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IT-640-Q2781: Assignment 5-3
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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. aaa
➢ 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).
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➢ 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 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 ).
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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 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
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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 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
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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
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
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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.
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
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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.
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.
