ICT 703: Network Technology and Management: CAC Network Proposal

This report presents a comprehensive network proposal for the Colour Ability Corporation (CAC), a small marketing firm seeking to upgrade its network infrastructure. The proposal begins with an executive summary outlining the current network's limitations and the need for upgrades to address incompatibilities and enhance speed, reliability, and maintainability. It then details the requirements gathering process, including CAC's needs and technical goals, followed by physical network design and proposed hierarchical network topology. The report also includes hardware requirements, ISP comparisons, and a plan for installation, including logical design based on Cisco SAFE architecture and an IP design strategy. The proposal provides a detailed plan for implementation, including security considerations and future expansion plans, and concludes with recommendations. Tables and figures are included to support the analysis and design, providing a clear and structured approach to the network upgrade.

ICT 703: NETWORK TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
By: (STUDENT NAME)
(COURSE TITLE)
(PROFESSOR NAME)
(UNIVERSITY NAME)
(DATE)

CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
Executive Summary
Before purchasing any networking equipment or even deciding any hardware platform that
should be implemented it is very essential to have a clear knowledge of the organization problem. This is
a network proposal for a small marketing firm by the name Colour Ability Corporation. The organization
is interested in upgrading its network system. Currently, the organization is operating from level 10 and
11 in Brisbane CBD. The organization has four section which are marketing, design, HR accounting, and
photography. The current network structure requires several upgrades in hardware so as to address
incompatibilities and older technologies. This will result to high-speed network, a more reliable network,
and easy to maintain the network. In addition to updating the current network, this proposal will outline
some of the network configuration that ought to be done. If CAC implements these changes it will
provide a more reliable and secure network. Along with new network hardware and new network
configuration, this network proposal will open the door for CAC to explore the emerging network
technologies. In addition, this solution will meet the current needs of the organization. The total
estimated cost for the project will be under $400,000.
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CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................ii
List of figures..............................................................................................................................................iv
List of tables................................................................................................................................................5
Part One: Gather Requirements..................................................................................................................6
CAC‘s needs.............................................................................................................................................6
Technical goals........................................................................................................................................6
Activity 1..................................................................................................................................................6
Activity 2..................................................................................................................................................8
Activity 3..................................................................................................................................................8
Physical Network design.....................................................................................................................8
Proposed network topology...............................................................................................................9
Activity 4................................................................................................................................................10
Activity 5................................................................................................................................................11
Activity 6................................................................................................................................................11
Part two: Plan Installation.........................................................................................................................12
Activity 7................................................................................................................................................12
CAC’s Logical design..........................................................................................................................12
IP Design strategy.............................................................................................................................12
Activity 8................................................................................................................................................13
Security plan.....................................................................................................................................13
Future plans...............................................................................................................................................14
Recommendations and conclusion............................................................................................................14
References.................................................................................................................................................15
Appendix...................................................................................................................................................15
iii

CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
List of figures
Figure 1: Physical Network Design............................................................................................................10
Figure 2: Hierarchical Network Topology..................................................................................................11
Figure 3: Future Physical Design................................................................................................................15
iv

CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
List of tables
Table 1: Computer system planning form HR department..........................................................................6
Table 2: Computer system planning form Design department....................................................................6
Table 3: Computer system planning form Advertising department.............................................................7
Table 4: ISP comparison............................................................................................................................10
Table 5: Network planning form................................................................................................................10
Table 6: List of Hardware device required.................................................................................................11
Table 8: Sub-netting Template...................................................................................................................12
Table 9: IP Addressing Template...............................................................................................................12
Table 10: Budget summary........................................................................................................................13
5

CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
Part One: Gather Requirements
CAC‘s needs
There two major requirements for the CAC’s network. First, the organization’s network is to be
upgraded to accommodate the emerging technologies. The network also needs to be simple, secure and
scalable. The organization employees need access to emails. Currently, the service is provided by the
organization ISP. The organization desire to set up an email address for all organizational employees.
CAC managers require to share files between themselves. The organization also need a wireless internet
access which ought to be made available in all the departments
Technical goals
One of the technical goal expected by CAC is to improve network capacity and Speed, improve
network security by replacing hubs with a manageable switch which provide the ability to monitor the
organization LAN and giving a greater control over how organization data travels over the network.
Activity 1
Table 1: Computer system planning form HR department
Department HR and Accounting
Location Brisbane Suburb
Component Recommendation
Processor AMD Sempron processor Dual core processor
Memory DDR2 type 2gb
Hard drive Serial ATA 160 GB
USB ports 4 USB ports 2 located in front and two at the back
Video card Intel Video card, Radeon RX 580 Series
Sound Card Modem AdLib manufacturer
Network card Ethernet wired card
Bus interface: PCI bus network card
Network interface: RJ-45 interface network card
Operating system Windows 7 professional. Microsoft as the
manufacturer
Monitor 17 inches HP monitor
Printer HP LaserJet 700 series
Speaker Logitech Z623 speakers
Internet connection Ethernet connection via RJ45 port and USB type
of connection
Table 2: Computer system planning form Design department
Department Design
Location Brisbane Suburb
Component Recommendation
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor
Memory DDR2 type 4gb
Hard drive Serial ATA 1TB
6

CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
USB ports 8 USB ports 2 located in front and 6 at the back
Video card Intel Video card, Radeon RX 580 Series
Sound Card Modem AdLib manufacturer
Network card Ethernet wired card
Bus interface: PCI bus network card
Network interface: RJ-45 interface network card
Operating system Windows 7 professional. Microsoft as the
manufacturer
Monitor 17 inches HP monitor
Printer HP LaserJet 700 series and EPSON 850 series
printer
Speaker Logitech Z623 speakers
Internet connection Ethernet connection via RJ45 port and USB type
of connection and wireless type of connection
Table 3: Computer system planning form Advertising department
Department Advertising /Marketing
Location Brisbane Suburb
Component Recommendation
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor
Memory DDR2 type 4gb
Hard drive Serial ATA 250 GB
USB ports 4 USB ports 2 located in front and two at the back
Video card Intel Video card, Radeon RX 580 Series
Sound Card Modem AdLib manufacturer
Network card Ethernet wired card
Bus interface: PCI bus network card
Network interface: RJ-45 interface network card
Operating system Windows 7 professional. Microsoft as the
manufacturer
Monitor 17 inches HP monitor
Printer HP LaserJet 700 series and EPSON 850 series
printer
Speaker Logitech Z623 speakers
Internet connection Ethernet connection via RJ45 port and USB type
of connection
Table 5: Computer system planning form Sydney department
Department ADMINISTRATION
Location Sydney
Component Recommendation
Processor Intel Pentium 4 600 series processor
7

CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
Memory DDR2 type 2gb
Hard drive Serial ATA 160 GB
USB ports 4 USB ports 2 located in front and two at the back
Video card Intel Video card, Radeon RX 580 Series
Sound Card Modem AdLib manufacturer
Network card Ethernet wired card
Bus interface: PCI bus network card
Network interface: RJ-45 interface network card
Operating system Windows 7 professional. Microsoft as the
manufacturer
Monitor 17 inches HP monitor
Printer HP LaserJet 700 series
Speaker Logitech Z623 speakers
Internet connection Ethernet connection via RJ45 port and USB type
of connection
Activity 2
Small organizations such as CAC can use brother type of printer for printing black and white
copies. This printer prints 24 to 27 pages per minute with a print rate of around 52 pages per minute.
For color printing the organization needs to go for copies for Epson 850 series which is said to print 20
copies per minute. Epson 850 series is all in one since the organization can use it to photocopy, print and
scan copies.
Activity 3
Physical Network design
Figure 1 shows the physical topology design. The diagram demonstrates the physical design
implementation that CAC need to implement. The diagram also illustrates the main points of a network
upgrade. The points of an upgrade as shown by the diagram are cable installation, location, and devices.
As indicated by the diagram floor one which is the ground floor contains the mainframe and the
organizational server. As indicated by the diagram the mainframe connects the organization servers and
the organization switches.
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CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
Figure 1: Physical Network Design
Proposed network topology
From the collected requirements, it is evident that the organization client base is growing at a
high rate. For the organization to achieve its mission and goals it needs to utilize a hierarchical network
topology. This type of topology aims at making an organization network modular, manageable, resilient
and efficient.
The hierarchical network topology is divided into three tiers which are access, core, and
distribution layer. The topology allows organization network administrators to specify the correct
software and hardware for the entire organizational network (Kurose & Ross, 2016, p. 34). The topology
diagram is as shown in the figure below. The diagram was developed using Netsim.
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CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
Figure 2: Hierarchical Network Topology
Router one (R1 in the diagram) is located in the main office in Brisbane Suburb, Router two (R2)
is located in Sydney. Switch one connects floor one, switch two connects floor two, switch three
connects floor three and switch four connects the fourth floor.
Project hardware requirements. The hardware required for this project are Cisco products. Table 1 lists
the hardware and the lists required
There are over five Internet service providers in this country but for this proposal I will compare the best
two which the organization can choose from; the two are Telstra and optus. A comparison table for the
ISP is as shown below
Activity 4
Table 4: ISP comparison
ISP Type of plan Broadband plan Cost
Telstra NBN plan Home Broadband
unlimited bundle-nbn
$89 per month
NBN plan Home Broadband
unlimited bundle
(casual)-nbn
$89 per month
NBN plan Home Broadband $99 per month
10

CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
Unlimited + Streaming
Bundle - nbn
ADSL Plans Home Broadband
Unlimited Bundle
(Casual)
$89 per month
Optus NBN plan Optus Ultra
Entertainment Plan -
nbn™ M2M
$90 per month
ADSL Plans Optus Reach Ultra Plan $115 per month
Activity 5
One of the services that can be provided by CAC is system administration. This is a person who is
responsible for maintaining computers and server room. They are also responsible for upgrading some
of the organization application software. Some of the devices used in system administration include,
computer browser, clipping tool to clip worn-out cables, wire cutter, and computer maintenance kit.
Activity 6
Table 5: Network planning form
Justification
Are wired connection required Yes Wired connection via RJ45 connectors is
required to connect the user computers to the
organization network
Are wireless connections required Yes The access points are used to provide internet
connection to employees mobile phones
Wireless standard 802.11ac This is because this stand provide the fastest
maximum speed and the very best signal
range
Firewall required Yes To protect unauthorized access of the
organization network
ISP connectivity Yes To connect the organization to the world wide
web
Type of ISP connectivity Optus Even though Optus is expensive but according
to CAC requirements Optus will provide a
speedy cable broadband network. It will also
provide and mobile wireless broadband
coverage
Internal modem required Yes The internal modem acts as a back-up plan
during ISP systems downtime
Cables required Yes CAT 5e cables are required as attenuation is
very minimal
Battery back-up Yes A battery back is required in case of power
loss
11

CAC NETWORK PROPOSAL
Part two: Plan Installation
Activity 7
CAC’s Logical design
So as to meet CAC’s both technical and design goals, the organization needs to apply Cisco SAFE
architecture when design network design. The main goal is to provide the very best practice's
information when implementing secure networks. The SAFE architecture usually uses a modular
approach which allows flexibility. It also facilitates troubleshooting and implementation. Cisco SAFE
architecture utilizes defense-in-depth approach where multiple layers of protection are strategically
located throughout the organization network. Cisco logical topology ought to be divided into three main
functional areas which are enterprise campus, service provider edge and enterprise edge. Each of these
functional areas contains network modules (Green, 2010, p. 67)
Table 6: List of Hardware device required
IP Design strategy
Different Internet
Protocols have been created aiming at supporting communication between user computers. For CAC
case, I would propose the use of distance victor protocols and link state protocols. The organization ISP
have given CAC class C type of IP address. The Brisbane Suburb 192.168.0.0/24. The number of servers
located in this location are two. Table 6 below shows IPV4 notation for the organization. Calculation is
found in the appendix
Table 7: Sub-netting Template
Site
name
Network
Address
Slash
notati
on
First
Usable IP
address
Last Usable
IP address
Usable
hosts
Broadcast
address
Brisba Floor 192.168.0.0 /24 192.168. 192.168.0.2 14 192.168.0.2
12
Hardware Feature
User computers Installed with windows 7
professional
Core i3 processor
500GB hard disk
3 GB RAM
Switch 2900 series
2950: Model
Router 3600 series
Model: 3620
File server 4GB RAM 2TB hard disk
Application server Windows 2012 R2