Project Description: You Work For A Small Advertising Compan

Project Descriptioncase1you Work For A Small Advertising Company Wit

Case 1: You work for a small advertising company with approximately 200 employees. Scattered around the company are a number of separate computer workstations that perform word processing, graphics design, spreadsheet operations, and market analysis. Your boss has asked you to consider installing some form of local area network to support computer operations. Create a list of possible computer applications that could operate over a local area network and would support employee and daily business functions. What type of local area network might you suggest? What would be the topology? The medium access control method? What kind of support equipment (switches, servers) might you need? Where would that support equipment be located?

Case 2: You are working for a company that is composed of three departments: general support, marketing, and sales. General support occupies the first floor, while marketing and sales are on the second floor. General support has 28 workstations, marketing has 10 workstations, and sales has 30 workstations. Some applications require that data be transferred between departments, but generally each department has its own applications. Everyone needs access to the Internet, the company internal Internet (intranet), and email. Design a local area network solution for this company. Show the locations of all workstations and interconnecting devices, such as hubs, switches, and routers, if any are used. Show also the connection to the outside phone service that provides Internet access. What type of local area network wiring would you recommend? What type of local area network topology and protocol would you recommend? Draw a floor plan for each floor. If possible, show both floor plans on one page. Use the following assumptions: 1. Available hubs and switches have a maximum of 24 ports. 2. Some software applications and large data sets reside on departmental servers. 3. To support email, a server is needed. 4. To support the company intranet, a server is needed. 5. The company does not have an unlimited budget but is willing to invest in quality technology. I need a solution in a Word document and a few PowerPoint slides to present in class.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

In modern business environments, the implementation of local area networks (LANs) is vital for enhancing communication, data sharing, and operational efficiency. For small companies like the advertising firm with 200 employees, selecting the appropriate LAN setup involves understanding user needs, application requirements, network topology, and infrastructure. This paper explores suitable LAN applications for the company and details the optimal network design considering cost, scalability, and performance.

Part 1: LAN Applications and Recommendations for the Advertising Company

The primary applications that could operate over the LAN to support the employees and daily business functions include:

1. File Sharing and Data Collaboration: Enables employees to share documents, graphics, and spreadsheets seamlessly across departments, improving collaboration.
2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Software: Facilitates client data management and marketing campaigns, accessible across relevant departments.
3. Word Processing and Office Suite Applications: For document creation, editing, and internal communication.
4. Graphics Design and Media Production Tools: High-performance workstations for creative professionals require network access to shared resources.
5. Market Analysis and Data Analytics Tools: To process large datasets, requiring robust network support for speed and reliability.
6. Internal Communication and Collaboration Tools: E-mail, chat, and video conferencing systems to foster effective communication.
7. Backup and Disaster Recovery Applications: Regular data backups over the LAN improve data security and recovery capabilities.

To support these applications, a LAN consisting of a switched Ethernet network is recommended due to its scalability, ease of management, and high-speed data transfer capabilities. Since the company requires rapid data sharing among 200 employees, a gigabit Ethernet setup with managed switches would be ideal.

Part 2: LAN Topology, Medium Access Control, and Support Equipment

Topology: A star topology is recommended, with each workstation connected directly to a central switch. This configuration simplifies troubleshooting and enhances network performance.

Medium Access Control: Ethernet with Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) is suitable, though modern networks typically use switched Ethernet, which minimizes collisions.

Support Equipment: The essential equipment includes:

• Managed Gigabit Ethernet switches with sufficient ports (preferably 48-port switches to accommodate future expansions).
• Server hardware to host shared resources, such as file servers, backup servers, and application servers.
• Network routers to connect the LAN to the Internet and handle traffic routing between the company network and external networks.
• Wireless access points to support mobile devices and flexible workspace arrangements, if needed.

Support equipment should be centrally located in a dedicated network closet or server room, ideally on the ground floor or near the main switches, to simplify maintenance and enhance security.

Part 3: Designing the LAN for the Multi-Floor Company

Given the departmental layout, a hierarchical LAN design with a core switch on each floor connected to a main building switch is recommended. The first floor (general support) network will connect 28 workstations to a switch. The second floor will have two VLANs: one for marketing (10 workstations) and one for sales (30 workstations). These VLANs can be managed via switches supporting VLAN configuration.

Connections between floors should be made using fiber optic cables for high speed and bandwidth, especially for inter-departmental data transfer. Ethernet cables (Cat6 or higher) suffice for workstation connections within each floor.

The diagram shows the layout:

• Each floor has a core switch connected to departmental switches, which connect to individual workstations.
• Routers connect the core switches to external Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
• Wireless access points are connected to switches for mobility and flexibility.

Floor Plan and Network Diagram

Due to the limitations here, visualization includes:

• First Floor: Core switch, departmental switches, 28 wired workstations, wireless access points.
• Second Floor: Core switch, VLAN-configured switches for marketing and sales, 10 and 30 workstations respectively, wireless access points, connection to core switches via fiber optic cables.

Suggested Network Infrastructure

• LAN Wiring: Cat6 Ethernet cabling within floors; fiber optic cables for inter-floor links.
• Network Protocol: Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) for LAN connections; TCP/IP suite for networking protocols.
• Security and Management: Managed switches with VLAN support; firewall for secure external connections.

Conclusion

Designing an efficient LAN for a small but growing advertising company involves selecting topology, hardware, and wiring that cater to current needs and future scalability. A star topology with switched Ethernet ensures quick data transfer and ease of management. Employing VLANs across floors facilitates departmental segregation while maintaining integrated communication. Deploying fiber optics for inter-floor links maximizes bandwidth, while structured cabling and appropriate hardware support reliable and secure operations.

References

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• Microsoft. (2018). Designing Networks for Small and Medium Businesses. Microsoft Docs.
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• IEEE Standards Association. (2018). IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Standards.
• ISA/IEC. (2018). Network Security Best Practices for Small Business. International Society of Automation.