patterns of traffic that exist in the organizational setting, SNHUEnergy needs to have in
place a robust VoIP Phone Services and Video Conferencing so that it can have a better
control over the high volume of network traffic.
The traffic patterns of the entity need to shed light on both the ends of the
network of the organization including the Memphis office as well as the Dallas office.
In the Dallas office, the servers that are mainly responsible for the payroll and
accounting, human resource function and emails send information to the switch via their
ports. It is then transmitted to the PCs of the clients that use the Dallas network. It is
also sent through the router so that it can be accessed in the Memphis office. The exact
same process is conducted when the billing and operations activities are conducted at
the Memphis office. Due to the interconnectedness of the work processes of the
SNHUEnergy offices, it is extremely important for both the ends to have suitable
devices and applications so that the information flow and traffic management can be
simplified (Rost et al., 2016). Thus the pattern of traffic that exists in the current
network of the business concern needs to be managed in a better way so that the
performance can be improved to a significant extent. Similarly, there is the scope to
bring about constructive changes in the level of connectivity across the offices so that
the patterns that exist across the infrastructure of SNHUEnergy can be strengthened.
Potential Performance Issues in the current network
The existing pattern that is exhibited in the SNHUEnergy organization increases
the gap between the Dallas office and the Memphis office. The connectivity is weak
which has a major implication on the overall performance of the business undertaking in
the dynamic market setting. The increase in the total number of users on the
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organizational network would naturally mean that the network has more traffic
(Greenberg et al., 2016). This could lead to a slowdown, affected network performance,
outrage and loss of data in the worst cases. As the business undertaking intends to
expand the business operations and grow in the dynamic market setting, it needs to
carefully design the network architecture where all the network devices can optimally
function and manage the rising traffic. The hardware and software components of the
business undertaking need to be constantly upgraded so that the vulnerabilities of the
business can be kept under a thorough check. In the digitalized era, the business must
focus on simplifying and streamlining the overall connectivity between its offices that
are located in different locations. Such an approach would have a direct impact on its
performance (Paszke et al., 2016). An improved level of connectivity and interaction
would mean that the flow of information and data available the network would be
aligned and it would in turn positively impact the performance of the business concern.
All the functions that are conducted in the offices could be streamlined including the
human resource activities, accounting and payroll, and operations. There is scope for the
business entity to enhance the network architecture and thus address the existing
performance issues that starter it at its face.
Potential Security Issues in the current network
In the existing network model of SNHUEnergy, there arise a number of security
issues. These elements arise due to the poor quality of the communication design and
the ineffective connectivity that exists between the operational offices of the entity. At
present, the network traffic of the concern is increasing and it could further expand with
the growth of the business. Irrespective of the size of the business entity, it must take
the security aspect very seriously as it could have a major impact on the business
activities as well as the performance of the organization. The security management can
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be strengthened so that threats from the external parties such as cyber attackers and
cyber hackers. The major functions and activities that are conducted in the business
network relating to HR function, accounting and payroll and operations need to be
safeguarded so that the confidentiality aspect can be strengthened in the best way
possible.
For the purpose of adopting a holistic security model at the business level, the
business undertaking needs to train its organizational personnel so that they can be
empowered to identify potential threats and risks in the dynamic organizational setting.
At present, there is the scope before SNHUEnergy to enhance its security model so that
the quality of the connectivity between the offices can be improved in the process. The
most innovative and appropriate technology-oriented resources need to be used so that
the business can grow in a safe and secure manner. Such an approach will be crucial to
help the firm enhance the safety aspect of the environment in which it functions.
References
Greenberg, A., Lahiri, P., Maltz, D. A., Patel, P. K., Sengupta, S., Jain, N., & Kim, C.
(2016). U.S. Patent No. 9,497,039. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office.
Networking Devices. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/samplechapter/0/7/8/9/0789732548.pdf
What is server. (2019). Definition from WhatIs.com Retrieved from
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/server
IT 640 Traffic Flow Wireshark Capture. (2019). Retrieved from http://snhu-
media.snhu.edu/files/course_repository/graduate/it/it640/it640_traffic_flow_wireshark_
capture.pdf
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Paszke, A., Chaurasia, A., Kim, S., & Culurciello, E. (2016). Enet: A deep neural
network architecture for real-time semantic segmentation. arXiv preprint
arXiv:1606.02147.
Rost, P., Banchs, A., Berberana, I., Breitbach, M., Doll, M., Droste, H., ... & Sayadi, B.
(2016). Mobile network architecture evolution toward 5G. IEEE Communications
Magazine, 54(5), 84-91.
