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Essay Subject: A conceptual enterprise network is conceived according to the principles of top-down network design.... More...

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Paper Abstract: A conceptual enterprise network is conceived according to the principles of top-down network design. Uses a fictitious company that produces networking equipment and high-tech gadgets to discuss an ideal network. Paper Introduction: Network Analysis and Design We are all very aware of the amazing power of computer technology toimprove our lives But we also know from experience that new technology isno panacea Even if it performs as advertised it can create as manyproblems as it solves Anyone who has ever used a computer knows there isnothing quite so frustrating as a freeze or crash at a time when you reallyneed it to perform for you And finally even if the hardware and softwareperform flawlessly Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The best hardware and software are useless withouta clear understanding of how to employ them appropriately. Finally I wouldelicit from company officials their views on availability, scalability,affordability, security, and manageability, as well as their requirednetwork performance level and the consequences of network failure. It must have a global reach, whichcan be acquired by use of ISDN and the Internet accessed by landlines aswell as cell phones and portable notebook computers, including virtualprivate networks (VPN) - which employ a special "tunnelling" protocol tomaintain security and privacy in the wilds of cyberspace. It has just acquired another company called Rick's Place inAlexandria, Virginia, in addition to its far-flung existing locations inDallas, Texas, Tampa, Florida, Sacramento, California, Charlotte, NorthCarolina, Detroit, Michigan, and Wiesbaden, Germany. After analysing the system requirements and developing the logicaldesign for the enhanced network, which would include such concerns asnetwork layer addressing, naming, switching and routing protocols, securityplanning, network management design, and selection of service providers forWAN and remote access requirements, it is time to develop the physicaldesign. Obviously there is a need for connectivity among these geographicallyseparated locations, but there is more to this than just connecting all thelocations into one big WAN. This can be done by use of synchronized multipleprocessors, back-up storage devices and other equipment, and surgeprotectors and battery systems to prevent loss of data in the event ofhacking, viruses, glitches, system overload or power failure. For such a high-tech firm data, voice, and video should be able to beinteractively sent and received throughout its realm. And finally, even if the hardware and softwareperform flawlessly and the new system design proves bug-free, it isentirely possible that all the time, effort, and expertise expended ininstalling it may be wasted if profits or productivity do not improvebecause of it. Within each workplace there are already computers hookedtogether into building-wide LANs. In the case of TPG the structure of their present and future networksystems and the requirements of its users can be conceived of in differentways. The Cisco network designcertification system sums up the process of network design neatly by use ofthe words plan, design, implement, operate, optimise, and retire (PDIOO). What thismeans is that people take precedence over technology until the logical andphysical network designs are conceived. The scope of this project is geographically vast and technologicallycomplex. Cisco Press, 2nd edition,May 2 4, 566 pages. Works CitedOppenheimer, Priscilla. TPG's criteria for success are to have reliable voice and dataconnectivity between its various locations as well as internetaccessibility, without the fear of data loss from hardware, software, orsecurity failures. It is common now for manufacturers (in theautomotive industry, for example) to be connected by networks to theirsuppliers to better control the movement of products and components tomaximize the benefits of the new trend to just-in-time manufacturing andthereby remain competitive. For this I would interview the key decision makers. The last element of the implementation of this ideal network to bementioned is the critical importance of the education and training ofpersonnel, so they will be able to operate the system to the greatestbenefit of the company. Alternative models for this proposed network are essential in theplanning stage to counteract the predictable effect of unforeseen problems,since they give added flexibility. Any network design consultant must figure out who the ultimatedecision makers are in a company, and for that an analysis of the corporatestructure is necessary. Isolated in-house networks are out,and open, collaborative office environments in which management, employees,customers, suppliers, and sales people all have greater interactivity andaccess to information is in. The top-down philosophy of network design stresses the importance ofcreating a logical model for this network before a physical one, with itsdevices, technologies, and implementations. Using the requirements model for a new internetwork allows us toimagine the outlines of such a system. But its ultimate indicator of success will be the effectof the new network on its bottom line. In the case at hand the writer of the assignment isthe decision maker, who is in turn responsible to the Board of Directorsand the CEO. Video and audioconferencing and streaming, cyber-meetings, web sites, email, voice, fax,and animation should be able to be exchanged freely without the systemgetting overloaded and crashing. In this case Iwould assume that the main reason to modernize outdated technology is toincrease revenues and profits, although it could also impact significantlyon many other aspects of corporate well-being, including increasing marketshare and competitive advantage over other companies in the same market,reducing costs, increasing employee productivity, offering customers newsupport ands services, opening the network to key constituents, and makinginformation more accessible, as well as minimizing the potential businessdisruption of security, software, or hardware failures and natural or man-made disasters. Users must betrained to avoid overtaxing the system, in gaining access to it, in use ofthe software and hardware, in how to protect security, and in maintenance. In my discussions with the corporate players on this project I wouldalso make a special effort to elicit their opinions on matters of vendors,protocols, or platforms, open versus proprietary concerns, distributedauthority for network design and implementation, budget, and schedule,expertise of company personnel, staff education (extremely important forthis particular project), as well as office politics. But we also know from experience that new technology isno panacea. It is difficult to be too specific aboutalternative approaches at this level of generality in our discussion, sincelittle information about our client is available and such requiredtechnologies such as ISBN have no real alternative options, just as thereare few alternatives to the Internet as a global connecting system, unlesswe include such extremely costly and mostly proprietary networks as thoseoperated by the military, intelligence, energy, and financial sectors. Themain area where alternatives are most relevant in this project is in therealm of hardware and software, not in the actual technologies themselves. The conceptualisation of the sample enterprise network for thisproject reflects the changes in business technology use that are takingplace in corporations world-wide now. The network should have lots of redundancy builtinto it to ensure that if there is a fault it doesn't take the wholeenterprise system with it. The first thing I would do would be to familiarize myself with thecustomer's business and try to understand what the issues are that couldgive them a technological advantage to increase profits and productivity.In the assignment we are told that TPG is in the high-tech industry,producing "high-end routers and switches, servers, circuit boards, andgadgets such as DVDs, audio accessories, and storage arrays". But the factthat these products are on the cutting edge of high technology is belied bythe Stone Age nature of the existing company LANs (local area networks),using as they do obsolete technology such as Novell 3.5, Windows 98, andNT, not to mention the lack of connectivity between the company's distantlocations. To avoid dreaded system crashes the most reliable servers, networkequipment, software, and hardware should be selected, based on performanceand industry reputation. One's first thought might be to use Internet access via modem or DSL,allowing users to intercommunicate via email and a designated web siteand/or FTP site. Finally the system will be ready to test, optimise, and document, bycreating a test plan and constructing a prototype. Each branch of the company has a Vice President responsiblefor the operation of each location. This project involves a fictitious company producing a variety ofnetworking equipment and high-tech gadgets named Technical Products Galore(TPG). Top-Down Network Design. Hence the need for firewalls, gateways, filters, passwords, andother security methods to restrict access only to authorized users. Not only must the networking protocols, software, and hardware becompatible throughout and within the companies' locations, but the Europeanoperation may present special problems due to different standards,practices, technology, laws, culture, or language. While the separate locations are not currently digitallyinterconnected they already can be presumed to communicate by courier,mail, vehicles, telephone, and fax, and perhaps some locations haveinternet access. But this would ignore TPG's specific requirement of havinghigh-speed connectivity via ISDN, which must be included in the design. The organizational hierarchy and corporatestructure will determine who has access to the different aspects of theproposed system. Next I would prioritise the company's business goals, focusing onwhat they regard as their primary business purpose for the network designproject. Furthermore, while all employees may have access to email, MicrosoftOffice Suite, internet applications, and web servers, only the departmentsinvolved would need software concerning customer, vendor, manufacturing,sales, and human resources support, and these would vary from location tolocation. Using structured system analysis I would research the existingcompany networks for information about data flow and types, as well asprocesses and user communities that access or change the data. Network Analysis and Design (58 45) We are all very aware of the amazing power of computer technology toimprove our lives. Oppenheimer stresses the iterative, or repetitive cross-checking ofneeded information before decisions are made on such matters as protocolbehavior, scalability requirements, and technology preferences, for thesimple reason that flexibility and changes in design are required until theentire scope of the project is clear. From its line of business there is no reason tobelieve that TPG wouldn't also benefit from this kind of networking. Using the Cisco Systems three-layer hierarchical model, which employsa modular approach to dividing networks into core, distribution, and accesslayers, the details of the logical model would be worked out. Then I will offer some technological solutions tohelp them meet their goals. All this information relates directly to the central importance ofconducting a performance requirement analysis using the top-down philosophyof network design, in contrast to the much more unreliable method of simplybuying the latest off-the-shelf technology - uncustomized to the specific,documented needs of the business involved (which Oppenheimer refers to asthe "connect-the-dots method"). Anyone who has ever used a computer knows there isnothing quite so frustrating as a freeze or crash at a time when you reallyneed it to perform for you. We arrive at this by making afunctional analysis of the needs of the system. During this stage specific technologies and products will beselected to make the logical design a reality. The mission-critical operations which the new network design mustsucceed in serving well for TPG are to create an enterprise network thatconnects all seven locations of the company into a single network using acentralized internetworking administration, with connectivity via the WorldWide Web using the high-speed digital technology ISDN (which can carryvoice and data simultaneously on a standard phone line at a faster ratethan standard 56K modems), through the upgrading of the outmoded existinginformation-processing and network technology the company currently uses.Furthermore, the company has strongly emphasized security concerns, and hasrequested the use of VPN for restricted access internal executivecommunications, a firewall for additional security, a proxy for layeredsecurity, and a DMZ for filtering. So as Pricilla Oppenheimer so wisely councils at the beginning of herbook "Top-Down Network Design", " the first step in top-down network design[is] analysing your customer's business goals" (Oppenheimer 1). Even if it performs as advertised it can create as manyproblems as it solves. I will follow Oppenheimer's Business Goals Checklist as the essentialfirst step before we are able to competently assess what their informationprocessing needs are. For example, the top executives will certainly be the onesusing the fastest and most secure technology, which in this case would beISDN with firewall protection, proxy servers, and DMZ, while the averageworker may have only access to a LAN or a 56K modem with access to acompany web site on the Internet. The implication of that statementis that when it comes to enterprise networks the needs of the business mustbe thoroughly understood, or even the best technology may be useless. 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