Implementation Of Network Model For Drop And Forge Company

Network Design Requirements

Computer network is very essential aspect in any organization since it promotes the service delivery, sharing of resources, communication and sharing of data and files.

However there are various types of networks which are traditional and other modern, the traditional networks is implemented using three-tier methodology where the network is only accessible by the devices which are already configured in the network and in a restricted geographical location.

The modern network are implemented using the cloud services technologies that enables the implementation of the mobile networks model that is unstructured unlike the three –tier network model, however this model enables the users and the staffs to have access to the data any time ,any location and using any network.

This report is used to discuss the implementation of the drop and forge company network that the management aims to shift from the traditional network to the mobile network model which is more appropriate to use.

The computer network is an essential asset and a requirement to the current organizations operations where it is used in various ways which includes the communication services, sharing of data, sharing of resources and other network assets.

 However the drop  and forge being a manufacturing company where there it has two sections one being the main office and the other the manufacturing plant there is need of the network installation since the company is using the local work station in the respective branches.

The drop and forge company management had decided to implement the network system that will be connecting both the head office building and the manufacturing firm computer and other network devices, the office building will be having the 50 computers and the manufacturing firm will have 10 computers .

However the network will also be installed with the database server which will be used to store the design models  and power backup system to ensure that the company has power always. 

While designing the network there are various requirements that were set to enable the network to deliver the required services ,below are some of the requirements.

1. Internet connectivity to the network.
2. Database server for storage of the models.

• Firewall devices and settings to enhance network security.

1. Network bandwidth of 10 mbps or above.

In the network design there are some of assumptions that I made and they includes the following:

1. Each computer device in the company will be connected to the proposed network.
2. All network devices will be having internet connectivity to allow uploading of models online.

• All the manufacturing firm computers will be connected and have access to database server to store and backup the models.

1. There will be enough power source and back up facilities including UPS for every computer.
2. Each work station will be assigned to a specific staff member.
3. There will be routers to allow internet connectivity.

• The server will be hosted in a room in the office building.

Below are the required network devices.

Type of network device	Units	Description	Unit cost
computers	60	To be used for data analysis and modeling	150$
Database server	1	To store and back up the models	400$
Routers	2	To connect the two network segments	100$
Switches	6	To link the computers and other devices in the network segments	50$
Printers	2	For models printing.	100$
Telephone	2	To make calls over network	70$

The proposed network will be local area network connecting the two network segments; however there are proposed connection circuit devices as summarized in the table below.

Type of connection media	Units	Description	Unit cost
Cat-6 network cable	300 meters	Used to connect the two branches	1.5$
RJ-45	100	To connect the computers to network sockets	1$
Network sockets	30	To provide terminals to connect to network	2$

The above is the network diagram of the proposed network design where there are two branches ,the manufacturing segment has a total of 50 computers, a printers to print some models, one telephone for communication  ,four switches for connecting the devices and  the router to link the network and other network segment.

Proposed Network Devices

However the office segment has a database server for storing the models, 10 computers, printers to print some models, one telephone for communication, three switches for connecting the devices and the router to link the network and other network segment (Charles 2015).

In this section there are use of the PING ,ARP and TRACEROUTE  tools which will enable us to test the network connectivity and the various network hops in a given network as discussed below with illustration (Mike 2015).

The ipconfig is a network command line tool that is used while checking the currently available TCP/IP networking configurations values; however I helps in the refreshing of the setting of the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS) (Richard 2013).

Therefore this tool is used to display the IP addresses, subnet masks, default gateways of the computer network terminals. 

To perform the activity one require to open the CMD in the computer and then enter the ipconfig command to get results as below.

The above result shows the computer is connected to two wireless network connections where the tunnel adapters are disconnected, however the ip addresses are as follows.

Ip address:192.168.43.183

Subnet mask:255.255.255.0

Default gateway:192.168.43.1

The Ethernets local area networks has various network devices connections and for each network device attached has an ip address which is made of 48 bits in length, this physical address of the machine is called the media access controls and is abbreviated as MAC address,

However the ARP is a type of cache table that maintains the list of correlations between the network devices MAC addresses and their respective IP addresses as shown below.

To perform the activity one requires opening the CMD in the computer and then entering the ARP- A command to get results as below.

After the performance of the arp-a  command ,the above is the resultant ARP cache table where it indicates the network interface ,ip addresses ,physical addresses and the types of networks table showing that there is total of seven ip addresses in the cache table.

The tracert is a cmd tool that is used in the CMD command ,this tool is mainly used to indicate the necessary information regarding the network packets paths that it follows from one computer device to the targeted computer device in a certain network .

This tool however provides a list of routers that has to pass through till it arrives the desired destinations ,the packet sometimes fail to reach destination and eventually get discarded.

Testing Network Connectivity using PING, ARP, and TRACERT

This tool also gives a summary of the much time that each network hop from a router to the other router takes as well as illustrated below.

To perform the activity one requires opening the CMD in the computer and then entering the ARP- A command to get results as below. 

The above results shows the tracert tool function, however in this the selected website is facebook.com this indicates the routers that the packet had to pass through which is 14 routers which are identified by the ip addresses, the packet had also used time to move from one router to the other which range between 2 milliseconds to 296 milliseconds ,therefore to move a packet from the computer to the facebook.com server it takes a total of 14 hops.

The computing technology is growing very fast where in the current state most of the operations had moved from the desktop computers to the had held devices like the smart phones, tablets and ipads .

All these had been made possible by the use of the modern cloud computing services which had given the users the opportunity to own a virtual space in the remote servers which is provided by the various cloud server vendors.

Therefore in this network drop and forge company network currently the resources and the server could only be accessed while in the office using the configured computer systems, however to make the services more efficient to the customers the management had decided to adopt the mobile computing which will be facilitated by use of the cloud computing services .

The mobile computing will enable the customers to access the models from any location at any time using the mobile devices or their computers unlike there before they could request from the company and wait for days to receive them.

However the introduction of the mobile computing and the cloud computing the staffs will also be able to update the models and any other required data at any time even from their homes using the mobile devices regardless of the network they are using.

The cloud service is the information technology (IT) type of service that is provided and can be accessed from cloud services providers vendors, these providers support the cloud computing process that enable the access of large pool of shared pool of systems that are configurable an these type of services that the clients are provided where no or little effort is used by the management through the internet.

Benefits of Cloud Services

The cloud service consists of the various models that include the deliveries and services type of models of the clouds computing solution; however this type of service is delivered through the internet and globally accessible using the internet service connection.

The cloud services is very essential to any organization that had adopted it ,this is because it is associated with various benefits and which facilitate good service delivery.

Below are some of the benefits of cloud Services:

1. Cost efficiency.

The cloud services is one of the highly efficient methods in using, maintaining and upgrading ,however compared to the desk top computers and their software the computers incur the company a lot of its money, this is also attributed to the licenses costs that must be installed to multiple computer users in the company.

Therefore the cloud services are obtained using low rates and thus the company expenditures are highly minimized since there are various payments options for services which include the pay as you use or the one time pay.

1. Sufficient storage spaces.

The cloud services provided a storage space that is somehow unlimited ,therefore there is no given time that the organization  will lack a space to store the data.

• There are backups and recovery facilities.

The backing or the restoration of the data is very easy in cloud services this is because all the data is securely saved in the cloud database which is more convenient that the storage on the physical devices .

However the cloud services providers assists in the recovery of the data or information and thus becoming more convenient than the traditional information storages.  

1. Automations in software integrations.

The cloud services allows the automatic integrations of the software ,this minimize the effort of the organization to do the software customization and integrations, however in case the company require the customization of the software it is done with ease to ensure that it suits the needs of the company.

1. Ease of accessing the information.

The company employees can be able to have information access from any location immediately after the registration as long as there is internet connections .Therefore this feature eliminates the time zones and the geographical locations challenges.

1. Reduction of the operation costs.

In the cloud services the cost is highly reduced this is by reductions in the costs involved in the operations and maintenance and the only pay for the required services.

However the company had eliminated the cost incurred in purchasing the servers and the maintenances fees in case it go down, this is by making use of the vendors server .However the cloud services eliminate the need of hiring more employees and buying of some  equipments and  thus saving on the company cost.

• There is accessibility and efficiency.

The cloud services is highly accessible this is if at all the user has internet access one will be able to access data from any location.

Therefore the company customers ,employees and management will have ability of accessing the information from various locations.

However the system provides real time services while updating the software and the platform, and therefore there will be much innovations due to the ease of access to the company data and information.

The stored data is also ensured of security since the security level in the cloud server is higher than the local server and there are no effects on the data even if there is power loss and the uptime is assured to be beyond  99% and thus the data can be retrieved through the internet connection. 

• There is ease in software updating.

The cloud computing has the ability to update the software, this is because it provided updates frequently and undisruptive. Therefore there is assurance of no interruptions during the work hours since the updating in the server takes a short while.

1. Variety of the storage options.

The cloud service provides the option of type of storage which is either public, private or hybrid storages  where they are selected depending on the security level needed and the capital.

1. Availability of the security features.

There are feature which includes the virtual private clouds ,encryptions and the API key keeps the data in a secured state.

1. There is Data security.

The cloud service provides the backup facility that keeps data copy and in case of loss it is easily restored. 

The cloud service is provided by the cloud computing technology which entails the processes of delivery of scalable, expandable and elastic software service via the internet technology.

However it is type of method that provides the software as a service and is delivered in terms of pay per use where it provides the self services capability where scalable features are used to raise the use depending on the requirements (Forouzan 2014).

Below is the main type of the cloud services.

This is type of service that enables the clients to use unlimited storage space which in the clouds infrastructures ,however they are given privileges of expanding and shrinking that storage spaces that they require without any worries about the site’s dedicated servers. Therefore this service used to do the renting of the servers and the storage spaces.

Benefits.

1. The customers are given full controls on the VM and other components in it.
2. The customers are allowed to run what they wish in the VM.

• The customers are able to control processes in the VM.

1. It make it simple to do integration with the enterprises infrastructures.
2. It is the most secured cloud services since there is high controls of VM.

Disadvantages

1. It is most expense since the customers leases the tangible resource.
2. The customers do backup on their own.

• The customers do all VM managements compared to SaaS and PaaS which are managed by the service providers.

1. Has no controls over the server to use or the VM’s physical locations.

This is type of the cloud service that allows the company to be able to access the functional features of certain software without any worry of the storages and any issue related to cloud service. Therefore this service rents the application software and the databases as well.

Advantages

1. It is the cheapest and cost effective cloud services where only a software is leased but not the resources.
2. It is easily setup and little plan is required.

• It supports rapid developments since there is full provision of software on demands.

1. Customers don’t worry applications managements since the provider manages them.
2. The applications are highly stable since there the support is provided by clouds services providers IT teams.

Disadvantages.

1. The customers are limited to control systems that process data.
2. The is no options to control they type of customers to user particular applications software.

• There is very little controls to software’s parameters.

1. The controls in deployments, upgrading and testing methods is very little.
2. There is limited applications software solution that is offered.
3. The customers data can be accessed by the service providers so encryption is required.

This is type of cloud services that enable the company to run an application using the clouds services platforms where they don’t worries about the maintenance of the hard disks and the servers as well (Behrouz 2016). Therefore the paas is mainly used to rent the use of the servers and the system software to the clients.

Benefits.

1. It is cheaper compared to IaaS since only software is leased but not the resources .
2. One can bring own application and execute it on the platform and fully control the application.

• The users accessing the applications software  are fully controlled and bale to process the data.

1. There is improvement in terms of integration with other systems.
2. The management of VM is minimized as it is managed by the cloud services providers.

Disadvantages.

1. There is no controls over the VM and the data processes,
2. There no platform control and relies on the cloud services providers.

• The platform is mostly being shared by many customers as it is a shared  platform.

1. It’s is costly compared to SaaS and little control over the VM like in IaaS. 

This is the service that is provided to the company in order to create and develop the complete applications that mainly suites the company requirements and operations.

This is type of service that is provided to company that has large set of data in order to allow them store all their data in the remote servers or do create a  data center virtually. 

This is type of service that is used by the company to control the malwares in the systems ,some of the services includes the anti spam services.

As a result of adopting the new system from the traditional 3-tier network there are various changes that will have to change in the organization and to the employees as below.

1. The organization will eliminate the database manager department since the database are no longer in the local server.
2. There will also elimination of the network administrator department since the employees can be using the mobile devices like the computers to access the data and thus no much need of the local network.

• The IT department will be retain to ensure they offer support service to the current network and the training of the new employees.

1. There will be elimination of marketing department and this role to be taken to the IT department where they will be posting models and products on the website for advertisement.

1. There will be elimination of the database administrators or he be allocated another duty since the database is now hosted on the cloud servers.
2. The network administrator will be eliminated as well since they will not be having many duties since the network will not be highly used.

• The marketing employees will be eliminated since the marketing will be done online using the company’s website.

The introduction of new network devices like the wireless routers ,tablets and ipads to support the mobile computing will have some effects in both functionality and availability of the network as follows.

Network functionality.

The network functionality will be affected since the access speed will be slow due to the increase in the number of access devices to the network and thus affecting the loading balance.

The network availability will also be affected where the system will be always available even when there is no power ,this is because most of the mobile devices has capability of storing power or many hours ,however there is no time that the server will go off and thus the uptime is always above 99% (Andrew  2015)..

The introduction of mobile computing will cause some problems which includes:

1. Lowering of the network access speed. Since there are so many devices accessing the server the network will be slowed down due to multiple requests sent to the server.
2. Possible causes long period of downtime. When the server receives multiple requests from employees, customers and the management it tends to take longer in responding requests due to downtime issues.

• Causes increase in data consumption. As the number of devices increases the amount of data used is raised per day and thus the company incur more expense.

1. Increase the security threats to the network due to malicious workers attempting to misuse their devices while accessing data.

Before the new devices are introduced to replace the older devices the employees and management will be carried out to ensure the system is rolled into the company without challenges.

Below are some of the trainings to be done:

1. The IT department will be trained on how to develop and customize the company’s applications using the cloud services.
2. The employees will be trained on how to design models using the new devices.

• The employees will be trained on how to save and upload the models and products to the server or website.

1. The IT employees will be trained on how to run the software update.
2. The management will be trained on how to login and check the models and the progress.

To enable the company to move the cloud services fully there are some recommendations that I could have to ensure there is good flow of information from the company to the customers and back which will enable the company maximize on the profit (David  2015).

1. The company to replace the desktop computers with tablets devices.

This is to enable the employees to access the network without being restricted to the local area networks.

1. The company to add a new wireless router and a modem to the network

This is to provide internet to the mobile devices which are used by the employees of the company (James 2014).

• The company to set password to the wireless network.

This is to restrict the unauthorised users to access the network.

1. The company to develop a website.

This is to ensure that the company is able to advertise their models and products using the website.

Conclusion.

The drop and forge company network is very essential to the organization since it is used in the sharing of the information among the employees ,however the implementation of the new network technologies that will use the mobile computing will highly boost the company services delivery to the customers since they will be able to host and market their products online on their website which can e developed using one of the cloud services that supports the implementation of mobile computing in the organizations. 

Reference.

James, E.(2014). Applied Data Communications:A Business Oriented Approach.New York: John Wiley & Sons,p.256.

David ,A.(2015). Business Data Communications. Redwood City, CA: Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company,p. 364.

Andrew ,S(2015).Computer Networks. New York: Prentice Hall, 238.

Behrouz ,A.(2016).Data Communication and Networking.New York:McGraw-Hill Education, 651.

Forouzan,I.(2014). Computer Networks: A Top – Down Approach.New York: McGraw-Hill, 687.

Charles ,M.(2015).The TCP/IP Guide: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Internet Protocols Reference .California:No Starch Press,p.1616.

Chris,S.(2011).Practical Packet Analysis: Using Wireshark to Solve Real-World Network Problems.California:No Starch Press,p. 282.

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Mike ,M.(2015).COMPTIA Network+ All-In-One Exam Guide.New York City:McGraw-Hill,Part c: Business Report.

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