BuzzKillington
03-09-2009, 11:23 PM
My final project for networking is due soon. I basically have to design a LAN layout and provide a price quote of how much everything will cost (not including labor I believe...)
I know there's a few network admins here and I'm curious where they start when given their "assignment." Who do you guys go through for bulk cabling? What products would you recommend for the best performance that fit the below criteria?
Since it's a final project that's due at the end of the course, I have to start it now with still a couple hundred pages left to read... that being said, from what's already a confusing course, I kinda have to assume how the other pieces fall.
I'm surprised there isn't some sort of formula or generator for such tasks.
I think I'm going to try and cram the remaining 2 weeks of work for all of my classes into a day or two so I can then focus on my final projects and studying for finals. That way I can at least somewhat look forward to the end of classes rather than dread each passing day knowing that there's still a ton of stuff do lol.
First Handout:
Worldwide Marketing, Inc.
I. Company Background:
Worldwide Marketing, Inc. (WMI) is an emerging company that markets innovative products to elite specialty stores throughout the nation. It has specialized in providing high quality products which are unique and very hard-to-find. WMI is gaining an advantage in their market by offering excellent products at prices that attract the discriminating customer, along with sales and service staff that excel in personal support of all contracts.
II. Company Divisions:
WMI has 14 regional sales offices, one warehouse and one corporate office. The Corporate Office of WMI is located at 300 E. Network Place, Los Angeles, California. The parts warehouse is located adjacent to the corporate office in Los Angeles at 330 E. Network Place.
Inventory items needed for each local area are received and distributed from the warehouse. All inventory purchases are controlled by corporate. Each branch sales office orders inventory directly from the warehouse as they see fit based on product availability. Currently there are 100,000 items in inventory. This inventory changes at a rate of 25% per annum. The warehouse is treated as a cost center.
The firm now treats each sales office as a profit center with exclusive territorial domains. In fact, WMI has a history of granting a great deal of autonomy to each office, understanding that each local market has its own unique characteristics. Beyond complying with corporate reporting requirements each office employs its own set of summary and exception reports from which the corporate office requires data to be extracted. Branch offices have almost never communicated amongst themselves.
III. Branch Office Functional Departments:
Each branch office is presently, run by a Branch Manager. He or she has an administrative assistant and oversees the following four departments.
A. Sales:
Each branch office currently has two fulltime salespersons to establish contacts (VP of Sales and one salesperson). The sales force uses the corporate public relations department for producing quality brochures and sales materials. They work on salary plus commission. Each salesperson is required to prepare weekly spreadsheets showing their contacts, and sales results. These spreadsheets are sent to the Corporate Office monthly for employee recognition and sales analysis. They also use a database to record information regarding their sales contacts. All local client data is maintained at the branch sales offices. The branch office has a display case and does conduct some business in over the counter sales, as well as contact sales. Items not available at the branch are ordered from the warehouse for delivery to the branch and then to the client. In addition, there is a contracted outside sales force paid on a commission basis only.
B. Accounting:
Two PC Specialists Clerks maintain the accounting system for each branch location. These clerks use a spreadsheet and a dedicated accounting system to capture accounting information, and send these records to the Corporate Office weekly for further processing.
C. Personnel:
All personnel records are held at the Corporate Office. One clerk maintains employee records at each branch office by using a database. Timesheet records are transmitted to the corporate office each Friday using a spreadsheet.
D. Administration:
The administration staff consists of a Branch Manager, Administrative Assistant, and a clerk and sometimes offers internship opportunities to the local college and has a trainee on site.
Specifications on why the company wants to upgrade their computer system:
1. Security
Increased dependence and remote access means increased risk. It is vital to corporate data privacy, reliability and future success to protect the system from unauthorized read/write access; protect data and application programs from introduction of viruses; and insure consistent and long term system availability. It will be necessary to control against multiple change access to our database to insure data integrity.
Access to specific communications equipment is physically controlled as well as virtually controlled.
2. Backup procedures
They would like to see the network server backed up on a regular schedule (to be decided at a later date), like to control who can logon on the networks at each workstation, and who has access to what software based on their job descriptions.
3. Applications
Standardized applications will be used corporate wide. Personal software will be authorized by the corporate CIO only. All programs will be appropriately licensed to the corporation.
Right now the sharing of client information is difficult at best. By allowing access from every workstation across the local and wide area networks, they expect to increase their employee productivity. Additionally, the availability of corporate data on a near real time basis will provide more information, organized in better detail and allow more add-hoc specific query capabilities.
Increase sharing raises the need to consider increased compatibility standards and added security in terms of file structures, data dictionaries, and brands of software. This means that as organizations open more and more parts of their systems to customers, business partners, and employees, they also open themselves up to a greater risk attack from computer hackers. WMI would like to offer their customers an online, interactive website to manage, check orders and purchase goods online and collect customer data.
Second Handout:
LAN diagram, Cost Analysis, and Proposal for WMI branch office
WMI Company specifications file can be found under separate cover attached. Please read this information and the company specifications prior to developing your project as this will allow you to make better decisions as to what hardware and software to choose.
Project Requirements:
Each student will analyze WMI, Inc. and prepare, on a separate sheet of paper:
1. LAN Diagram for one branch office showing a possible topology for the proposed new network.(use your own office plan for the layout of the diagram)
2. A proposal to the company with a justification as to the hardware and software components of the system you chose.
3. A spreadsheet giving costs of both hardware and software and final totals for one (1) regional sales office only as the assumption is that all branch offices will have the same network installation. When designing this network please take into account at least a possible 3 year growth for WMI and the recent release of both new operating systems and Office software
The Diagram and spreadsheet cost analysis will be included as part of the documentation of the proposal.
Physical Considerations:
Each regional sales office will be cabled alike and have similar equipment to the corporate office for easier management and administration. See standardization specifications for WMI in the description document.
Specifications are as follows:
1. Topology: Star/Bus Hybrid
2. Cabling: Fast Ethernet
3. Protocol: Ethernet
4. Communications: E-Mail and remote connectivity for sales personnel and communication between corporate, warehouse and sales offices(Intranet and extranet capabilities)
5. Application standardization using Microsoft Office 2007, Integrated accounting package (of your own choice), and Windows XP/Vista on most workstations, presentation application for pamphlets and presentations.
6. Web access for website and online purchasing
7. Security plan and policies, virus protection and spam considerations
8. Backup and disaster recovery
9. Computer systems to support your choices of software applications.
Each student will hand in:
A proposal submitted to the WMI Corporation that will include:
• Neatly created LAN diagram with components and cable lengths clearly marked. You can use your own design of the floor layout.
• An Excel spreadsheet containing:
1. Cost analysis for the hardware installation including a UPS, cabling, computers(workstations), server, hubs, NICs, Connectors, remote access, and printing capabilities.
2. Cost analysis for the applications.
• A written analysis and justification for your choices of hardware and software components for the network of one branch office and the remote communications between the branch office and the corporate office and the warehouse
I know there's a few network admins here and I'm curious where they start when given their "assignment." Who do you guys go through for bulk cabling? What products would you recommend for the best performance that fit the below criteria?
Since it's a final project that's due at the end of the course, I have to start it now with still a couple hundred pages left to read... that being said, from what's already a confusing course, I kinda have to assume how the other pieces fall.
I'm surprised there isn't some sort of formula or generator for such tasks.
I think I'm going to try and cram the remaining 2 weeks of work for all of my classes into a day or two so I can then focus on my final projects and studying for finals. That way I can at least somewhat look forward to the end of classes rather than dread each passing day knowing that there's still a ton of stuff do lol.
First Handout:
Worldwide Marketing, Inc.
I. Company Background:
Worldwide Marketing, Inc. (WMI) is an emerging company that markets innovative products to elite specialty stores throughout the nation. It has specialized in providing high quality products which are unique and very hard-to-find. WMI is gaining an advantage in their market by offering excellent products at prices that attract the discriminating customer, along with sales and service staff that excel in personal support of all contracts.
II. Company Divisions:
WMI has 14 regional sales offices, one warehouse and one corporate office. The Corporate Office of WMI is located at 300 E. Network Place, Los Angeles, California. The parts warehouse is located adjacent to the corporate office in Los Angeles at 330 E. Network Place.
Inventory items needed for each local area are received and distributed from the warehouse. All inventory purchases are controlled by corporate. Each branch sales office orders inventory directly from the warehouse as they see fit based on product availability. Currently there are 100,000 items in inventory. This inventory changes at a rate of 25% per annum. The warehouse is treated as a cost center.
The firm now treats each sales office as a profit center with exclusive territorial domains. In fact, WMI has a history of granting a great deal of autonomy to each office, understanding that each local market has its own unique characteristics. Beyond complying with corporate reporting requirements each office employs its own set of summary and exception reports from which the corporate office requires data to be extracted. Branch offices have almost never communicated amongst themselves.
III. Branch Office Functional Departments:
Each branch office is presently, run by a Branch Manager. He or she has an administrative assistant and oversees the following four departments.
A. Sales:
Each branch office currently has two fulltime salespersons to establish contacts (VP of Sales and one salesperson). The sales force uses the corporate public relations department for producing quality brochures and sales materials. They work on salary plus commission. Each salesperson is required to prepare weekly spreadsheets showing their contacts, and sales results. These spreadsheets are sent to the Corporate Office monthly for employee recognition and sales analysis. They also use a database to record information regarding their sales contacts. All local client data is maintained at the branch sales offices. The branch office has a display case and does conduct some business in over the counter sales, as well as contact sales. Items not available at the branch are ordered from the warehouse for delivery to the branch and then to the client. In addition, there is a contracted outside sales force paid on a commission basis only.
B. Accounting:
Two PC Specialists Clerks maintain the accounting system for each branch location. These clerks use a spreadsheet and a dedicated accounting system to capture accounting information, and send these records to the Corporate Office weekly for further processing.
C. Personnel:
All personnel records are held at the Corporate Office. One clerk maintains employee records at each branch office by using a database. Timesheet records are transmitted to the corporate office each Friday using a spreadsheet.
D. Administration:
The administration staff consists of a Branch Manager, Administrative Assistant, and a clerk and sometimes offers internship opportunities to the local college and has a trainee on site.
Specifications on why the company wants to upgrade their computer system:
1. Security
Increased dependence and remote access means increased risk. It is vital to corporate data privacy, reliability and future success to protect the system from unauthorized read/write access; protect data and application programs from introduction of viruses; and insure consistent and long term system availability. It will be necessary to control against multiple change access to our database to insure data integrity.
Access to specific communications equipment is physically controlled as well as virtually controlled.
2. Backup procedures
They would like to see the network server backed up on a regular schedule (to be decided at a later date), like to control who can logon on the networks at each workstation, and who has access to what software based on their job descriptions.
3. Applications
Standardized applications will be used corporate wide. Personal software will be authorized by the corporate CIO only. All programs will be appropriately licensed to the corporation.
Right now the sharing of client information is difficult at best. By allowing access from every workstation across the local and wide area networks, they expect to increase their employee productivity. Additionally, the availability of corporate data on a near real time basis will provide more information, organized in better detail and allow more add-hoc specific query capabilities.
Increase sharing raises the need to consider increased compatibility standards and added security in terms of file structures, data dictionaries, and brands of software. This means that as organizations open more and more parts of their systems to customers, business partners, and employees, they also open themselves up to a greater risk attack from computer hackers. WMI would like to offer their customers an online, interactive website to manage, check orders and purchase goods online and collect customer data.
Second Handout:
LAN diagram, Cost Analysis, and Proposal for WMI branch office
WMI Company specifications file can be found under separate cover attached. Please read this information and the company specifications prior to developing your project as this will allow you to make better decisions as to what hardware and software to choose.
Project Requirements:
Each student will analyze WMI, Inc. and prepare, on a separate sheet of paper:
1. LAN Diagram for one branch office showing a possible topology for the proposed new network.(use your own office plan for the layout of the diagram)
2. A proposal to the company with a justification as to the hardware and software components of the system you chose.
3. A spreadsheet giving costs of both hardware and software and final totals for one (1) regional sales office only as the assumption is that all branch offices will have the same network installation. When designing this network please take into account at least a possible 3 year growth for WMI and the recent release of both new operating systems and Office software
The Diagram and spreadsheet cost analysis will be included as part of the documentation of the proposal.
Physical Considerations:
Each regional sales office will be cabled alike and have similar equipment to the corporate office for easier management and administration. See standardization specifications for WMI in the description document.
Specifications are as follows:
1. Topology: Star/Bus Hybrid
2. Cabling: Fast Ethernet
3. Protocol: Ethernet
4. Communications: E-Mail and remote connectivity for sales personnel and communication between corporate, warehouse and sales offices(Intranet and extranet capabilities)
5. Application standardization using Microsoft Office 2007, Integrated accounting package (of your own choice), and Windows XP/Vista on most workstations, presentation application for pamphlets and presentations.
6. Web access for website and online purchasing
7. Security plan and policies, virus protection and spam considerations
8. Backup and disaster recovery
9. Computer systems to support your choices of software applications.
Each student will hand in:
A proposal submitted to the WMI Corporation that will include:
• Neatly created LAN diagram with components and cable lengths clearly marked. You can use your own design of the floor layout.
• An Excel spreadsheet containing:
1. Cost analysis for the hardware installation including a UPS, cabling, computers(workstations), server, hubs, NICs, Connectors, remote access, and printing capabilities.
2. Cost analysis for the applications.
• A written analysis and justification for your choices of hardware and software components for the network of one branch office and the remote communications between the branch office and the corporate office and the warehouse