Feasibility Study
Current project situation
This proposal is about the design of a network for a small billing business. Currently, the billing business does not have any computer, and or networking equipment. After a thorough discussion with the small billing business the following needs were identified:
- Workstations: 2 pieces
- A quality printer: 1 piece
- Internet access
- Email addresses: Multiple
- Secure network environment: Basic security
- Initial investment: 5,000 USD or less
- Recurring costs: 200 USD or less per month
Soon after the proposal is accepted by the management of the small billing business, funding is to be assigned to initiate the implementation of the proposal.
Network scope
The scope of the network is to implement a design that will enable the small billing business to attain its business/operational objectives be it specific or general. The following were identified as objectives of the network:
- Secure service: The small billing business should be guaranteed a secure network that will not allow any unauthorized access which may interfere with the administrative service.
- Information processing (versatile): The network should permit users to retrieve, share, process, and store any billing or business operational data and information be it in the form of non-ASCII or ASCII text, video, audio, and still graphics from the connected computers.
- Scalability: Implementation of a scalable design ensures very minimal additional or expansion cost, e.g. the addition of nay network device on the already existing network.
- Collaboration: As a result of the availability of the internet and email configuration, sharing of ideas and information from various quarters of the world will enable the users of the system to access knowledge which will greatly improve the business operational goals and objectives.
- Network support: The simplicity of the design should attract in-house support; hence no need to employ someone permanently (Akyildiz & Rudin, 2011).
Intended users
The intended users will be any employee of the organization whose credentials will have been configured on the system and permitted different tokens of access rights following roles of that particular user within the business premise.
Design assumptions
The following is assumed in the design:
- The two workstations purchased will come with firewall software which will be configured to control the information moving through and from the network.
- The ISP providing an internet connection will assign a domain name system to be used for the client email configuration for the small billing business.
Analysis of Network Needs
Data Types
Data types served via the network will comprise mostly text (non-ASCII and ASCII), with a minimal percentage of still graphics, video, and voice. The content of data mostly being bulletins, personnel profiles, accounting information, reports, and WebPages.
Data Sources
Data will originate from any of the workstations and also from the internet in the form of emails and attachments. The data generated will possibly emanate from Windows XP as the operating system, accounting application e.g. pastel, QuickBooks or tally, Microsoft Office Professional (Access, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook). A point to note is that the network will only be accessible to the public network via only emails and attachments through emails.
Users and Levels of Priority
The maximum anticipated number of users at any given time is two. Users can work in shifts and log in with their accounts as per the business setup and functional needs. Some users will be granted administrative roles, either on the operating systems or accounting applications, others will be granted print roles, backup roles, or power users. This will be strictly enforced by business requirements. Any management processes will be assigned high priority, while others will be given medium priority and finally followed by low priority. Bandwidth usage will be dependent on the priority assigned to a particular service (Atiquzzaman, 2011).
Requirements in Transmission Speeds
Transparency in the network will be enforced by all users. File transfers and applications running remotely should operate quickly as most processes executed within the workstations. An average bandwidth of 50 Mbps per user within the network should be sufficient and 25mbps per user while accessing the internet will be excellent.
Estimates in Load Variations
After the study of business operation practices it was established that the highest traffic will occur between 8.00 am and 5.30 pm from Monday to Friday. During the night weekends traffic will be minimal, being attributed to daily backups and batch processes. Anticipated average throughput on a LAN is estimated to be 0.2mbps at work hours and for the WAN the estimate is 0.04mbps at work hours. However this network is designed with peak loads in mind, these being 10.4 Mbps on the LAN to eliminate any complaint from users about the network speeds (Ramadurai, 2011).
Storage Requirements
This needs to be sufficient to store the Operating System, applications, emails, attachments, and any other relevant business data. Through interviews and observations, storage of 250 GB on each workstation should suffice.
Reliability Requirements
In line with industry standards and user expectations both LAN and WAN need to exhibit a 99.9% uptime and 0.001% undiscovered error rate.
Security Requirements
A security system will be implemented to restrict and permit authorization of only verified applications and services. Another form of security will be enforced through user accounts and the use of passwords in addition to application security.
Existing Network
There is none at the moment.
Network Design (High-Level)
Design Documentation (Detailed)
Key for Product List
- Cost
- Maintainability
- Performance
- Availability
Dell Precision S4200 64 Bit
- $1,250.00
- 3 Year Warranty and Maintained by Vendor as needed
- PIV 1.86 Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 812KB L2, 32x DVDRW
- Available/In Stock
Hp LaserJet 1020N Series
- $ 500.00
- 1 Year Warranty and Maintained by the vendor as needed
- 1200 dpi, 128 MB Memory, 10/100 Base-Tx Network ready
- Available/In Stock
Cat 5 Cable
- $200.00
- Maintained by vendor
- PVC four pair solid, 500feet
- Available/In Stock
12 port Cisco Catalyst 2950 Switch
- $100.00
- Manufacturer’s Warranty (5Yrs)uu
- Available/In Stock
References
Akyildiz, I., & Rudin, H. (2011). Computer Networks. The International Journal of Computer and Telecommunications Networking, 55(5), 1037-1216.
Atiquzzaman, M. (2011). NETWORK & COMPUTER APPLICATIONS. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 34(3), 797-1032.
Ramadurai, V. (2011). Guide to Network. Computer Networks and ISDN Systems, 29(8), 67.