Maintaining a Network Infrastructure

The network needs of any organization must be maintained within the scope of operation to ensure reliable communication and connection throughout. Clients must enjoy continual connectivity and service delivery, with maximum security implementations for efficient information relay and transmission. Each section of the organization requires connection to ensure distributed working and sharing of resources within the company environment. As such, an organization’s needs towards network maintenance are mandatory in whichever field.

Basing on the Toyota Motor Vehicles Company, the network requirements here are in high demand. The company spans across the entire globe, supplying manufactured goods throughout. This calls for efficient management of all the clients and workers within the framework. This can only be achieved through a reliable networked environment, which provides for connection across the globe via the internet servers, mailing servers and other clients.

Workstations provide for such connections, with Internet Service Providers playing another key role in ensuring delivery of packets to the desired destination. Toyota Motor Vehicles Company is a huge corporation dealing with motor vehicle parts and whole body parts distribution. Sales can be made online or booked online, depending on the location or country in review. This translates to the large demand for a perfect network infrastructure (Daft, 2016).

Currently, Toyota uses a web-based platform to communicate to its customers, agent outlets and other stakeholders. This network is maintained by different servers such as web servers, mailing servers, remote servers, and other types of servers that ensure connection is made to the terminals at the respective locations. Workstations are mainly found at the outlets and head offices managing the entire network infrastructure, with a team of professionals running the entire network.

However, there is a main challenge regarding the network infrastructure in place. The security of the network is one key element that should be put under consideration. Online transactions would improve the traffic to the company, and moreover increase the number of purchases made within the organization. This means that a platform for online transactions should be made to facilitate this task. However, this comes with another cost, a necessity for improved security since monetary transactions will be involved. Every customer needs assurance of a secure environment to conduct any transaction online. Hence, as a company, Toyota should embrace new forms of security concerns to boost its network infrastructure.

The first step towards enhancing network infrastructure security is to enable and install network security scanners to crawl through all the open ports for any possible vulnerability within the ports. Any unused ports must be shut down to prevent exposure to attacks and exploitations. Network firewalls act as other means to filter out unwanted connections from untrusted sites or machines. This helps to prevent any infiltration and incidences of SQL injections and other attacks, strengthening security measures for the company. The network servers require anti-spam and antivirus software to block any spam messages or viruses that may infiltrate into the company files, and could cause heavy destruction of company data. Viruses are a major source of company downfall, since they attack targeted sites and information (Wong & Yeung, 2009).

The other way of ensuring improvement in network infrastructure is by reconfiguring network connections to meet only the trusted connections and addresses. Security rules are defined within these configurations, and any site or source of connection that does not meet the configurations is blocked from connecting to the company resources, or sharing any of the resources.

TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol. It is the basic communication protocol for the internet. It used for private network too. Whenever user is set up with internet then he or she is provided with a copy of TCP/IP program. It is essential network tool. An organization can implement TCP/IP in the network as it is best fit. It allows faster communication within the network and flow of data in the organization.

TCP/IP is a two layer program. The higher layer, Transmission Control Protocol, which assemble smaller packets and transmit it through the network and lower layer, internet protocol, which handle the address of the message to be sent so that it reach the required destination. Each gateway check the address so that can forward the message to the right place. Some packets of the same message are routed differently but brought together to the destination.

The addressing scheme allows users and applications to identify a specific network to communicate with it. The internet address works like a postal address which allows data to be routed to the chosen destination. TCP/IP provides standards for assigning addresses to networks, sub networks and hosts.

Client server is implemented by TCP/IP where the user requests a service in the network and is provided by another computer in the network. The communication is point to point where each communication is from one point to the other point. The transmission is stateless where network paths are free so that everyone can use it continuously.

The higher layer users of TCP/IP is World Wide Web Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, File Transfer Protocol, Telnet and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The protocol enhances communication in the network.

TCP/IP ADDRESSING SCHEME

The addressing scheme allows users and applications to identify a specific network to communicate with it. The internet address works like a postal address which allows data to be routed to the chosen destination. TCP/IP provides standards for assigning addresses to networks, sub networks and hosts.

Address is made of network address and host address. In the network, a unique official network address assigned to each network. A network is assigned any available network address that is convenient for local use.

The internet addressing scheme consist of Internet Protocol two special cases of IP addresses namely broadcast addresses and loopback addresses. The internet protocol uses 32 bits. It has two parts, Host address and network address.

Addressing has three classes; class A, class B and class C. Class A consist of 8 bit network address and 24 bit local address. Class B has 16 bit network address and 16 bit local address. Lastly class C has 24 bit network address and 8 bit local address. Machines read addresses in binary codes. TCP/IP requires unique internet address for each network interface. The addresses are determined by configured databases.

Addresses are assigned based on the network configuration settings. TCP/IP set the configuration for each computer.

Justification of the addressing scheme

TCP/IP is the best protocol to solve and handle addressing scheme over the internet. A problem is solve faster and every computer assigned address by the internet protocol. The addresses are placed on the packet messages. Messages are automatically assigned addresses. The internet addressing scheme consist of Internet Protocol two special cases of IP addresses namely broadcast addresses and loopback addresses. The internet protocol uses 32 bits. It has two parts, Host address and network address.

TCP/IP is the key protocol to be used in every organization. It ensure that the message is send faster over the network. It is the most valued protocol. An organization can implement TCP/IP in the network as it is best fit. It allows faster communication within the network and flow of data in the organization.

TCP/IP maintenance PROCESS

IP Datagram is used uniquely within internetwork and send over IP internetwork. In a company, network administrators keep track of the address used and make sure no device is given same addresses. It is of great important to manage the IP address space across the organization to ensure that they use different addresses. It’s not feasible to have each organization coordinate its activities with each other. A centralized management authority is required for the organization.

there must be no conflict in address assignment. It makes sense to have the authority assign numbers in blocks or chunks to organization based on the number of devices. The organization can manage the blocks as they see fit and the authority job is made easier instead individual address and computers. TCP/IP Protocol must be well maintained and managed. An organization need to track all addresses and check to see that all the packets are assigned in the network.

In conclusion, TCP/IP network best suit the organization and must be well managed to reduce conflict in the network.

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