The Worldwide Trading Corporation (WWTC) is a large Hong Kong-based online broker. This company has around 9000 people spread over the globe in its branches. As a result of the dynamic business development, a regional center in New York was required. Today, the New York WWTC office is experiencing audit and security concerns that are interfering with service delivery. As a result, a network upgrade is required to improve dependability, availability, data protection, and secrecy. As a result, our proposal advises that many components of its network be strengthened and improved. They comprise the LAN and WAN infrastructure, system security, active directory design and the wireless infrastructure. Since WWTC is a fast-growing firm, there is the need to have a dependable, secure and speedy internet which can only be realized through an infrastructure upgrade.
Studies show that internet reliability is one of the key drivers of economic success in business (Wong, 2011). As such, the investment in this resource not only streamlines business but also enhances customer engagement through information systems. In that line of thought, the network upgrade of WWTC’s New York office is imperative for the attainment of business success. Therefore, the upgrade process will be done slowly to replace the current design and maintain the access to critical services. Upon the upgrade completion, it is expected that operational costs will reduce, superb internet speeds will be realized, the system bandwidth will increase, data security will enhance, the network integrity, and availability will be guaranteed. Most importantly, the client's level of satisfaction will improve.
Project goals
This assessment will be based on the need to fulfill the following objectives;
To increase earnings up to four times from ten billion within a period of three to four years.
To cut down operational costs to 15% within a period of not more than three years using an automated selling and buying system.
Develop faster and reliable internet services.
To allow employees to attach devices such as laptops to the WWTC network and enjoy wireless internet access.
To establish a high availability, confidentiality and information integrity.
Offer safe means of making customer purchases and payments via the internet.
To develop secure and fast wireless internet services in the cubical, lobby and conference room areas.
To establish a state of the art data management and VoIP
Project Scope
In the bid to enhance the network performance of WWTC’s New York office, the proposed upgrade will cover various aspects. This network upgrade plan will take a period of four months and will affect all departments of WWTC’s New York branch in terms of benefits. In particular, the upgrade process will be gradual to allow business processes while enhancing the network performance. First, it will review on the LAN and WLAN implementation. The current design has security problems which can be resolved by analyzing the LAN components such as switches, and servers. Second, there is the need to enhance the safety of WWTC to ensure data confidentiality, strong authentication and internal and external server protection. In that respect, this proposal wishes to improve internet connectivity, privacy, appropriate email communication, and enabling the two-factor communication. As such, new network policies will be defined to enhance the sensitivity levels, security baselines, and incident reporting (Wong, 2011). Third, the design of the active directory will be reviewed following the need to provide support for various IT services. The New York WWTC office is highly autonomous, and therefore there is the need for the protection of the information resources.
Fourth, the project scope will review the wireless infrastructure design of WWTC's New York office. Such follows the need to allow employees to connect their devices wirelessly to perform important company tasks. Apart from the cryptographic protection of data, other mechanisms of enhancing the security of information when it is crossed over the Wide Area Networks will be identified (Wong, 2011). In the same way, the VoIP service will be analyzed in the bid to look for means of ensuring 100% connectivity. Such results derive from the fact that the online remote system should offer a secure and fast wireless connection in the New York Office. Therefore, this proposal suggests the use of Cisco designs, IP Phones, and Voice gateway to manage VoIP and Wireless connection issues. Also, the upgrade plan assumes that there is enough power supply to support the new design.
Design Requirements and Network Performance
Business Objective
In business, network upgrades are imperative as they guarantee availability, security and the reliability of the system. Such allows the users of a system within an organization to utilize multiple applications without experiencing difficulties (Pohl, 2010). More so, a network infrastructural development is crucial in allowing users to utilize resources fully. For instance, VoIP implementation is required in the LAN design to support communication of the brokers from the New York center to others in various branches. This upgrade will be an indicator that the WWTC network is scalable and can support other functions other than data. However, to experience the benefits of VoIP, its implementation will require various things such as adequate transfer of data. In the same way, network upgrades result in an improvement in system capacity (Pohl, 2010). For example, the new devices that will be acquired such as switches will allow the inflow and outflow of more data from WWTC. As such, issues such as congestion will reduce.
Another key benefit that results from a network upgrade is data input. In this case, the users will enjoy increased device use, including what they access from their computers. Also, data collection will improve as the network devices such as scanners, sensors and readers will handle more data without experiencing outages. Therefore, in the case of WWTC company which is growing fast, the enormous amounts of data will be managed effectively. That means the increased network capacity will enhance service delivery and decision making as information will be availed on demand (Wong, 2011). Similarly, the processing power of data will increase in the WWTC New York branch. Such follows the fact that the replacement of old devices with new ones will bring good performance. As such, multiple applications will be supported in the network irrespective of the differing resource needs. In particular when the functionalities between the servers and other devices are partitioned, then the processing power will increase.
A network upgrade is a wholesome process that results in the enhancement of built-in capabilities. As such, it is imperative to select devices based on their abilities, extensibility, and ease of integration to the network (Pohl, 2010). For instance, extensible devices do not compromise network portability. In the case of WWTC, the use of wireless routers will provide network extensibility, and users can connect their mobile devices. As a result, convenience will be created as brokers, and other employees can access the company's resources as long as they are within the network range. However, if additional capabilities of the wireless network will be required, then a customized router can be used to provide the much-needed benefits (Wong, 2011). In the same line of thought, internet access will improve following the implementation of the wireless connection at WWTC New York office. Most importantly, obtain high speeds for mobile devices for instance laptops. In that way, the level of satisfaction of the firm's employees will increase allowing them to work properly.
Notably, the extensibility of a network increases when the infrastructure is changed. That means that more devices can be added to the new network without deteriorating performance and the access to shared resources (Wong, 2009). In particular, extensibility revolves around avoiding constraints and achieves better performance. For instance, the new network infrastructure for WWTC will support devices such as laptops following the implementation of a wireless design. As such, work output will increase meaning that more profits will be generated to meet the goals of the company. In addition, the cost of implementing an extensible network infrastructure is the resultant reduction in the operational cost. In this case, the cost of maintaining the wireless network for the new WWTC branch will almost be negligible. Also, the cost of providing a few brokers with laptops may be cheaper than setting an office and providing them with complete desktops for the same specifications.
Network upgrades follow the type of organizational growth expected. For instance, an upgrade may be required to increase the number of clients. Such helps in increasing the number of business process and therefore the net profits (Wong, 2009). One of the objectives of WWTC is growing its profits from 10 billion to 40 billion. With that, the proposed network design will help in the realization of this aim. This change will enhance the network capacity and scalability. With that, it will handle more services efficiently while allowing the users to experience reliability. These are some of the characteristics absent in the current network. Most importantly, the proposed network will be flexible meaning that sub-networks can be established in the bid to enhance network security. Such is imperative in guaranteed the integrity of information on both the wired and wireless networks (Wong, 2009). With that, productivity will increase for WWTC following the efficiency of the proposed network.
Another arising benefit of the proposed network is user experience. The company staff using the current wireless network has different needs which should be satisfied. With that, issues such as interaction levels, visual representation and navigation have to be satisfied (Pohl, 2010). For instance, the ease with which a WWTC employee finds the information they are looking for is dependent on the internet speed, flexibility, and power. These are some of the aspects that the proposed network design will satisfy. In the same way, the company clients making online transactions while using the wireless network will require reliability, speed, and ease of access. The new design focuses on fulfilling these requirements following the need to make the company clients happy. Most importantly, when the network specifications are improved, user interactions will increase and hence productivity (Wong, 2009). In addition, the proposed network will cater for complex data demand through visual representation.
Technical Requirements
The proposed LAN/WLAN design will address key issues such as the security audit concerns for the current WWTC infrastructure. Network security should not be compromised as it is the aspect that ensures network resources are only utilized by the authorized users (Wong, 2011). Also, this proposal aims to increase the scalability and modularity of the network. The objective is to allow the use of more devices and creating more VLANs without affecting the network qualities such as availability, reliability, and integrity. Since WWTC is developing at a fast rate, it is important to have a network that will scale and support its requirements and therefore the need to upgrade the current LAN/WLAN structure. In addition, the new network proposal will provide redundancy at the core, access and distribution layers. Such will deal with the problem of network failure (Wong, 2009). Therefore, network availability will be guaranteed meaning that business processes will remain uninterrupted.
WWTC has firm security needs to maintain strong authentication, information confidentiality, and public and internally protected server separations. With that, the proposed network design will ensure that sensitive business information is encrypted before transmission between the servers and clients. As such, the confidentiality of trade data will be offered as public data will not be accessed from the same servers as those handling the firm’s transactions (Wong, 2009). The use of emails is one of the primary forms of communication between the staff and clients of WWTC. As such, the proposed plan will secure the email server on the classified network to ensure that sensitive information is transmitted safely. Also, this server will be used specifically for email communication purposes only. Most importantly, the plan intends to implement a two-factor authentication process. That is to ensure that only authorized individuals will be granted access to the network resources.
The WWTC New York office operates independently, and there is few IT staff to handle network support issues for instance troubleshooting viruses. As such, there is the concern on how sensitive data will be stored on the network servers. With that, there is the need to deploy security policies that will work uniformly in all the stations. In that regard, it is proposed that Windows Server 2012 should be used. Its deployment will provide BitLocker encryption for the storage discs. This technology will be configured in the network such that it unlocks discs when the system boots (Wong, 2011). As such, the internal calls to the IT department will reduce. More so, it will be possible to create group policies to determine when there is available disc space to encrypt data. With that, it will be possible to manage the stored and encrypted data. As such, data security will be guaranteed without the use of sophisticated disc encryption technique.
An IP scheme and VLAN hierarchy will be implemented in the proposed network. It will follow the addressing scheme of the current network to avoid conflicts. This implementation will work as a security since the access to VLANs will only be granted to known devices and users. In the requirements document, the IP address 172.0.0.0/20 will be used so that it accommodates all devices using the WWTC network. However, all the subnets will be differentiated based on departments. This idea will isolate the company sections such that every department will be dealing with particular data (Wong, 2009). As such, with the reduced communication between different VLANs, data security will be enhanced since communication will be restricted to similar subnets in this company. The proposal suggests that each subnet should have 14 devices where the wireless and wired connections will be considered. In that way, a lot of devices where each requests the privilege to connect to the proposed network will be supported. However, to realize 100 % network utilization, the subnets require at most 112 clients.
The VoIP and wireless designs are aspects the proposed model wishes to address. First, the current wireless design is unreliable as it does not provide sufficient speed in the hall and expansive gathering areas. Secondly, the current VoIP plan lacks 100% connectivity. However, the proposed network focuses on increasing the growth of the business through the implementation of a voice gateway, call manager, and Cisco designs. With that, the company staff can make calls outside their branch using PSTN telephone connections (Wong, 2011). In that way, more calls will be made allowing room for increased business activities and connections to clients. Also, this implementation will enable voice organization which will eventually lead to 100% network utilization.
On the issue of wireless design, the new proposal suggests the inclusion of controllers and access points. This implementation will benefit WWTC by increasing the range of coverage where the access points will be installed in the relevant areas such as the hall (Wong, 2011). In addition, the wireless network capacity will increase meaning that it will support more clients while maintaining reliability, speed, and bandwidth. Notably, the wireless network upgrade will result in the use of the most recent wireless network standards. Such has the benefit of increased speed and expandability which is required at WWTC. That results from the fact that the same radio signals will be used to support many streams without adverse effects to the network such as collisions. In that way, the much-needed network efficiency will be provided for the staff of New York’s WWTC branch. Also, the new standards come with better security protocols, and in that way, data integrity at the access points will be assured (Wong, 2011). That is to say, that network sniffing will be difficult, and therefore the network data streams will be maintained.
The new wireless network proposal suggests the use of both WPA and PSK protocols to confirm the devices requesting connections remotely. WAP2 is an efficient protocol that uses AES and encrypts 128-bits to 128-bit data encryption key (Pohl, 2010). However, for additional security, the new plan intends to remove the use of SSID name to prevent remote system discovery by remote devices. More so, it will be difficult for illegal connections to access the new wireless system. Additionally, further security will be available through the implementation of VLANs. Such will be supported by the use of strict wireless coverage signal control.
Network Application
The current and proposed network designs have different characteristics regarding their applications. They comprise the following;
Current Network
Experiences security audit issues
Users experience problems with the wireless LAN.
The network cannot handle high data loads without congestion
The internet speeds fluctuate from time to time.
Proposed Network
The design offers to enhance internet speed and bandwidth
This design has a better active directory, wireless LAN, and VoIP implementations.
The design proposes the enhancement of security policies.
The proposed network will use quality devices such as the DHCP servers, routers, and switches.
Current State of the Network
The present state of WWTC's New York office does not satisfy the goals of the company. As a result, various aspects require improvements to meet the organizational objectives as specified by the firm's president. First, the LAN structure has issues concerning the security and mobility. There is the need to implement a wireless network to cater for user flexibility. This problem will allow brokers to connect the mobile devices to the network, for instance, their laptops. Similarly, there is the issue of connection speed that needs to be addressed. The network transmits data at low speeds and does not support adequate bandwidth. As such, software such as the software used in the brokerage process is forced to send data at low speeds. When the problem of network speed and bandwidth is addressed, then the network will have the potential to support a significant number of users. Such include those that will connect to the wireless network to access the firm’s resources.
Second, the current network does not differentiate the end-client device types for instance PCs, laptops, and mobile handsets. Therefore, there is the need to identify every physical interface accessible in the network (Pohl, 2010). For example, PCI, USB and PC cards for all the devices. Also, in the same line of thought, the wireless LAN should be designed such that it is in sync with the existing systems for instance databases, Ethernet systems, and applications. Third, the WWTC's New York branch has bandwidth problems which affect the VoIP service. In particular, the amount of bandwidth is the measure of the transmission capacity required to sustain conversations (Wong, 2011). More so, ensure that there are disturbance free and clear communications via the network. Bandwidth refers to the determinant of how much data in a network can be received or sent in a given timeframe. As such, online tests should be done to determine how the amount of bandwidth that is sufficient to sustain the VoIP service.
Fourth, another critical issue in the current network design is the quality of service. Currently, the network experiences clogs and deferrals as the data transmitted by the company cannot be maintained for long distances. As such, there is the need for configurations to get a steady and reliable VoIP implementation. The quality of service refers to a switch's ability to uniquely organize voice movements in a network consistently (Pohl, 2010). The fact that VoIP is a network standard means that when data is lost, calls are dropped in the network, hence the low quality of service. In the current network plan, some users get splendid VoIP service outcomes while others report regrettable results. Therefore, there is the need to replace the network switches with those that support adequate bandwidth to maintain the quality of services (Wang & Li, 2005). Most importantly, guarantee the success of conversations in the WWTC New York office.
Lastly, there is a security concern in the New York WWTC branch. Notably, despite the security plans implemented, there are breaches in the current network structure. Such breaks may compromise the data transmitted over the network which may lead to unintentional misfortunes (Pohl, 2010). As such, there is the need to react with haste to prevent security breaks in future and protect the information resource. With that, four principal components should be implemented in the company;
Danger evaluation – the most likely threats should be surveyed to determine their influence on the data integrity. Also, the probable outcomes on the company staff should be determined (Pohl, 2010).
Assessment and reaction – it is important to evaluate the reasons for security break-ins and the most viable responses to the problem (Carpenter, 2012). In that way, approaches can be determined on how to tighten the network security.
Recuperation and control – the current network does not have means of recovering from network attacks which should determine how such situations are handled.
Rupture warnings – data security breach is the most probable form of attack. As such, the current network should have ways of determining and issuing alerts in advance to avert incidences (Wang & Li, 2005). For instance, the ICO should be informed to determine the measures to take.
Design Solution
Logical Network topology
The diagrams below show the proposed high-level security plans for WWTC.
Figure 1: Security plan of the proposed design
Figure 2: High-level security plan proposal for WWTC
Proposed LAN Design to Implement Client’s Key Requirements.
The choice of LAN implementation requires the identification of aspects such as budget, security, budget, schedule, and mobility (Carpenter, 2012). In that case, the proposed network plan will be implemented to realize these features. First, the LAN design will provide flexibility where clients can use wireless devices such as smartphones and laptops. This provision will be made possible through the installation of DHCP software to allow automatic identification of devices connected to the wireless network. Second, the number of clients supported by the network will eventually increase. The new plan will see the growth in the number of devices accessing the network and more so provide room for future expansion. In the same way, the end-user devices will be classified to differentiate their physical interfaces (Carpenter, 2012). Third, is the provision of data security requirements to the network users. Such is to ensure that information is not lost during transmission and is free from dangers such as decryption and viruses. In that way, the proposed network plan will preserve data integrity using incorporated systems such as encryption techniques
The fourth implementation of the proposed LAN is the applications requirement provision. It will determine the amount of transmission required for the success of the wireless LAN. For instance, broker management systems software may require broadcasting even at low bandwidth. Therefore, the use of high bandwidth Cisco switches will ensure that data loads will be transmitted properly (Carpenter, 2012). With that, all the users considering their differing bandwidth requirements will use their applications without the fear of slow data transmission. Fifth is the provision of the network security rules where the proposed plan suggests the installation of a Cisco ASA 5500 firewall. Such is to protect the inbound and outbound network traffic from corruption. Most importantly, have a means of issuing security alerts when the New York office network is under threats. In that way, the network administrator can determine the right course of action.
Recommended VoIP Solution
There are various considerations that the proposed plan puts into consideration. One is changing the telephony experience where adequate data transfer is emphasized, proper battery reinforcement and good switch-to-switch connections (Wang & Li, 2005). First, the plan recommends high speed and bandwidth Cisco routers and switches. Such is to increase the amount of data transmitted per unit time to satisfy the needs of the New York Office. Also, a high-quality switch will be required to mitigate the issue of device failure and enhance sound quality. Second, the plan wishes to implement quality of service. In this case, voice and data will be separate entities propagated in the same infrastructure. However, there will be no need for creating a new network for VoIP. Third, is the issue of dealing with power failures. In particular, voice over IP does not work in the event of power failures. With that, power backups to the network facility will be provided to ensure round the clock voice communication (Wang & Li, 2005).
Fourth, the proposed solution intends to champion the acquisition of digital IP telephones and Wi-Fi phones. These devices will use the existing network link where the POE implementation will power them. The benefit of using these phones is that the clients can access the internet using cable and wireless connections respectively (Carpenter, 2012). In the case of the Wi-Fi phone, it will act as a wireless switch and therefore serve to increase network access to the New York office. Fifth, the new plan advocates for the use of soft phones. These are software packages that are installed in PC's to provide the look and feel of an IP phone. The objective is improving communication between employees and from branch to branch. Most importantly, this implementation provides an affordable implementation of IP phones for the WWTC New York office which is in line with the company's objectives.
Client’s Key Security Solution
It is imperative to manage security issues properly to secure the information resource. Such works to prevent actions such as burglary, unauthorized utilization of personal information and assaults on frameworks (Kim & Solomon, 2017). However, when attacks happen, it is important to have fallback plans to control such situation. First, the proposed network plan will implement the recuperation and monitoring mechanism. Such is to provide a means of reacting to attacks. With that, the company will have a way of recovering from security breaches. The plan will be strengthened by the implementation of data management approaches. Secondly, the proposed plan will serve to evaluate security risks. The primary concern about network security is that attacks may come unforeseen. As such, without adequate preparation the targeted resources can be lost. In that case, the security plan will work to survey dangers to determine the most appropriate measures to implement. With that, it would also be easy for the network administrator to determine unfavorable outcomes for the users (Kim & Solomon, 2017).
Thirdly, new network design will enhance the matter of reaction and risk assessment. In network security, it is important to evaluate the causes of security breaches. More so, determine the most viable options for dealing with violations. Such may include the revisiting of security approaches to determine what could be wrong in the bid to protect the information resource. Lastly, it is the obligation of the new network plan to issue warnings concerning the advent of security attacks. When people are notified about possible attacks, they become vigilant and therefore will implement the required security routines. However, while informing people seems like the best option, this decision will be selective to avoid organizational panic. Some people do not take threats kindly and therefore, the right people to inform are the departmental heads, managers, and the ICO. Similarly, for the case of physical break-ins, the police will be notified.
Client’s Key Active Directory Solutions
The active directory is a distributed networking service responsible for the consolidation of users’ data, systems interoperability, network resources distribution and network security (Kim & Solomon, 2017). Therefore, the goal of implementing the active directory for WWTC is creating a distributed networking surrounding comprised of various networked devices, communication equipment, and computing stations. First, the new plan recommends the installation of more DHCP servers to cater for the various subnets of the current network. This implementation will increase the availability of resources by different subnets (Kim & Solomon, 2017). As such, the DHCP servers will be configured such that the network users can utilize their IP address range. Second, the new plan proposes the solution of establishing a relay agent for the DHCP servers. In that way, the servers will be configured to allow quick disc subsystems using the available RAM. The objective is to execute all the DHCP servers to increase the client reaction time.
Third, the proposed network design plan for WWTC suggests the use of Windows Server 2012 which will facilitate the creation of group policies. With that, the network administrator will configure the storage discs to ensure their full utilization. In the same way, they will have remote access to the network to provide support services. Therefore, services such as network-oriented software installations will be created in the bid to enhance network reliability and usability. Lastly, the new plan recommends the development of local, global and universal organizational users. As such, each group with have a certain number of users who will correspond to their departments. However, the membership to a group will be restrictive and privileged as part of ensuring unauthorized access (Kim & Solomon, 2017). With that, it would be easy for the network administrator to control resource access considering that WWTC’s security is of paramount importance.
Network Management Activities and Products Recommendations
The role of administrators in network management is ensuring the availability, consistency, creation, and enforcement of policies (Carpenter, 2012). However, if this part is neglected, it becomes invariably difficult to guarantee network security. The development of ICT infrastructures acts as a differentiator for organizations by providing useful methods of business cooperation. With that in mind, the proposed network design offers some solutions. Firstly, it will support the formulation of security policies as a function of the network management team.
With that, security approaches will be determined based on their practicality and ease of management (Carpenter, 2012). Also, their conformance to the existing legislations will be evaluated in the bid to provide organizational security. Secondly, the new plan recommends the classification of company resources and their control. This move will determine the mission critical resources to determine the best security measures to implement. In that way, the asset inventory will be protected by allowing authorized personnel to access it. More so, it would be easy to analyze and survey possible risks.
Thirdly, the new plan suggests that the network administration team should ensure that appropriate technology is used at WWTC. In that way, the company will provide approved IT assets which in turn will guarantee great and proficient execution of various processes. With that, the New York branch will easily implement appropriate arrangements for its clients and implement proper strategies. Finally, with the implementation of the new plan, it would be easy to enforce operation management and establishing network controls. In this case, the goal ...
