Components of Network Infrastructure

Discuss about the AusEd Institution for Benefits of a Hierarchical Network.

When it comes to interact with the network infrastructure where we have been asked to perform a certain analysis then it might be a challenge for us as we strive to get to know what we are required to do if we don’t not have the necessary knowledge. Network can be explained to be a group of hardware devices and the components of software’s which will be necessary when connecting the devices in an organization to other many organizations and the specific internet used. AusEd institution is in a position where it is in need of designing a network that is estimated to server almost 3000 hosts in the institution. As the IT manager we are required to give sense to the management of AusEd to what we are needed for us to achieve their needs.  The understanding will be majored in two components as explained below.

1. Hardware Components- these are the physical and tangible devices that are utilized in the networking environment such as the routers, servers, hub, printers, switches, modem, transceiver, cabling, network interface cards and the phone lines among many others.
2. Software Components are those components that are known for utilizing the environment of the network services and all the needed protocols in enabling the hardware devices to communicate and interconnect with each other.

An operating system can only be understood and installed only after the hardware have be installed and configured as well as installing the software in the network infrastructure. The operating system is on e of the major components used in the networking as it is used by the server in managing all the resources that are transmitted from one device to the other. Network IT infrastructure is referred to as group of physical hardware and the logical components which is needed in providing some features over the network which may include the network security, the access control, network security, Routing and the capabilities of switching.

There has been a rapid growth in the world of technology where each and every day we get new technologies and new versions of what we were using yesterday so it should always be wise in knowing where we belong as the future will need something else. AusEd is entitled to have us know what they have that can be used in the proposed setup of the network design. This will be done by doing an analysis of the whole institution so that we know how to plan for what we will need and the appropriate flow of information from the devices in the entire network (Adato, 2015). The network to be set is based on the needs of the organisation where we have to consider the following issues.

1. Security issues
2. Scalability
3. Reliability and accessibility
4. Management where it must be easy when we are doing some troubleshooting in case a problem arise.

The project is to help us give out the model to be used in designing the network. The idea will be explained where we have to describe the project, the scope of the project, the purpose of the case study, the assumptions that have been made, the list of the devices to be used when networking, the system design logical diagram, justification of the applied hardware’s and the conclusion which will give a summary of what we have analysed in the other areas.

Analysis of Institution and Proposed Network Design

The management of AusEd is in need of a network and we will have a giant construction to the implementation of the proposed network design. From the description we have to start the plan of the infrastructure where we will base it on the resources available and what is needed in making the work complete. There are some objectives that need to be achieved at the end of the day. There is already an existing network. Their idea is to improve their relationship with their customers where they are considering to use the Customer Relationship management software’s and the Microsoft server 2007 which will be used when we are exchanging the emails through sending and receiving. When we say we want to do the plan it may sound easy but when we do a feasibility study and understand the following points such as the ratio of the servers to the number of hosts (Workstations), the expected size of the IT infrastructure, mixing the platforms, building a fast network may be a big challenge when determining how the network will be designed.

Designing the IT infrastructure of AusEd will help them in determining the strategic plan which is classified in to two concepts where they are looking in to a future where they will be able to increase the resources through the diversification of the sources of fund and minimizing the all cost that results ot all the core-non activities. After understanding the strategic plan then we are required to understand the technology plan where we will help them in developing an offline Moodle that will help the management to help the students maintain the personal computers of the school and at the same time access resources when they are offline but connected to the network. The other development in the technology plan is coming up with a system where we have develop an add-on Moodle which will acts as a project where the students will be able to take a Photo exam when they are on the network on their personal computers and laptops.

The main objective of this project is understanding the network future scalability that will help in accommodating additional devices in future (Coleman, 2012). We would also a network design that will be easy to manage when problems arises and when there is need for troubleshooting in cases when they arise. Also the security of the network will be a great consideration as making this network design we will need to consider the security of the network and that is why we have told to explain on the use of security devices and software’s such as the firewalls and the virtual Private networks (VPNs).

List of Equipment for Networking

When the experts in networking are doing an analysis in the feasibility study of the design of AusEd network then we will need to do some assumptions as they are explained here below. The first assumptions is that we expect the AusEd institution to add some devices in the future which will in turn require us to develop a system that has scalability, flexibility and reliable hence requiring us to use the three layered hierarchical model. Second assumptions is that we expect the management of AusEd not to put constraints on the budget such that they will not be able to make it hard when we ask for the money for the equipment’s hence delaying the implementation process. Third Assumption is where we take the small logical diagram to represent the entire system design. Lastly is that the estimate cost of the network devices is just an estimate that will be used to provide an overview of the entire AusEd network.

Figure 1 Logical diagram

We have the use of DHCP server and the DNS server which are used for assigning the IP addresses to the work stations and the matching of domain names to the corresponding web files respectively (Macken, 2016).  As seen in the diagram we can say that we have applied the use of the hierarchical design model which have the three layers namely the core, access and the distribution layer (Cisco, 2013).. In the core layer we might have the router while in the access layer we have the devices such as the workstations that are accessing the internet over the network. In the distribution layer we will have the use of devices such as the switches and the hub which are used for distribution.

List of Equipment’s for Networking

	Network Device	Functions
1	Cabling	These are the cables that are used when we connecting the devices, the workstations to the network. We can use also such cables to connect them with RJ 45 connectors so that we can connect the machine directly with the system.
2	Switch	A switch is used in enhancing how flexible and scalable the network will be and how to configure the devices in the network. Switch usually have ports where each and every machine must be connected to the switch using RJ 45 connectors on both sides (Guide, 2011) .
3	Router	A device that will be used to connect the local area network with the internet.
4	Transceiver	This are wireless connections devices that will help in broadcasting the WI-FI signals where we will be able to access such wireless signals and use the specified connections in connecting to the AusEd network.
5	Servers	The work of the server is managing and storing of resources that is transferred and accessed over the network. Some of the most used servers are such as the 1.       Mail server which is used for facilitating the transfer of emails across the entire network 2.       DHCP which is used for assigning the IP addresses to the workstations available in the network. 3.       File Server- stores and manages the transfer of resources across AusEd network. 4.       DNS server- used for matching the domain names with IP address associated within the network (Rouse, 2009).
7	Security Devices	This are the devices that are installed so that they can provide enough security to the entire network to avoid data being compromised and used badly. Some of this are such as the use of firewall and the Virtual Private networks. Firewall- this is a security device installed on the router which is used for filtering the data that is entering and leaving the network. Virtual Private Network- technology known for creation of a network that will be safe and that will offer encryption leading to a network that is very secure when internetworking over the network within the internet.

Device	Brand	Quantity	Cost (Dollars $)
Servers	Microsoft	10	10,000
Laptops	Dell	100	100,000
Personal Computers	Dell	2500	2,500,000
Transceiver	Cisco	30	9,000
Router	Cisco	1	3,500
Switch	Cisco	25	25,000
VPN	Cisco	3	3,000
Firewall	Cisco	4	4,000
Other Devices			10,000
Total	2,615,450

We have used three manufacturers that is the Microsoft and Cisco and Dell. Dell is used because of its price and durability and the company offers supports such as the longer warranty. Cisco device will be applied when we need a system that have easy compatibility and interoperability when integrating with other systems. The cost is friendly as compared to other organisations like IBM (Cisco, 2012).

 There are other many other ways through which cisco has widely being applied in making the networking environment secure hence making it easy to deliver the services to AusEd network  (Cisco, 2012). The other reasons justifying their selections is because of the manageability as the switches will provide remarkable uptime that is always as a result of the enhanced diagnostics. Microsoft is very easy to manage and when interacting with the Microsoft devices is very easy.  

Conclusion

The research above has been on the analysis of the equipment’s used when delivering the analysis of the design. The design diagram have been used to explain how the router, servers, switches and the workstations interact with the network. We have used the Three-hierarchical layer network design in explaining the way the devices will be arranged from the access layer to distribution layer and lastly to the core layer. If the above information is applied by AusEd then they will be guaranteed a smooth network implementation in all its branches. 

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