Content

1. Introduction page 2 2. Methodology page 2

3. Enhancement of the company with a computer network page 3

4. Appropriate Network design page 4

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7

Suitable Network Type page 4 Network Topology page 4 Suitable Type of Cabling - page 5 Internetworking devices chosen to install- page 6 Problems encountered in the installation process - page 8 Dealing with security and confidentiality- page 8 Easy to expand - page 9

5. Hardware and software in the scenario connection with the OSI model page11 6. How Company access Internet ( explained using TCP/IP model )- page 12
7. Advancing with the developing technologies page 12

8. Bibliography page 13

1.0 Introduction
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A small size maritime supply representative company who is doing business through a worldwide network of suppliers wants to install a appropriate network to their business. The company wants to increase their business by installing computer systems. The company wants to deploy its existing systems in order to meet their growing needs. This report has been written to show the appropriate network solution for their business according to the companys needs. The company needs include; 24/7 access to the web Email addresses for every employ with the company domain Reducing the cost for international calls. Automatic backup of important files Archiving important documents such as regular mails, etc. Working with a central printer accessible to all the employees Granting access to the internal network from all around the world Use of software to discuss about sales with suppliers over the internet(skype) Ability to expand the network according to the future needs Security and confidentiality of the company deals.

2.0 Methodology
Author of this report adopted following procedures before writing the report Carry out various researches regarding new networking technologies, computer systems suitable for business environment using internet articles, computer network product vendorss websites Carry out various researches about security issues faced by modern day business networks, how to deploy a remaining network according to growing needs of a company. Referring lecture notes, going through various articles about networking concepts Referring books on computer Networking and Data Communication and Adopting Ideas suitable for this business scenario.

3.0 Enhancement of the company with a computer network

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[ How networking effects business ]

The company in present does not have a functional active network. It has the ability to access internet

but the work done is minimum. Currently in this un networked environment a proper network may help all the employees and the employer in different ways. The efficiency of the employees will be affected in the following ways

1. Time saved : In a business Time is a crutual factor. Time spent for transferring data from a one

pc to another can be saved by installing a network system. With the internet access for all the pcs and laptops, employees will be granted full access to online resources and data they want to find saving their time.
2. Shared resources : by a installed network in this company most of the hardware resources will be

given access. The Central printer will be given access to do all the printing work needed for daily business needs.
3. Updated knowledge and Data : with a proper working network , all the data of the company and

the knowledge of the employees will be updated. Specially the IT literacy will be upgraded.

With a proper network , paper work will be reduced and employees will use softwares such as office packages, accounting softwares and database systems and they will continuously transfer these files using email and file transferring methods over the local network as well as the internet. Every employee will get a specific email account , that improves the repetition as well as the companys recognition.

Major drawbacks of installing a network to the given company.

The company is still a growing company and according to the scenario it cannot be recommended to install a far more advanced network solution than a basic local area network. This company already uses an internet connection. The internetworking devices used here such as the router or the modem should be replaced by a new router according to the companys needs. Replacing networking devices cost money and devices and types of cables needed for this scenario will cost certain amount of money, but the network design and the network components are selected to minimize the cost as much as possible with the maximum available performance.

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The proposed network solution will be based on wired networking mainly so in the future this company might face performance problems. Higher performance can be implemented , but the cost of network components will be high. Most of the deals of this company are done through email so the security of the network is a key issue. In this scenario adavanced security solutions like hardware firewalls are not recommended. As this is still a growing company software firewalls and antivirus softwares are recommended for the business. The products chosen for the scenario come with integrated firewalls, so it is much secured .

4.0

Appropriate Network Design

4.1

Suitable Network Type : Local Area Network ( Wired)

For the given business scenario, a Local Area Network is recommended as this is a growing company and the departments are few. According to the companys needs most of the network components should have better protection, so as to ensure protection a wired local area is more suitable than a wireless local area. It is reliable and worth for the money the company spend. A wireless Local area network will be another reliable solution for the given scenario, but the budget will be high as the network components are expensive. As a fact wireless Lans have the capability of expanding easily than the wired LANs. But with proper deigning wired local area is far more reliable than the wireless LANs.

4.2

Network Topology : Tree Topology

Tree topology is the most easiest topology to follow in an expanding network. Author has considered the need of the companys essential need to expand and chosen this topology. Tree topology is a connected version of multiple star topologies. Star topology is the way computers connected in a network in the shape of a star. Star topology can be used for a small local area network but it has less space for expanding.Other topologies like Bus topology, Star topology and mesh topology are also in the frame when choosing a topology, but in the bus topology computers are connected to a main cable . When the main cable breaks down all the functions of the network stop so it is not suitable for the performance of a network. In the mesh topology all the computers are connected to each other where the network administrator needs too many cables to connect all the network devices .The star topology is one of the most suitables but it suits for small size home local areas mainly. to avoid un necessary problems the tree topology has been chosen as the best appropriate topology for the scenario by the author.
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Main chosen topology ( figure 4.1 )

Mesh Topology ( figure 4.2 )

Bus topology ( figure 4.3 )

Star topology ( figure 4.4 )

4.3

Suitable Type of Cabling : UTP cables ( cat 5e ethernet cables )

Among other types of cables such as coaxial cables and fibre optics, utp cables are the most flexible option for the scenario as it is less expensive and gives the relevant performance. There are different different categories in utp cables and each has different performance .For the given scenario cat 5e utp cables are recommended as they have up to 100mhz bandwidth support and up to 10mbps, 100 mbps and 1000 mbps data transfer support. Coaxial cables are also suitable for the given scenario but they are difficult to install and fibre optics are limited to certain areas as they are far more expensive than the regular twisted pair cables. With all the considerations cat 5e utp Ethernet cables are recommended to use.

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Figure 3.5 Cat 5e UTP cable

Figure 3.6 Coaxial cable

Figure 3.7 fiber optic cable

4.4 Internetworking devices chosen to install : A Voip Router , Switches , UTP cables , Network Interface cards, Bridges, Terminators

Voip router : Though this company is powered by a general internet connection the router used in the present can be implemented with voip adapters to be adjusted to the requirements of the company but the author of this report has decided to use a voip router replacing the existing router to ensure the quality and performance of international calls as they directly effect the business. A Voip Router facilitates the network with two ports to connect telephone devices which can be used over the internet to make international calls . A voip router also supports number of Ethernet ports which can be used to expand the network and to connect other network devices. Some features are as follows : Broadband sharing with fast 4-port Ethernet Switch Two FXS ports for connecting to regular telephones, supports SIP standard One FXO port for voice calls via PSTN Fixed-line Quality of Service Control (QoS) for Traffic Prioritization and Bandwidth Management

Figure 4.8 A voip Router A Switch : An appropriate switch is used in this scenario to connect networking devices. A 18 port gigabit Ethernet switch will be the best option for this network. All the other devices such as the network printer, Email server , network scanner , the backup storage and other devices can be implemented in to the ports of the switch easily.

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Network interface cards : In the given scenario, there are two desktop computers in use., the fist computer used in the first department has access to the internet. That assures it has a network card installed but the second desktop computer in the second department has no access to the internet so the desktop computer needs a network interface card to be installed. And also the laptop in the first department might need a usb connected network interface card if it does not have any network port to access internet. Cables : Unshielded twisted pair used to implement network components in to this network. UTP cat 5e. Bridges : A one bridge or number of bridges will have to be installed in this netwok when expanding the network. In the present situation of the company a one bridge may full fill the connection of two floors with two switches as the bridges connect network segments together. Terminators : these are used to stop signal collisions when there is no node present in a network cable.

Accessing the Internet To access internet from the computers in the office and with the laptops, the business has to t o use the router mainly. The data will come from the interenet service provider through the router to the computers of the office. According to the network design the chosen voip router, as some resourses say might delay the data transfer when the voice calls are in progress but it is not a considerable efficiency reduce in the scenario as the router fascilitates all the needs without implementing voip adapters. Data , through the router will go through the network
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switch and then go to the computers. So to access internet mainly the router and then the switch combines with it.
ISP

Router

switch

Figure 4.9 Accessing the Internet

4.5 Problems encountered in the installation process

In this business scenario, the network administrator has chosen to install a wired local area network. In installing the wired local area the wiring process will be a major problem. The company owner will not allow to dig the walls and install the cables inside. Instead of that cables can be attached to the walls through wiring sockets which are used to wire electrical wires externally. This is a box shaped thing which can be bought from the market very cheaply. It will not look shabby when the cables are implemented inside boxes. Also the length of cables will be a problem , for that before configuring the network the network administrator has taken the needed measuring of distances from the router to the switch and from switch to the computers.

4.6 Dealing with security and confidentiality

In this business local area network security issues and confidentiality of the deals are secured by the integrated firewall of the router and options like IP sec , DoS / DDoS prevention ,
etc. To protect computers from viruses a proper virus guard installation can be used . and further

By using VPN tunnels where the following take place

Protocol : PPTP, IPSec, L2TP, L2TP over IPSec Encryption : MPPE and Hardware-based AES/DES/3DES Authentication : Hardware-based MD5, SHA-1 IKE Authentication : Pre-shared key and digital signature ( X.509 ) LAN-to-LAN, Teleworker-to-LAN DHCP over IPSec NAT-traversal ( NAT-T ) Dead Peer Detection ( DPD )
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VPN pass-through

4.7 Easy to expand

The designed local area network is easy to expand according to the companys needs. The router and the switch combination helps to get more reliable performance for the money spent when considering to other expensive local area solutions like wireless local areas. In this scenario this solution affects the first floors business and further by adding another switch and a bridge this network can be expanded easily. It might need massive number of long cables but proper installation will affect the running of the expanded network smoothly. When we consider wireless local area networks, why the network administrator has not chosen them is the extra internetworking devices needed and the extra expense to be paid, such as wireless network cards, wireless routers, and also sometimes the change of signal strength might affect the performance of the network. When a wired local area is chosen a reliable data flow is present and accuracy and the performance is high. In wireless local area networks the security threats are theoretically higher than wired local areas but in the present day lot of solutions are there.. the major drawback the network administrator has seen is the lessen performance due to outside interferences to the signals in the wireless local area network. With all these considerations a wired local area is suitable to this scenario with above mentioned expanding capabilities.

Internet service provider

route

Switch bridge

Switch

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Figure 4.10 expanding structure

Network Design

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self evaluation

Weaknesses :
lack of knowledge about U.K broadband connections and other internet facilities as a new student to U.K. No idea about switch data transferring speeds, do not know how Voice over IP technology works. Only have the basic idea .

Strengths :
Completing the task on time. Clearly identified network components needed.

Areas of improvements :
Knowledge about network designing using a professional tool like Microsoft visio. Knowledge about interconnecting network components

5.0

Hardware and software in the scenario connection with the OSI model 7. Application Layer 6. Presentation layer5.Session Layer 4.Transport Layer 3.Network layerRouters Bridges , Switches e-mail server, Ftp server, encryption in ipsec technology

2.Data link Layer-

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1.Physical Layer

cables

6.0

How Company access Internet ( explained using TCP/IP model )

TCP/IP is a two-layer program. The higher layer, Transmission Control Protocol, manages the assembling of a message or file into smaller packets that are transmitted over the Internet and received by a TCP layer that reassembles the packets into the original message. The lower layer, Internet Protocol, handles the address part of each packet so that it gets to the right destination. Each gateway computer on the network checks this address to see where to forward the message. Even though some packets from the same message are routed differently than others, they'll be reassembled at the destination. In the given scenario when the request is sent through the switch ports , through the router it goes to the web server where the requested HTML files are stored, the web server knows the request sending computer by the Internet protocol. The web server then sends the requested HTML file and the transmission control protocol brakes the HTML file in to packets. These packets go through the router then through the switch and resemble in the destination IP.

7.0 Advancing with the developing technologies

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Modern world grows rapidly with technology. As the designed network is designed to fulfill the requirements of the client . it has drawbacks. This design is designed with the most common method of local area networking. Instead of wired networking this company can use wireless local area networking in the future with faster speed. In the wired local area networks for the business , the latest trend is the fiber optics. Fiber optics are limited for a certain area but it is more reliable and it is expensive. In United Kingdom Internet service providers like virgin media now uses this technology rapidly supporting the speed up to 50 megabits per second. The utp cabled local area network needs lot of cables when it comes to the fiber optics it is less as it supports bigger length. It is true that fiber optics are expensive and utp cables are less expensive. Both support gigabit Ethernet as a fact but unshielded twisted pair cables are much effected with out magnetic fields but the fiber optic cables are not effected by magnetic fields. This might be a good advantage for a business network when in the future it needs to be expanded. The designed network is not suitable for for a certain extent. It can only be deployed to a single building. When the local area network needed to converted in to a wide area network most of the components including the design will have to replaced with new equipments. The developing technologies effect the speed instantly , the fiber optics are far more flexible for the data speed increasements.

Bibliography The author would like to acknowledge that certain citation and reference examples were taken from the following publications and that these publications influenced that way in which the author arranged the document.

Anderson .H, Yull .S, helingworth .B, (2004) Higher National computing, Oxford U.K : Newness Tittel , ED. (2002) Computer networking, USA : Schaums outline series McGRAWHILL Stallings, William. (2007) Data and Computer Communications , 8th Edition, upper saddle river ,New Jersey : Pearson Prentice Hall .
University of East London . ((c) 2003) Relationship between the OSI Model and

Networking Devices [online] , Available from : http://homepages.uel.ac.uk/u0115449/myweb14/OSI%20and %20Internetworks.htm [Accessed on 03rd March 2011 ]
Hardware Backup Solutions, Desktop Network Attached Storage devices [online], Available from : http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp? CatId=2671 [Accessed on 03rd March 2011 ] Cisco Ip telephony / voice over IP White papers , Fax Services [online], available from : http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/solutions_docs/voip_solutions/Fax_ISD.ht ml [Accessed on 06th March 2011] Page | 13

Edexel HND Computing

Assignment 1

Networking Concepts
HNCS 005

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Name
Student ID Lecturer

: Joel Lennon Weerappuli Arachchige Don

: 08508 : Ioannis Doumanis

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