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IT-640-Q2781: Assignment 5-3
NETWORK ARCHITECTURE g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g
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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. g g
➢ 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 network to
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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
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
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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 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
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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 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
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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 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.
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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
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.
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Rost, P., Banchs, A., Berberana, I., Breitbach, M., Doll, M., Droste, H., ... & Sayadi, B.
(2016). Mobile network architecture evolution toward 5G. IEEE Communications
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