Detailed IT Network Infrastructure Report: Cookie Co. Network Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of IT network infrastructure design for Cookie Co., addressing key aspects such as network convergence and unified communications, LAN and WAN connections, transmission media, and connecting devices. It explores LAN types like FDDI and Ethernet, along with cabling plans for the head office and branches. The report also delves into WAN connections, IP and DNS management, and networked services including email, user management, intranet, extranet, VoIP, web services, and data processing facilities. It covers data storage solutions and data processing models, offering recommendations for optimizing network performance and efficiency for Cookie Co. to meet its communication and networking objectives. The report emphasizes the importance of considering various factors when designing a local area network to meet business objectives, specifically enhancing customer communication and increasing network efficiency.

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IT Network Infrastructure
Table of Contents
1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................2
2 Network Infrastructure..................................................................................................................2
2.1 Network convergence and unified communications..............................................................2
2.2 LAN types and cabling plan for the head office and branches..............................................3
2.3 WAN connection for the head office and branches...............................................................5
2.4 Transmission media and connecting devices.........................................................................6
2.5 IP and DNS management.......................................................................................................7
3 Networked Services......................................................................................................................8
3.1 Email Services........................................................................................................................8
3.2 User Management..................................................................................................................8
3.3 Intranet...................................................................................................................................9
3.4 Extranet..................................................................................................................................9
3.5 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)......................................................................................9
3.6 World Wide Web (WWW)....................................................................................................9
3.7 Web Services........................................................................................................................10
4 Data Processing Facilities...........................................................................................................10
4.1 Data Storage Solution..........................................................................................................10
4.2 Data processing model.........................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................12
Reference List................................................................................................................................13
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1 Introduction
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.
2 Network Infrastructure
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).
2.1 Network convergence and unified communications
Network Convergence
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).
Unified Communications
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.
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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).
2.2 LAN types and cabling plan for the head office and branches
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.
Figure 1: Example of a FDDI Ring
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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).
Figure 2: Typical Ethernet Setup
LAN Network Considerations and Planning
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;
Figure 3: LAN Design and Cabling
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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).
The design and cabling will look like this:
Figure 4: Cookie LAN Design for Head and Branch Offices
2.3 WAN connection for the head office and branches.
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
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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:
Figure 5: Typical WAN Setup for Cookie Co.
2.4 Transmission media and connecting devices
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
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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).
Connecting Devices
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.
2.5 IP and DNS management
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
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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).
DNS management
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).
3 Networked Services
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).
3.1 Email Services
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).
3.2 User Management
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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).
3.3 Intranet
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)
3.4 Extranet
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).
3.5 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
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.
3.6 World Wide Web (WWW)
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.
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3.7 Web Services
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.
4 Data Processing Facilities
4.1 Data Storage Solution
Data Center
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).
Storage Area Network
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).
Cloud Storage
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.
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to offer services better to its customers and enhance communication and data sharing among the
branches and head office. (Ishmael, Bury, Pezaros & Race, 2008)
4.2 Data processing model.
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).
Cloud/ online Processing
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).
Batch Processing
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.
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Recommendation
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.
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