Networking 101- Case Study


Alexander Enterprises is a small company that manufactures deluxe cat trees and high end catnip toys for the overindulged cat. They are doing quite well with mail orders and cat shows, but have had many customer requests to take their business online. You have been asked to help them design a network for the business.

The president of Alexander Enterprises would like to network his business and get Internet access for all the computers. They currently have 6 PCs and 3 printers. There is one PC in the reception area, 3 more PCs and 2 printers in offices, and 2 PCs along with the third printer in the factory area.

Currently the receptionist and floor manager print on the President's assistants printer. The President, his assistant and the receptionist have dialup access to the Internet.

The building is constructed of cinder block with rebar in the walls, the floors are concrete and in the office area they are carpeted. You may assume that all current PCs are fairly new and don't need to be upgraded. The President, his assistant and the receptionist are using Macintosh computers and the others are all Windows XP based. A map of the project is located here: Project Map

The final project will be your presentation to the President and his assistant so they can decide how their network should be designed. You may give me your presentation as a PowerPoint, written proposal (typed), or a live presentation.

To gather information for you presentation, wou will need to be able to answer the following questions and be prepared to justify your answers, especially if you are recommending a more expensive item or service

  1. What type of Internet connection would you recommend?
  2. Write a statement on each connection method, explaining how it works, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and what the cost would be per month

  3. What network equipment should the company buy?

  4. Types of networking equipment include:

  5. What type of network would you recommend?
  6. Where would you put any networking equipment?
  7. Security Policy
    What policies( based on the following subjects) would you recommend
  8. Here are some links for info:

Project Map

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