Network Design for 5Star Company

This assignment presents a comprehensive network design proposal for 5Star Company. It analyzes the current network infrastructure, identifies shortcomings, and proposes an upgraded design incorporating new hardware, software, and security measures. The proposal includes detailed cost estimations, a logical diagram, and references to relevant technical documents. The aim is to enhance network performance, reliability, and security while aligning with industry best practices.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Network Design for Recommended Network(s)..........................................................................................3
Network Circuits.....................................................................................................................................3
Fiber cable...........................................................................................................................................3
Ethernet cat5 cable...............................................................................................................................3
RJ 45 Plugs..........................................................................................................................................3
Hardware Components............................................................................................................................4
Network Switches................................................................................................................................4
Router..................................................................................................................................................4
Wireless Access Point (WAP).............................................................................................................4
Server Components..............................................................................................................................4
Workstations devices...........................................................................................................................4
Software Components..............................................................................................................................4
Network Physical Design............................................................................................................................4
Logical Network Design..............................................................................................................................5
Cost Estimation............................................................................................................................................6
WAP Air-AP180W-B-K9........................................................................................................................6
Computers...............................................................................................................................................6
Total Estimation......................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8
Appendix A: Network Physical Diagram......................................................................................................9
Appendix B: Network Physical Diagram....................................................................................................10
Appendix C: Network Physical Diagram....................................................................................................11
Appendix D: Network Logical Design for 5Star Company..........................................................................12

Executive Summary
Networking in each and every organization either small or larger or even old or new in market will
always remain to be a very important area and understanding the design that a network will need to
undergo then one understands the type of network topology to be set by the company. Many organizations
in the economy have seen the urge to have a need to upgrade their networks which in deed is helping in
reducing the paper work as much as possible. This has made the centralization of information in one place
to be effective and hence making communication easy.
Application of the topology will describe how good the design will look like, the topology will differ in
the manner how the IT components, Circuit (cabling is done), Networking cost in terms of the proposed
budget, how extensive it can especially if we consider how compatible it will be with other network
components expanded in the future.
5Star Software Development Company currently has a poorly designed network located in three of its
buildings. That is, software development building, technical building and administrative building
respectively. Each building has its own server located in one of each building’s room. All these LAN are
interconnected together using a router. This network does not allow employees to log into it using their
laptops or iPads. This therefore means that the entire layout of this network is not scalable and does not
allow connectivity of extra computers other than those that are already connected. The current network is
less secured, not easy to manage or troubleshoot and the fact that it does not have a defined structure
makes it slow in performance. Computers are connected to the network via Ethernet cables and there is no
availability of Wireless Access Point to accommodate extra connections wirelessly. The central point of
connectivity where all the LANs are interconnected is vulnerable to failure and in case of a router failure
the whole network will be paralyzed thus making it less reliable.
To achieve the main business goals for this company, which include, scalability, availability, security,
improved performance, reliability , accessibility and availability, a better network design that support all
these ought to be put into place (Coleman, 2012). The company therefore should implement a three
layered hierarchical networking model with its all of its servers hosted on cloud. The three-layered
architecture will enhance network performance as well as make it easy to manage and troubleshoot. This
network model will also enhance scalability as it makes it possible to extend the network on each of the
three layers of the model (i.e Access, Distribution and Core Layers) (CISCO, 2014)..Cloud servers also
will make the network more reliable and available to all the employees in the company. To accommodate

more users especially employees with ipads and laptops a wireless access point would be appropriate this
will enhance network accessibility thus improving employee’s performance. Software such as
Networking Operating System will enable the overall network administrator to monitor and control
network resources thus making it manageable. Also the company should install Anti-Virus software to
ensure that they avoid external malicious attacks that could be targeted on their network. From all these
issues, it is clear that a client-server network model will be appropriate to attain 5Star Company Business
goals laid.
Network Design for Recommended Network(s)
This is the evaluation, understanding and the scope of the network that need to be implemented by 5Star
Company (Techopedia, 2017). The network consists of various components ranging from network
cabling (circuits), hardware components and software components. These components are interconnected
to form a network layout or topology that represents how the network design looks like and operates. The
components of the IT infrastructures that make up the ICT in the technology world such as the servers eg
the DHCP, web servers, DNC, etc., hardware components such as the client machine, scanners, printers,
laptops etc. and lastly but not leat is the topology clearly stating the layout or the arrangement of all the
devices connected over the network (Cisco, 2013). Circuit with reference to cabling will clearly states
what type of topology will be applied.
Network Circuits
This consists of transmission media that allow computers to communicate with each other across the
network. The main media being the network cables that are required for the proposed network include:
Fiber cable
This will act as a transmission media and connects networking devices for faster transmission across the
network. This transmission cable will connect core components to distribution components and end user
components in the network. With fiber cable, it will be possible for the company to connect with their
branch located at 200KM. Fiber cable is fault tolerant, this makes it more reliable. The cable also
enhances high speed data transfer thus making the communication between all departments at 5Star
Company faster and more productive.
Ethernet cat5 cable
This cable shall be used to connect access layer devices to the whole 5Star Company LANs in each
building. The cables connect personal computers to extension switches in the network thus making
communication possible.

RJ 45 Plugs
This will be used for network cable termination for the proposed network design. RJ 45 will be used
together with the Ethernet cat5 cable and they are the most important part of the network circuit.
Hardware Components
Network Switches
This provides interconnection of other network devices within a network (Mitchell, 2017). The types of
switches that 5Star Company should go for based on future extensibility factor are modular switches. This
kind of switch will enhance flexibility and future extensibility for 5Star Company. These switches support
modular line cards that allow addition of ports on the switch in the case of scaling the network.
Router
This device will allow connection of 5Star networks and extend to internet accessibility. The router will
enhance communications between the three LAN networks for 5Star Company.
Wireless Access Point (WAP)
WAP is a hardware component that will need to be put in to place so that we do not rely only on the
cabling network but we also have a chance to have a wireless network where we can even use our phones
to connect over the network. This will ensure that additional or other clients or workstations are
connected to 5Star network wirelessly. The device will broadcast digital signals across 5Star Company at
a given range.
Server Components
These include; DNS server, mail server, Web server, file server, DHCP server, Database server and print
server. The devices will provide important functionalities in the network design.
Workstations devices
These are employee’s personal computers, office IP phones among other devices connected to the 5Star
Network.
Software Components
These include operating systems, Network Operating System (NOS) which are executed other network
for sharing resources across the 5Star Network.
Another software is Anti-Virus software to enable the company overcome malicious attacks from external
attackers.
The network to be designed will therefore rely on the named components in order for the design to be
successful (Mbaocha, 2012).

Network Physical Design
The diagram represented in the Appendix A represents 5Star Network logical design based on the three-
layered hierarchical network model proposed for the network. The physical diagram shows a section of
the 5Star Company network that is connected to the datacenter located in the cloud. The network is
well simulated and represented in layers. The access layer in the network consists of the personal
computers while the distribution layers are represented by switches that interconnect the two LANs in
the two buildings together. The Router at the center of the network represent the core layer and it
provide a means for the access devices to be able to communicate with the servers at the data center.
The router also connects 5Star company network to the larger WAN thus making it possible to
communicate with the new branch located 200KM away from the main premises of the 5Star company.
5Star Data Center hosts all the dedicated servers available on this network design. The data center
processes all the requests from the workstations as well as providing assignment of IP addresses to new
devices in the network. Some of the servers that will be hosted include web server for the developers,
file server for the storage and retrieval of information. Also a DHCP server will be configured so that any
computer or device connected to the network is automatically assign an IP address. This will enhance
expansibility especially with presence of wireless access point. Therefore, all the operations of the
company will highly rely on the dedicated server hosted at the data center.
Logical Network Design
The diagram at Appendix B represent the logical network deisgn of the 5Star Network. The diagram
consists of two buildings of the company which are; Software Development and Technical Building. The
diagram also shows the location of the data center which in this case is hosted on the clouds. From this
diagram it is evidently clear that the two buildings represent two LANs that are interconnected to be able
to communicate and access the data center for services.

Cost Estimation
The estimated cost will be determined by the topology that will be laid down in setting up the network.
The arrangement of the cabling and the IT components will ensure that cost is as per the budget or near or
approximate the expectation of the 5star company.
Circuit Cost Estimation
When we deal with the cost of the circuit we refer to the estimation cost of the cables and in our case the
cost will be calculated using the three buildings. The cost for cabling that is used for networking is
measured by feet but in this case, this shall be manipulated in terms of meters. The cost of one meter is 2$
for the Ethernet cable cat 6e.
CIRCUIRT(Cables ) Metres
(m)
COST
($)
TOTAL
AMOUNT
Building 1 240M $480 $480
Building 2 300M $600 $600
Points cabling for Devices 120M $240 $240
Overall cabling interconnecting the three buildings 500M $1000 $1000
Branch Network blocking for 200 pcs 1000M $2000 $2000
TOTAL AMOUNT $4920
Hardware Cost Estimation
Hardware Cost Per Unit ($) Quantity Total Amount
Cisco Catalyst Switch $332.50 14 $4655.00
Cisco VPN Router $250.00 3 $750.00
Firewall $2500.00 1 $2500.00
Servers $5000.00 4 $20000.00
UPS-800Watt $135.50 40 $5400.00
Network Camera $600.00 4 $2400.00

WAP Air-AP180W-B-
K9
$595.00 6 $3570.00
Computers $400.00 320 $128000.00
Total Estimation $167275.00
Software Cost Estimation
Server Operating System
The use of window server 2008 as a network operating system to run on the 5Star company will cost the
company approximately $1727.40. The software will be installed to all the servers in the network (Kavia,
2016).
Network Antivirus
The Internet Anti-Virus such as Kaspersky to be installed to all the computers and servers in the network
will cost the company $40.00 per 3 Computers. Thus, considering the number of servers and computers in
this company, the cost will be estimated to.
(350/3)*40.00= ~$4680.00
Total Network Estimation Cost
Item Cost TOTAL COST($)
Circuit $4920.00
Hardware $167275.00
Software $4680.00
Grand Total $176875.00
Conclusion
If 5Star company will take in to consideration the above cost and the logical diagram for the proposed
network then the poorly designed network in existence will be upgraded and the challenges they face will
be resolved and be standards and in balance with the update technologies in existence.

References
Cisco. (2013). Small Enterprise Design Profile Reference Guide. cisco.
CISCO. (2014). Campus Design Summary. Singapore: Cisco.
Coleman, N. (2012). Happy Haven Day care network design proposal. Michigan: Network Solution Inc.
Kavia, D. (2016). The Windows Club. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from
www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-server-2016-editions
Mbaocha, C. C. (2012). DESIGN OF CAMPUS LAN WITH FUTO AS A CASE STUDY. Federal
University of Technology. Academic Research International.
Mitchell, B. (2017). Internet and Network. What is Computer Networking?, 1-3.
Techopedia. (2017). Networking. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from Techopedia:
http://www.techopedia.com/definition/30186/network-design/

Appendix A: Network Physical Diagram
Software Development
Building Software
Developer
Cat 6 100Mbps
Access Layer
Distribution Switch

Appendix B: Network Physical Diagram

Appendix C: Network Physical Diagram

Appendix D: Network Logical Design for 5Star Company