Assessment
This report is to be based on the process to be followed for the implementation of a wireless local area network system for The Athlete’s Shack (TAS). The company is one of the leaders in the sale of sporting goods. They have recently increased their store number to 10 retails. This has caused the company to think about the process of sharing of information among the 10 stores. Information from one portion of the store needs to be shared with the main branch as well as the other stores to follow the process of sales and the amount of products that are being sold each day. For the completion of the project, the TAS had requested the assistance of Wireless Technology Company (WTC). WTC assists different organizations and companies to set up their network connectivity. The WTC has requested for the assistance in the project. For their help this report has been developed so that WTC can follow the process and complete the project within the required time.
The report is to be based on the scenario where The Athlete’s Shack (TAS) has requested the assistance of the Wireless Technology Company (WTC), who would be able to help them with the installation with a wireless local area network connectivity for the new 10 retail stores of the TAS. The company wants all the 10 stores to be linked with one another as well as the headquarters with the help of wireless connectivity. The recent rise in the use of wireless LAN in the residential homes has sparked other companies and large organisations to adopt the use of the wireless network at their work place in order to eradicate the use of wired connectivity. The use of wired connectivity hamper the movement of the employees freely. Apart from this there is the included cost of the cables and connectivity routers for the sharing of the connection coming into the company. This increase in the cost is followed by the cost of maintenance of the cables in the company. Thus most of the companies are shifting their daily work flow to the use of wireless connectivity. This would be an initial large investment for a long-term plan for the sharing of internet with the employees of the company. However, there are loop holes in the implementation process of the wireless LAN in the companies, they are combating them with the use of proper measures in the form of increased security and network safety protocols by the network security personal. The implementation process of any form of network requires a lot of planning and decision making because there is the inclusion of coverage of area with the inclusion of capacity of users as well as amount of bandwidth that would be required for the employees individually. The best option would be to adopt the use of IEEE 802.11a. This would be able to provide the users of the company with a bandwidth of 54 Mbps, which would become sufficient as not all the employees of the company are the heavy users of the internet. The next step would be to choose a proper architecture to follow which would allow the users to freely use and share the required amount of information with the other users of the network. It should always be kept in mind that there is the inclusion of maintenance of network apart from all the work that is being done with the help of cables and network wires. The company should also adopt a network security policy with in the working ground, which would help them to maintain the security of the network as well as safe guard the data from other sniffers on the network. TAS would use the network for the sharing of information as well as the storing of information related to the company sales. The network is to be configured for the maintenance of the data of the company. The employees of the retail stores are to use an iPad, which would be connected to the same wireless network. For the completion of this project, WTC has requested that a report be created for them, which would allow them to follow the rules and set up the wireless network system for TAS. The main objective of the project is the implementation of WLAN for TAS. The best process to follow for WTC is to follow a systematic process, which would help them to complete the task as per the requirement of the client. Based on the requirement the managers of TAS has been met with and discussed the procedure which would be followed the technicians of WTC.
Solution
Based on the above assessment of the above scenario the main working process would be to provide the solution to the workers who would be able to mitigate the amount of risk that is to come. The complete solution is a seven-step process for the WTC to follow. The following seven steps would help in the implementation of the network from the basics to the experienced level of network implementation:
Verification of the business needs of the company:It can be seen a lot of time that most of the companies are ready to install their wireless communication mechanism in their workplace however there needs to be the proper evaluation of the process of the installation procedure to understand the pros and cons of the project. The installation of a wireless system is less expensive in terms of both cost as well as labor. There is no work in the installation process for the wires and cables required in case of a wired network implementation. The company decides that the use of a wireless network access for the company would help in the proper management of the work and other working in the environment. However, it can be said that the best practice is to work on the requirement of the company based on their work needs. This would help the installer of the network to assess the work that needs to be done. Along with the advantages, the wireless connectivity has to offer there is the inclusion of certain disadvantages. There needs to be the use and provision of high bandwidth for all the users to connect to the same network and use the internet with the effect on the speed of browsing. There also needs to be a concern about the access point of the wireless connectivity so that it can provide the users with the highest amount of throughput. Along with this, the assessment of the network traffic of the wireless network needs to be taken care of.
Determine the area that needs to be covered for the project:After the assessment of the work that the company would be doing and the network load that would be put on it the next step of the process would be to assess the area that needs to be covered for the completion of the project. The best way that can be followed for the assessment would be to draw out a rough network of the complete company. there also needs to be the consideration of the radius of each of the routers that are to be installed in each of the 10 stores. The maximum radius, which can be considered with the disruption of the signal, would be around 300 to 320 foot. If the radius of the store increased more than this threshold then there needs to be the installation of another router in the same network so that the users of the network does not feel a lag in the network. Another solution to this is the use of network repeater for the enhancement of the signal that is already being emitted by the primary router.
Plan out the bandwidth which is ti be provided to each of the users: As the planning for the area coverage has been considered the next step of the project would be consider the amount of bandwidth which will be allowed for the users of the network. As the company would be considering the use of the network for the employees with the help of their iPads, there can be a consideration of using a 50 Mbps bandwidth for the complete area. On an average, it can be considered that there would be around 10 to 15 employees for each of the 10 stores of the company. Considering the 15 employees of the stores the availability of a 50 Mbps bandwidth for them would be sufficient.
Make a proper list of all the hardware required for the project: This is the main work for the project. The WTC needs to assess the use of the network properly and make a list of all the hardware that would be required for the project completion. The minimum requirement would be the use of routers and small amount of wires for the entry point of the connectivity to the router. To make the scenario better in the form of connectivity as well as security there can be the use of wireless adapters and wireless bridges placed in the store to distribute the network to a larger area. The bridge would help in the connection of the central database of the company at headquarters to be connected to the 10 retail stores of the company. As the company would require the connection to be done from building to building, the use of a central database is essential as well as the local database of each of the stores. This would help in the seamless roaming of the data from all point of work of the company.
Perform a complete site survey of the buildings: After the collection of all the hardware, the WTC should assess the sites separately to determine the best process to follow for the making of the wireless connectivity to cover the complete area of the store floor. This is crucial for the company because if there were a blind spot left in the floor then the company would suffer. The stores needs to be assessed with the help of wireless enterprise network survey, which would help in the measurement of the signal strength on the floor of the stores. The software can also be used for the changing and modelling the access points to match the coverage area easily. The WTC can also assess the survey of the site without the installation of the complete hardware first by temporarily positioning an antenna for the coverage of the maximum area of the floor. After the complete assessment of the floor only then should WTC proceed with the installation of the hardware components for the completion of the project. Moreover, it should be kept in mind that the company has 10 stores which require WTC to assess each one of the stores individually. This would help them to complete the project at a faster pace. The assessment process of the stores would help in the changing and upgrading of the hardware and requirement list as per the result found from the procedure.
To implement proper amount of security protocol:As the system that is going to be installed is in the form of wireless local area network, there needs to be the use of correct amount of security for the network. This needs to be conducted to eliminate the risk of having unauthorized access to the network. If there is no security installed in the network, them the resources and other systems connected to the network are compromised and there can be severe data theft. The use of proper amount of security on the network can be followed with the help of certain specific security protocols. The implementation of Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) or Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) would help in the assistance for the following of the basic security protocols for the network in the stores. The primary step to follow for the safeguarding of the network would be change the default connectivity password of all the hardware’s that are being used for the network. If this process is not done than anyone else who has been using the same hardware would be able to guess the password of the network and get into the database of the company. The next step is to lower down the profile of the network by switching the Service Set Identifier (SSID) to off. This would help in the removal of the device from being broadcasted. The SSID helps in the broadcasting of the networks signals to helps users in finding the device easily. To establish higher amount of security protocol on the wireless network the enabling of MAC address filtering techniques would help in the monitoring the users who are connected to the network. After the initial steps are completed, the next step in the security would be to keep out unauthenticated users from the network. By adding EAP authentication, the network would be configured to be encrypted. The main drawback with the using of a wireless mode of network transmission is the use of over the airwaves. The use of better form of encryption of the data being transmitted would help in the complete safeguarding of the network.
Deploy the network and train the employees on using the same:After the completion of the process of analysis and understanding has been done, the complete system needs to be deployed at all the 10 stores of the company. After the successful implementation of the network there needs to be the checking of the network so that the process has been able to be completed as per the requirement, which had been set forward during the study of the network. The client side SSID of the hardware’s are to be changed so that the system is secure. If MAC address filtering has been implemented into the system then the WTC needs to collect the MAC address of the users of the system and add them to the allowed list of the devices. During the time of training the users of the system there needs to be complete evaluation of the process that needs to be followed for the network. There is an information gap between the users who are technologically sound with the use of wired technology. The training with the use of the new system and the new network would help them to work easily on a daily basis. Easily correctable problems often tend to tense up the users of the network, as they know very little about the working process of the new system. Apart from the training to the employees of the company there needs to be the provision of proper training to a network specialist who should be trained to look after the complete network of the company. The specialist would be taught about the work that has been done for the completion of the project so that he is able to fix the problems, which might arise.
The following diagrams has been created to make the understanding of the project aspect of the network system that needs to be created for the TAS. The following network system diagrams can be followed for the development of their network as per the requirement stated by the TAS. Figure 1 shows the configuration that is to be followed for the network system in each of the 10 retail stores. Figure 2 shows the connection of the 10 retail stores to the main headquarters of the company. Figure 3 helps in identifying the different components of the connection system. However, the diagrams have been created based on creative scenario rather than perfection to be followed. The final process should be assessed by the WTC before proceeding with the work.
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