Designing And Implementing A Hotel Network Infrastructure: A Comprehensive Guide

Building a Good Network: Fundamental Requirements

In today’s internet based economy the demand for around-the-clock customer service is required. This means that business networks should be available almost 100 percent of the time. The network must be advanced enough to automatically protect against any unexpected security threats. These business networks are required to adjust to changing traffic loads to maintain consistent application response times. For this reason it is no longer practical to construct networks by connecting many standalone components without careful planning and design.

Learning how to implement network could be a complex task if you are person who  has no prior experience or specialists in other areas of computing for example programming and database but for more skilled and experience networkers like network engineers or network technicians implementing a network may be seen as an easy task.

The projects will being looking at designing and implementing a proposed hotel infrastructure using cisco packet tracers and creating a failure on the network and observing how long it takes for it to come back to normal and measuring this delay.  In the project I will also be looking at learning about computer networks.

The reason why I chose this particular project is because of the Networks and protocols module I really enjoyed using Cisco packet tracer and exploring different ways to build networks and setting configurations. I also intend to pursue a career in networking after graduation. Another reason why I chose to undertake this particular project I wanted to challenge myself to learn more things and experiment how I could make my network more complicated so I thought measuring the delay of restoring a link using a continuous ping or a log file and measuring performance of the end to end delay when you using different protocols with the same methods would help to achieve that.

The Network infrastructure I have proposed is a hotel with 10 floors with about 20 computers in each floor. The hotel has lobby area as well as a swimming pool area. ADSL internet is available for the hotel.

To find out what makes a good network was my first task to undertake. After some research using search engines and search term “building a good network” I came across a lot of good research but the document which caught my attention was a (CCNA Discovery Learning Guide) document which gave the best tip and guidance regarding building network infrastructure which I could relate to my project.

Different Network Design Approaches

According to the document good networks do not happen by accident. They are the result of hard work done by Network designers and Technicians. They jobs requires them to identify network requirements and select the best solution to meet the needs of a business.

The steps required to design a good network are as follows:

1. Verifying the business technical requirements and goals
2. Determine the function and features required to meet the needs identified in the first step
3. Perform a  network readiness assessment
4. Create a solution and site acceptance plan
5. Creating a project plan

Once the network requirements have been identified, the steps to designing a good a network comes down to the project implementation. Network users do not usually think in terms of the complexity of the network. They look at the network as way to access applications they need and when they need them.

Once I had better understanding on the steps to undertake to achieve a good a network. I did further research into the first step of building a good network which was network requirements to get a further understanding on what businesses want from a network and the requirements which are usually set by companies. I searched the term “network requirements” on the search engine and received several different guides and papers available that list what businesses tend to look at or use as network requirements .The first document I looked at was a (Network Requirements, 2012) which had a lot of useful and relevant guidance which help me learn more about what business actual want from a network designer or technicians which I could use for my design in the project.

According (Network Requirements, 2012) most businesses actually only have a few requirements for their networks. Which are as follows

1. The network should be running at all times, even in the event of a failed link or even equipment failure, and overloaded conditions  
2. The network should also be reliable to deliver applications and provide a reasonable response time from any host to any host.
3. The network should be secure and protect any data transmitted over it and any data stored on devices that connect to it.
4. The network should be easy to amend to adapt to any network growth and general business changes.
5. Because failures do occasionally happen, troubleshooting the problem should be easy and finding   and fixing problems should not be time consuming.

Chapter 1 of the CCNA discovery learning guide (stewart,j,2008) further explains that these network requirements are put into four fundamental design goals:

Scalability- A scalable network design can grow to include new user groups and remote sites can support new applications without actually affecting the level of service delivered to existing users.

Availability – An Availability design network is one that delivers consistent, reliable performance, 24/7. Any minor single link or piece of equipment failures should not significantly impact the performance of the network.

Security – Security is vital feature that must be included in the design of the network, it should not be added on after the network is complete. Planning the location of security device like filters and firewall feature are crucial to protect network resources.  

Manageability- It does not matter how good the initial network design is, the available network staff are required to be able to manage and support the network. For a network to function effectively and efficiently it can’t not be too complex or difficult to maintain.

Benefits of a Hierarchal Network Design

The CCNA discovery learning guide (Stewart,J,2008) explains how the four fundamental design requirements must be built on an architecture that allows the network to be flexible and grow. The document also lists the benefits of having hierarchal network design compared to flat network design. It states that hierarchal network design maintains a good performance as it is broken down into sections which will reduce the amount of broadcast on the network and will initially make it easier to manage compared to flat networks.

In addition to the requirements of networks listed above, The CCNA discovery learning guide (Stewart,J,2008) recommends that the best way to know what the needs for network is to actually interacting with clients who have some knowledge on what the needs are and how this can then be  implemented onto the network . The guide also recommends splitting the needs and goals into two sections which are business goals, how the network can be used to focus on making the business more successful and technical requirements this focuses on how technology is implemented within the network  e.g. (supporting video streaming).

Even though a lot of these principles and requirements are better suited towards physical networks rather than virtual networks, build in network simulators like Cisco packet tracer could still be carried over and implemented in the real world.  

Computer networks also differ in design approach. Based on document (lifewire,Bradley Michell,2018)  there two basic forms of network design which are client/server and peer to peer. Client-server networks are featured with a centralized server computer that stores web pages, files, application which is accessed by client computers and other client devices. Whereas on a peer-to-peer network all devices tend to support the same functions. Client-server networks are much more common in businesses whereas peer-to-peer is more common in homes.  

According to (Techrepublic, Brien Posey,2000) A Peer-to-peer networks can support only about ten clients (workstation) before it starts having serious performance and management issues. Usually, peer to peer networks are composed of a collection of clients that run either Windows NT workstation or Windows 98, Windows 95, windows 2000 professional which all support peer-to-peer networks.

The purpose behind the peer-to-peer network concept is to share files and printers as inexpensively as possible: that’s the reason why there are no main servers on the network. Therefore each client function runs simultaneously as both client and server. Since the users are permissible to control access to the resources on their own computers. This however makes the security vulnerable in a peer-to-peer environment. There’s no central security or any way to control who shares what. Users are open to create any network share points on their network. Peer-to-peer networks only security is on a share level. When users are creating network shares, they may implement no security which then allows anyone to have full access to the share, or they may assign a password to the share. The users may assign one password to a share for read-only access and another password for full control over the share all depending on the network platform being used.

Interacting with Clients for Network Design

Although these security methods may somewhat sound secure. They aren’t as the computer that contains the shared resources doesn’t check on whose trying to gain access on those resources. Any user is able to gain access as long as they know the password.

In client/server networks there are almost infinite range of them but a majority of them have a lot of things in common.  For instance they all have centralized security databases that control access to all shared resources on servers. In Windows the servers most likely runs on NetWare, Windows NT, or on one of the Windows 2000 Server products. The server stores a list of all the usernames and passwords. The only way a user can access the network is to provide any valid usernames or passwords to the server. Once logged on, the user is able to access only those resources that the network administrator has allowed them to. Client/server networks provide much more security than peer-to-peer networks. Client/server networks also tend to be much more stable than the peer-to-peer networks. In the peer-to-peer networks some of the shared resources show up on each user’s machine. So if users decided to play around and crash their computer this could seriously impact their peer-to-peer network (only where Co-workers depend on resources that are resided on other user’s machines). However in majority of client/server networks shared resources are kept secure from curious users due to the shared resources being resided on the server instead. If a user happens to delete a shared resource from the server, they can then rely on the nightly backups whereas in peer-to-peer it can be very difficult to back up a peer-to-peer network every night.

The main limitation to a client/server network is its cost. Server can become very costly. For example it could cost £700 for a copy of Windows NT server and five client licenses, and this doesn’t even include the price of the hardware, which is required to be more powerful than a standard workstation. The client/server networks are required to have an employee to manage the servers which is additional costs unless the company has someone in office who is experience in Netware or Windows NT server and in all of the issues which occur in client/server networking. Usually companies employ network professional from outside the company which tend to be very expensive.

The different risk acting on the network is analysed and the security assets are identified for enabling security in the network. The activities that should be covered for the development of the network is identified and the roles and responsibility of the team members for the completion of each of the activity should be assigned for the development of the network project. The barrier acting on the network for the completion of each of the activity should be defined such that the risk can be analysed. There are different techniques that can be applied for the identification of the risk such as penetration testing of the network with a group of friendly users or the identification of the weakness and the open ports in the network that can be utilized by the illegal users for intruding into the network.

Security in Client-Server and Peer-to-Peer Networks

A list of the network device and the hardware should be identified such that a planning should be created for the list of the hardware and the assets can be categorized as physical and nonphysical assets.

Physical assets – The main physical assets identified for the development of the hotel network are the network hardware such as the router, laser printer, switches, workstations, wireless access points, Pcs, etc.

Non-Physical assets – The non-physical assets are the software that are the operating system installed in the workstations and servers installed in the network for the management of the users connected in the network. The operating system of the router and the cloud server also falls in the category of the non-physical assets. The system should be regularly updated and managed with patches such that the vulnerabilities can be mitigated and the security of the network is improved.

Individual asset risk – This type of risk is associated with the personal device of the user that are connected in the network and the identification of the risk is important for creation of the risk mitigation plan and responding against the risk. The network device that can be attacked and the other vulnerabilities in the network should be identified such that possible areas of the attacks can be identified at the early stages of development of the project.  

Threats

The threats associated with the hotel network should be eliminated for the development of the network framework the users associated with the network should be identified for analysing the source of the threats. The threats can be divided into internal, external or unknown threats acting on the network. The different agents should be grouped and their responsibility should be added such that the threats can be easily eliminated for the development of the network framework.  

Challenges

The challenges for the network project is the availability of the team members and the errors in the configuration codes that may cause a loop hole in the network and allow the intruder to access the internal resources of the network. The use of remote connection management and the cloud platform for storing the records of the customer can also be a challenge for the hotel because the customer information should be securely accessed and can be misused by the illegal user for applying it in different fields and gain monetary benefit. The loop holes in the network should be identified and the errors should be eliminated for increasing the network security.

Vulnerabilities

The vulnerabilities in the network such as missing of encryption of the data, sql injection attacks, missing of authorization and unrestricted upload and download of data in the network should be identified. The identification of the vulnerabilities in the early stages of development of the network project is important for the development of the network infrastructure without any errors in the network. A penetration testing should be performed in the network for the identification of the vulnerabilities of the network and configure the network following the requirement of the network. The misconfiguration of the network, flaws in the security rules and open ports in the network can be identified that can be used by the intruder to access the resources of the organization.  

Email and Communication Policy – The hotel network is developed by securing the communication between the users connected in the network and for that the email and communication policy is created. The management of the users to reach the different subnet in the network is important for maintaining the privacy of the customer information and authenticity with the developed network. The email server should be connected with the firewall such that all the messages are transferred via the firewall and the unknown messages can be blocked to reach the users connected with the internal network of the hotel.

Internet and Network Access Policy – The access of the internet to the guest user should be provided by configuring the active directory of the server installed in the network. For allowing the remote user to access the internal network of the hotel a RADIUS server is required for the management of the resources and allowing the user to log in into the network via logging into the RADIUS server. VPN tunnel can also be created for encrypting the communication channel and secure the data packets in the network.

Workstation Policy – Password management policy should be introduced for the management of the workstation connected in the network and enforce the administration policy for the management of the network. Antivirus should be installed in the workstation for protecting against the spam and virus from unwanted sources in the network. Different password should be used for the workstation such and the central server should be configured for the management of the password and increase the efficiency of the network.

Firewall policy – the firewall are used for controlling the flow of the network traffic between the hosts and the nodes connected in the network. The firewall are installed din the network perimeters for protecting the internal hosts from different kind of attacks. It adds an extra layer of security in the network and can also protect the mobile device of the customers connecting with the WLAN of the hotel. For the development of the firewall policy an analysis should be made on the network for finding the inbound and the outbound traffic for the range of IP address based on the different types of media traffics. Only specific range of IP address are allowed to send and receive data packets in the network and ports can be defined for reducing the volume of unwanted traffic in the network and increase the efficiency of the network. A rule set should be created for supporting the performance of the firewall and management of firewall architect, policies software and other components.

Internet Policy – It is used for creating rules and guidelines for appropriately using the equipment of the hotel for accessing the internet. The creation of the internet policy helps in protecting the employees and the business from legal issues. The employees and the users using the network infrastructure of the hotel should be aware of browsing the vulnerable websites and prohibited to download files that can cause a security risk for the employees due to negligence. The internet usage policy should be applicable to all the employees and the customers using the hotel network and all the user are expected to use the internet wisely and productively the harmful sites should be blocked such that the user does not have access to the contents.

Vulnerability scanning policy – It is essential for determination of the potential risk associated with the network assets and can be done with periodic or continuous assessment of the network assets. It is important to use a centrally managed vulnerability assessment system for the assessment of thee vulnerability and approving it for securing the different areas of network. The security operation manager is responsible to analyse the vulnerability and some exception should be added for the creation of the document. The strategic action should be defined against the vulnerability for securing the network from external agents.

Physical security policy

The physical security policy is created for protecting the network components internally and externally.

• The physical security policy associated with the external protection are given below:
• The authorised user should be provided the access of the server
• A password validation should be used for the authentication of the access of the user to the network resources
• A log should be maintained for recording the activity of the user accessing the resources of the network.

The internal policy is created for the internal users such as the customers and the employees of the hotel and are given below:

• The internal activity of the user should be monitored with the application of network monitoring tool
• Antivirus software should be installed in the workstations and the drives should be encrypted for securing the information
• The network policy should be aligned with the network and the network device installed in the different areas of the network.  

User training policy – It is important to improve the security awareness regarding the usage of the computers and its accountability. The user should be informed about the potential impact and the strategy they should follow for the removal of the threat acting on them. The development, maintenance and updating of the network should be given to a specific security personnel and the user should be trained about keeping the information safe and block the unwanted virus, spam and social engineering attacks.   

Data Policies

The data policy can be divided into different types such as classification of the information, encryption of the information, backup and management of the complexity of the password. The sensitive or the confidential files should be encrypted and stored in the database of the server such that if any third party gains the access of the server the data cannot be retrieved. It adds an extra level of protection to the network of the hotel. The encryption policy can directly affect the security of the network and public key encryption should be used for encrypting the server data. The data should also be backed up for the elimination of the risk associated with the loss of data. Remote location should be used for storing the backup files and information of the organization.

System and Hardware policy

Hardware lifecycle and disposal policy – the old hardware device that was used for interconnecting the different departments and floors of the hotel building should be evaluated for reusing it in different location. If it is found obsolete it should be discarded and new technology should be used for interconnecting the different areas of the hotel.

Workstation policy – The workstation deployed in the different departments for the management of the customer information and service should be protected with the following workstation rules and policies such as:

• User management for the improvement of the security of the network and the hotel management system
• Restricting the user to install third party application in the workstation with configuration of the active directory.

Router Policy –

The router should be configured with password such that the user cannot have the access of the settings and modify it according to their needs. The static routes should be used for connecting with the different networks and policy based routing should be used for permitting the data packets generated from the internal network to reach the destination address.

Logging Policy-

The username and password should be used for connecting with the network of the hotel such that the activity of the user using the hotel network can be recorded and network is kept secured from illegal access. A time should be set for the expiry of the password and the server should be updated with the latest policy and maintain the records of the server.

Impact of business analysis

The impact of the business should be analysed for understanding the risk impact and determination of the strategy that can be used for minimizing the effect of the risk acting on the hotel network. The errors in the configuration of the network can be eliminated for improvement of the network performance and serve more request at a time. The network downtime can affect the growth of the business because the data should be available all the time and the problems should be eliminated for the development of the network framework. The negative performance of the network have an negative impact on the current growth of the organization.

Consideration of Insurance

The backup of the policy helps in management of the network framework and reduce the network downtime. It also increases the availability of the network and serve the needs of the users for maximizing the network performance and increase the loyalty of the customer. A service level agreement should be created with the network service provider such that the service is never down.

Incident response –

A strategy should be created for responding against a network failure such as switching to the backup link and taking appropriate action for the development of the network. The incident response team should be developed for the handling the disaster in the network and increasing the availability of the network. The implementation of the intrusion detection system can help in analysing the activity of the user and create a response plan for the identified risk associated with the current network framework of the hotel.

Physical safeguards –

The development of the network policy and the use of the intrusion prevention system helps in protecting the network resources from physical damage and maintain the records of the customers for taking legal action against the user performing illegal activity in the network.

Items prepared –

The external agents and the network devices that are required for the development of the network framework should be placed in the DMZ zone such that the resources are protected from the illegal access.

Restoration procedure –

Minimum time should be taken for the restoration of the data and the configuration of the network. Maximum bandwidth should be allocated to the backup link for high speed transmission of data packets in the network and restore the network to it precious working state if any disaster occurs in the network.

Maintenance plan –

The maintenance of the network should be done during without affecting the performance of the network. Maintenance plan should be set up for resolving the errors in the network and eliminating the network problems faced by the users.

Security strategies

The data residing in the central server of the hotel should be protected because it contains valuable information such as the records of the customer and the staffs working in the organization. Priority should be given on the security of the system and the firewall must be deployed in the network perimeter such that the inbound and the outbound traffic can be controlled. Configuration of the router with the access control list helps in protecting the resources by applying a filter for dropping the unknown packets to reach the network.

Specific recommended control –

There are different risk factors that are used for the prioritization of the risk and preparing a risk mitigation plan for supporting the backend processes. The creation of the backup plan helps in development of a secure control for responding against the failure of the network and reducing the network barriers for increasing the efficiency of the network. The main focus should be given on the identification of the risk and finding the challenges for the deployment of the risk mitigation strategy for the elimination of the risk.

Residual risks

The residual risk can arise from different points of the network and it includes exploitation of the network, social engineering attacks, spamming, spyware, Trojan, etc.

Ref No.	Description	Probability	Severity	Mitigation Strategies	Residual Plan
#1040021	Attacks on password	Likely	Major	Reduce	Installation of biometric device for the identification of the user
#1040022	Exploitation of trust	Possible	Moderate	Transfer	Management of the sensitive information
#1040023	Redirection of port	Unlikely	Minor	Accept	Handling the hardware devices
#1040024	Man-In-The-Middle Attacks	Likely	Moderate	Avoid	Implementation of security mechanism for resolving the risk
#1040025	Social Engineering Attack	Rare	Minor	Exploit	Should be used for identification of the flaws in the network configuration

Business Goals – The hotel network needs to connect the BYOD devices of the customer such that more flexibility is offered to the customer for increasing the customer loyalty. There is an expected growth in the usage of the wireless network of the hotel and thus for enhancing the productivity of the network the network is designed with the installation of wireless access point in different location of the hotel such that all the rooms and the floors are under the wireless coverage. For the improvement of the security of the hotel network the wireless access point is connected in a separate vlan such that the user connected with the wireless network does not have an access to the core network resources of the hotel and the security is maintained.

Technical Goals

Scalability – The network is designed to meet the current needs of the users and it should meet the needs of the users in the coming years such that the network can sustain for a longer period of time. The IP addressing plan is created such that extra number of IP address are kept in reserve for meeting the future needs of the hotel. The transfer capacity of the data should be handles by the current network and appropriate cable should be used for the connecting the network device installed in different location of the hotel. The security components should be listed and deployed to protect the network from illegal access.

Availability – The network is configured with redundant link such that all the devices are available to the user any time. The uptime of the network should be 99% and the user should be able to connect with the network such and monitored for identification of the traffic in the network. Backup of the network device should be created to respond against emergency condition and the redundant link should be used as an alternate channel for reach the network device and perform the desired operation. The router should be configured with MPL and QoS such that the user does not face a lag in the network and the activity of the user should be monitored with the implementation of the intrusion detection system for identification of the flow of the data packet in the network.

Performance of the Network – The congestion and collision in the network should be avoided such that the performance of the network is high. Dividing the network into smaller subnet helps in increasing the performance and better management can be done. The IP address plan should be prepared by dividing the network into smaller section and dividing the network into VLAN such that the network can be managed. The point of failure of the network should be identified for the mitigation of the errors in the network and the impact of the failure should also be identified for the creation of a strong network infrastructure for the hotel. There should be no loss of data during transmitting of data from the source to the destination address in the network.

Security – The main factor for the success of the network infrastructure is the security of the network. There should be different layers of security implemented for the development of the network framework and the network administrator is responsible for the management of the security of the network. The vulnerabilities acting on the network is identified for the enforcement of the security policy and configuration of the firewalls aligning the business rules of the hotel. For enabling remote management the secure communication channel should be used such that the data transmitted from the remote source cannot be hijacked and misused. The access of the customer information and the resources of the hotel can cause risk for the growth in the business. The weakness of the system should be identified and the entrance point in the network should be secured such that it cannot be accessed by illegal personnel.

Manageability – the network should be consistent such that the errors in the network should be mitigated immediately for removal of the constraint in the network. The administration of the usage of the network device is important for improvement of the management of the network. Different diagnostic tool should be used for the analysis of the network and the guidelines should be followed for the configuration of the server and the network devices installed in different location of the hotel network. The management of the network device is important for the success of the network and implementation of the intrusion detection system helps in creating a notification alarm if any intruder tries to access the resources of the hotel. The server should be configured with the workstation policy and password management such that the user is not able to install any third party application in the workstation.

Usability – The network should be usable for the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of the users using the network system. The user should not face any difficulty while connecting with the network and surf the internet using the website of the network. The security key should be provided to the user and the records of the user using the network components should be noted such that it can be used as an evidence and a prototype of the network should be created for testing the network. The network should be tested for the identification of the vulnerabilities of the network and removal of the constraint for increasing the efficiency of the current network infrastructure. The application that requires the access of the internet for proper working should be allowed such that the user does not face any difficulty while using the network framework.

Adaptability – The network should respond according to the query of the user and the all types of network devices should be supported by the network. The current methodology that can be used for the development of the network framework should be documented for fixing the network management plan. The limits of the network should be identified for the removal of the constraints and the capacity of the network should be identified for serving the needs if the user. The sudden increase in the needs of the user should be accommodated by the developed network infrastructure and the user should not find any delay in transmitting data packets in the network. The network is designed such that new network device can be added with the current network framework for expansion of the current network and meet the growth of the business organization.

Affordability – The growth of the business should be supported by the network framework for the management of the network infrastructure and it should be developed considering the social needs of the user using the network. An economic feasibility study should be made on the available technology that can be adopted by the organization for meeting the need and improve the productivity of the business. A comparative analysis of the current business policy that is utilized by the other competitors is analysed for the implementation of the new strategy and develop the network framework aligning the requirement of the user.

Existing Network – The current network of the hotel is designed with a router and switches that connects all the floors and the reception. The network is created as a single network and thus more number of traffic is generated from the device connected in the network and thus a congestion is faced by the user. The user face delay in the data transmission due to the unnecessary broadcast message. In the current network topology if an intruder gains the access of the network. The delay in the network should be handled and different networking protocols should be used for dividing the network into smaller segments and increase the efficiency of the network. The current network is connected with Ethernet cables and uses switches for connecting the servers and the workstations. There are no security measures implemented for the development of the network framework and any of the user connected in then network can reach the servers installed for the management of the user information of the hotel business.

Network Traffic Analysis – The hotel network is developed for allowing the user and the staffs for exchanging the data packet in the network without any delay. The information system of the hotel should be connected with the network for real time update of the database and recoding all the information about the activity of the user using the information system. For the expansion of the network the current issues in the network should be analysed and the resources should be listed for the development of the hotel network framework. The analysis of the network traffic helps in allocation of the bandwidth and creation of the network cabling plan for interconnecting the device installed in different location of the hotel. The delay in the network traffic should be analysed for the development of the network framework and eliminating the clogs in the network for the development of the network framework.  

Different types of data traffic and multimedia packets should be transferred using the proposed network framework designed for the hotel. The configuration of the network device with different network protocol is important for successfully deploy the network framework. The management of the network traffic is important increasing the efficiency of the current network framework of the organization. Management of low throughput and diverse kind of network traffic is the key point of success of the network framework. The similar types of assets of the hotel should be grouped according to their type of easy management of the network. The rate of the transmission of the data packets should also be analysed for the management of the traffic queue and reducing the delay in the flow of data traffic in the network. The use of connection less protocol for the internal transmission and the connection oriented protocol for establishing a connection with the remote client helps in increasing the efficiency of the current network framework of the hotel.

The Quality of service of the network topology created for the hotel is important for designing the network and the following things should be incorporated such as:

• The proof of checking the current strategy and the proof for the application of the new technology and the goals for the development of the network framework and creating an end to end link between the client and host in the network
• The single components of each of the system should have the quality of service such that chances of errors in the network is reduced and the efficiency of the network is improved
• The administration, quality and monitoring the development process of the network is important for successfully deploy the network framework and regulate the rules and legislation for the establishment of end to end connection in the network.

The virtual private network is important for the development of the local area network and the management of the private network is also important for the development of the network architecture. There are different issues in the VPN architecture and it should be resolved for increasing the tolerance and the management of the integrated service such as MPLS for benefitting the user for handling different types of traffic in the network. The management of the network infrastructure and provisioning off the network resources is also important for mitigation of the problems in the current network infrastructure of the hotel network. Service level agreement should be created or the management of the different routes and management of the traffic in the network. The management of the congestion is important for the low latency queuing and securing the network and maintaining confidentiality of the user connected in the network. A multi provider environment can be created for increasing the scalability of the network and delivering the IP based data packets to the destination address.   

LAN cabling

There are different Ethernet options available for interconnecting the network devices that are installed in different location of the hotel and network device should be configured according to the needs of the business. The configuration of the VLAN in the switch helps in easy management of the network and appropriate type of cable should be used for interconnecting the devices with each other. The network should be subnetted for the elimination of the risk of collision and different channels should be used for different types of signals. The noise of the communication channel should be eliminated with the avoidance of the inference and higher frequency should be used for the transmission of the wireless signals as the 2.4 ghz signal is susceptible to inference as it is used by many network device for sending and receiving data packets. The wireless access point should communicate using the 5.0 ghz frequency for covering larger area and serving more number of user at a time.

LAN Technology

Different type of local area network technology such as gigabyte Ethernet, and IEEE 802.1 standard can be used for serving the users connected in the network. The use of the IEEE 802 standards helps in serving the similar speed as the Ethernet to the user using the wireless access point of the hotel without facing any lag in the network.

Remote access technology –

IPSec, VPN, SSL can be used for the development of the remote access technology and establish the connection with the remote client. The installation of the RADIUS server in the network helps in creating an authentication with the user and verification of the approval of the user for maintaining the security of the network. The approval of the network client is important for the approval of the access of the remote client to access the core resources of the organization. The use of the VPN is important for maintaining the confidentiality of the data of the remote user for accepting the data packet from the unknown sources connected with the hotel network.

Organization wide interconnecting devices-

The diverse branches of the hotel business should be interconnected with each other for administrating the current performance of the network. A list of the network device should be created that are used for interconnecting the different branches, floors of the hotel building. The switch should be configured with trunk protocol such that VTP configuration should be done on the switch such that the server switch configuration is transferred with the client switch. The use of layer 3 switch for the management of the network traffic is important for the development if the network eliminating the constraint and barrier of the network.

WAN technologies

The wide area network of the hotel should be created after analysing the geographical area of the hotel and areas that are needed to be covered by the network should also be analysed for the development of the network infrastructure. Point to point connection should be used for enabling exchange of data traffic between the sender and the receiver of the network. Circuit switching, packet switching, the virtual circuit, dial up services should be created for the development of the network. The wan devices such as switch, access server, modem, router, ISDN terminal should be used for the development of the wide area network. The different layers of OSI model should be considered for the development of the network and the relationship with each of the layers should also be considered for finding the operation of the network and use of different network protocol in different layers of the OSI model.

The current network is created for the hotel where three different operations are demonstrated via the network. A floor is used for the installation of the data centre and the hotel management information system for recording the customer records and the information. Different routers are used for the different floors of the building and the frame relay connection is used such that the data packet does are not dropped when sent over long distance. The ISP router is connected with the data centre router for backing up the data in the cloud servers and increase the availability of the data. The TFTP server is configured for enabling the authenticated user to access the data and manage it from remote location. For the local area network redundant link are used such that the user can reach any of the device in the network and the availability of the network resources is 100 percent. Layer 3 switch is used for the management of the distribution of the network and it is configured with dial peer connection for management of the IP phone and the reducing the cost of the telephone. The VOIP is used for providing service to the customer to reach the reception from their room and order their items. The records are maintained in the database and different communication channel is used for the management of the voice and the data channel in the network. Different vlan are used for the voice and the data such that there is no collision between the packets and the efficiency of the network is increased. The wireless access point is connected in each of the floor of the hotel for providing wireless connectivity to the handheld device of the customers residing in the hotel rooms.  

The network is developed with 6 cisco 2811 series router, 3 Cisco 2960 series switch is used as the access layer switch and Cisco 3560 series switch is used for the management of the distribution layer of the network. The Cisco 7960 IP phone is used for the VOIP connection and the servers are installed with windows server 2012 R2 for the management of the service and controlling the user connected with the hotel network.  For interconnecting the network device installed in different areas of the network copper straight through cable is used and the network device interface are configured according to the IP address plan for enabling communication between the other devices connected in the network. The wireless access point is used for connecting the wireless device of the customer with the hotel network and proper encryption algorithm is used for securing the access point from the illegal users. Each of the VOIP phones for the different floor are configured with different series of number and it can be matched with the room number of the hotel for easy identification of the incoming call.

The social security of the network should be considered for the development of the network and social engineering tool should be used for the analysis of the vulnerability of the network. The complex environment of the network should be analysed for the examination of the framework and identification of the advantages and disadvantages of the network. The network is tested for the identification and approaches involved for the development of the network framework. The servers placed in the data centre network are configured with the static IP address such that the access control list can be configured for restricting the unknown user to access the servers. The software and the hardware used for the development of the server are used for the development of the network. The prototype of the hotel network is created in cisco packet tracer and tested for finding the errors in the configuration of the network.

The following ping test is done by deleting a link between the sender and the receiver and the time taken to use the redundant link is noted for analysing the uptime of the network.

Network Simulation

It is used for the identification of the path used for reaching the destination address and the time taken for reaching to the final destination address can also be found from the simulation of the network.

Conclusion

From the above report it can be concluded that with the development of the network solution for the hotel is an important factor for the success of the current business process. The current available technology that can be implemented in the network for the deployment of the network solution is analysed for the development of the network framework. A network topology design is selected for the development of the network framework and the goals and objectives of the organization should be analysed for aligning the network framework. For the reduction of the errors in the configuration of the network the requirement of the network is analysed and proper network device elements re used for the development of the network framework. Different approaches are used for the development of the network and the router is configured with DHCP configuration for automatically assigning the IP address to the device connected in the network. For the development of the network framework main focus is given on the security of the network and the risk associated with the network is analysed and mitigated for the development of the network solution. A critical analysis of the network is made for the identification of the performance of the network and a subnet plan is created for dividing the network into smaller subnet and creating different VLAN. The data centre network is created in different subnet followed by the administration and the guest network. A network security plan is created documenting the different types of policies that should be implemented for the development of the network. A network redesign plan is also created for the development of the current network infrastructure aligning the needs of the user using the network framework of the organization. For the configuration of the network the layer 2 switch is configured as the server and the other layer 3 switches are used as the client for the management of the vlan.

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