Designing a local area network requires skills, expertise and consideration of several factors. A design should be able to meet the business objective all times. For Cookie Co. the major objective is to enhance customer communication and increase network efficiency between the head office the branches country wide.
Network infrastructure are all the components that make up a network system and include communication media, network devices, management and network operations. this platform provides the interconnectivity between workstations, servers and users of Cookie Co. After Cookie has realized that the current network infrastructure does meet communication and networking objectives. It is important for Cookie to consider several infrastructures before implementing a new network system. (Kaeo, 2014).
Converged network typically depend on virtual servers, capacity of networking components shared across applications and storage. Cookie should critically analyze and consider this because hardware requirements for virtualization are less but management of workload and performance remains at the same level. This infrastructure is also flexible and can support the latest technologies of both data center components which are energy efficient. This aspect of convergence also simplifies implementation of important functionalities to increase network responsiveness and capabilities. Also the fact that it offers real time monitoring of network ports, components, connectors and cables enhances system performance and integrity. (Awuku, Cobblah, Anim, Okai & Pinkrah-Sam, 2012).
This is a technique that integrates different communication modes into one, collaborated user experience. Text, email and voice work continuously with video conferencing and live audio and web integration in a single interface with notification capabilities to show your presence online. This methodology will suite Cookie Co. in engaging with its customer, stakeholder and employees on one interface. Unified communications has the ability to be integrated into the company software to enhance performance and communication abilities at Cookie Co. Teamwork is also improved due to integration of video, voice, file storage and sharing, live chats and screen share in a single app. Implementing such a technique in the new network environment will help Cookie Co. t meets its networking and communication objective but also to reduce operational costs. (Dobrowolski, 2010).
When designing a local area network for the head office several factors should be considered. First it is important to determine the number of users and devices that will be interconnected and the services the network has to offer. Cookie Co. requires a local area network that will seamlessly provide high quality services with minimum downtime. A good LAN technology that Cookie Co. can implement is Fiber Distributed Data Interface. (Thomatis, 2012).
This technology is recommended for the head office because of its speed and capacity-100mbps. Because of the many operation and data received from the company branches, Cookie will definitely have to implement this technology so as to be able to meet this vast needs.
For branch offices, it requires a technology to facilitate them to carry out daily tasks and send information in real time to the head office. A good technology that Cookie Co. can implement is the Ethernet technology. This mode supports multiple access methodology. This allows all the components connected to it to transmit data. For this case the head office should be receiving data, transaction details and logs from the branch devices and equipment in real time which is supported by this technology. Cookie Co. should therefore implement this technology in its branches country wide. (Karris, 2009).
The head office can communicate with the country we braches using a gateway server that enhances network security by preventing unauthorized access. A typical LAN set up and connection between the head office and branch offices will look like this;
Local area network requires a server to provide necessary services such as emails, printing, file sharing, applications among other needs that Cookie Co. may need. Cookie may decide to implement one server to offer all these services or use dedicated server for each service required. A centralized server would be more convenient, cost effective and easy to manage. The design of the LAN will be the same both for the head office and branch offices. (Szigeti, Hattingh & Barton, 2014).
Branch offices are normally located in ‘remote’ areas and are connected using a wide area network to the head office. As compared to the head office, branch offices have fewer employees. Access of network resources by the branch offices at the head office is highly limited and restricted; unless a user is authorized and mainly branch managers. (Mccabe, 2007).
A typical WAN connection between Cookie Co. head office and its branch offices will look like this:
Generally, networks utilize combinations of types of media. The following are some of the media types that Cookie CO could use;
Copper cable— STP (shielded twisted-pair), UTP (unshielded twisted-pair) and coaxial cable are the types of cable. This cables are easy to work with and cheap. In addition, it provides a spectrum that is limited and which fails to handle future applications that are advanced like virtual reality. (Ishmael, Bury, Pezaros & Race, 2008).
Wireless—Wireless media involves infrared, radio frequencies, satellite and microwave. Wireless media deployment is cheaper and faster compared to that of cable. Wireless can be used in areas where it is impossible or costly to use cable.
Fiber optics—fiber provides a very large bandwidth, immunity to several kinds of noise and interference and security that is improved. As such, it offers almost a noise-free surrounding and communication that is very clear. Disadvantage of fiber is that is expensive to buy and deploy because it needs unique techniques and equipment. (Kedieng Fendji & Nlong, 2015).
some of the connecting devices that Cookie Co could use include;
Switches- switches connect Ethernet network points. Devices in switches are linked through twisted pair cabling. Unlike hub, switch transfers data only to the port of the destination devices linked to it. a switch does it transmission by possessing a fixed learning of a MAC address of the devices joined to it.
Routers- these are devices of network layer and are specifically recognized as layer-3 of the OSI model devices. Routers process logical addressing data in the packet network header like IP addresses. Router is utilized to generate larger networks that are complex by traffic routing that are complex.
Gateways- this is a device that joins multiple networks and transmits packets from one network to another. A gateway act as a linkage between various systems of networking or programs of computers. It permits programs of the computer either on the same or different computer to share data along the network through protocols. (Bender, 2010).
Network protocols- network protocol describes instruction languages and convection for network devices communication. It is necessary for a networked computer to own one or more drivers of protocol. Network protocols like TCP/IP, HTTP provide a platform on which the internet stands.
IP Address Management (IPAM)
IPAM is an integrated technique that facilitates end to end planning, implementation, management and controlling network IP address with vast users. Cookie Co. is a fast growing company expanding all over the country thus needs to manage the IP address of the end devices being used across the branches and within the head office. This gives it control over network access by the different employees by auditing their device usage through IP addresses. IPAM facilitates identification of network devices connected to the network and facilitates central management. Some of the features of an IPAM include management and control of multi servers, management of address space network audit, role-based access control and management of virtual address space. (Panek, Wentworth & Chellis, 2015).
Domain name server is a very critical aspect in today internet connection and communication. This component facilitates identification of computers by names rather than IP addresses. This feature will be very useful to Cookie Co. because it would be very easy to identify a device in terms of station and user. This is a robust system and with integration of caching, delegation and redundancy, Cookie Co. can be able to identify precise address of a particular device connected to the network. (Iniewski, Mccrosky & Minoli, 2008).
Network services are the various network resources that are centrally managed and controlled and can be shared to other devices on the network. This environment enhances quality control, issue management and performance. Cookie Co. can either decide to centralized its resources that is, data can only be accessed from the head office and the work stations in the branch office just act as access points. Such functionality enables easy management of resources, cost effective and reduces data redundancy. There exist four types of network services including: email, user management, system administration and printing. Cookie Co. should always ensure that resource servers are kept in a temperature controlled locations to avoid service unavailability due to server crush or down time. (Wong & Yeung, 2009).
Email services will enhance communication between the different stakeholder from the top management to the junior employees. Email will facilitate Cookie C. o issue official communications and memos to its employees regardless of their location. For this service to be used there must be intern connection. It should also develop policies governing use of email services by the employees. (Tiso & Hutton, 2012).
User management is another networked service that aid in management of user access control. This includes management of login credentials, access, rights and privileges to access a particular service. For enhanced user management, the system administrator should be the one creating and managing these credentials so as to control their access over the network. To access the different resources such as applications, files and other resources the employee must possess the right credentials and privilege to access such a service. (Kedieng Fendji & Nlong, 2015).
For Cookie Co. to enhance employee interaction, creation of a private network within the larger organization network would be recommended. This private network is called intranet. This will help enhance performance and ease information sharing among other resources. Intranet ay entail announcements, sensitive strategic value data, organizational policies and information about new products and services. (Ishmael, Bury, Pezaros & Race, 2008)
Extranet will facilitate branch offices to access resources from the head office at Cookie Co. basically extranet is an enlarged intranet, which utilizes access profiles, firewalls and privacy protocols to enable employees from outside to access the required resources. Extranet facilitates use of public networks and internet protocols to share resources securely among employees, suppliers, customers, vendors, and other corporations. (Mendez-Range & Lozano-Garzon, 2012).
This technology allows making calls over the internet instead of the normal mobile lines. This service will help Cookie Co. to reduce communication costs over phone lines that requires subscription. This service allows one to make unlimited calls both locally and internationally.
This is an integration of all the services, components and users on the internet that utilizes the HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). This service will enable Cookie Co. to communicate and share resources over the internet.
Web services includes all the resources that is available over the internet. It utilizes XML messaging system that is standardized. XML enables communication encoding to a web service.
A data center is made up of networked components such as computers and storage devices that enables Cookie Co. to process, store, distribute and organize vast volumes of data and information. The company will heavily rely on the resources available at the data center to carry out daily transactions and to make decisions. Data center is considered the brain of any company because all the business operations relies on it. (Tiso & Hutton, 2012).
SAN is made up of super-fast interconnection of storage devices that are connected to servers. It offers applications block level storage running on servers that are networked. Examples of SAN include RAID hardware. The main features of San include; connection of storage devices to servers, allows applications to access networked servers, very handy and backup and disaster recovery, to span larger geographical locations it utilizes networking protocols, provides availability, flexibility and performance. (Goto, Shimada & Sato, 2012).
Cookie Co. can implement this particular storage model as it offers anytime anywhere access capabilities over the internet. Furthermore, it reduces the hardware requirements thus reducing cost of implementation. Also it offers enhance security features compared to other store facilities. (Mendez-Range & Lozano-Garzon, 2012). Distributed Databases
This interconnects the several databases from the different branch offices that are physically on different geographical locations but logically collaborated. This type will best suite Cookie Co. to offer services better to its customers and enhance communication and data sharing among the branches and head office. (Ishmael, Bury, Pezaros & Race, 2008)
Peer-to-Peer (P2P).
This includes systems of computers interconnected over the internet and can directly share data, information and other resources without the essence of central server. This data processing model can be implemented in the branch office where a lot of data processing is not needed. (Kedieng Fendji & Nlong, 2015).
This is basically the technique f processing data automatically. Processing of data is done on the cloud servers and the work station just acts as points of instruction issuance. This processing type is fast and reliable, especially for the Cookie Co. head office. (Tiso & Hutton, 2012).
In this model, processing of data and instruction is done according to the order at which they are received. After job stacking has finished the batch is now sent for processing in the same order received. It is the most common processing model. This type is most preferred for processing vast amount of data and instruction. (Goto, Shimada & Sato, 2012).
Conclusion
Efficient communication among the employees, between stakeholders and between customers and the company is very crucial for any business. Effective communication with clients ensures that the business maintains its reputation and in essence improve profit gain. Cookie Co. implementing a new network infrastructure will not only improve communication, but enhance performance and throughput by employees. Customers need smooth communication and if a company or business cannot provide that, then they risk losing them.
Cookie Co. should implement the latest network infrastructure in order to improve their service delivery to customers. However, if they would opt for another choice, the cloud infrastructure would be the best. It offers anytime, anywhere access by employees, more sophisticated security features and disaster recovery techniques. Also all the monitoring and maintenance is left to the cloud provider. In addition, it reduces hardware requirements and increase data availability.
Reference List
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