TECH2100 Introduction to Information Networks Report 2 Sample

Your Task

This assessment is to be completed individually. In this assessment, you will prepare a written report that evaluates the network architecture and communication protocols of an organisation and provide recommendations to address any problems identified.

Assessment Description

You are an IT consultant who has been hired by a small business that provides web design services to clients. The business has experienced growth in recent years and has expanded its operations to multiple locations. The management has noticed that the network has become slow and unreliable, and the employees are having difficulty accessing the resources they need to perform their work.

Your task is to evaluate the organisation's network architecture and communication protocols, identify any problems, and provide recommendations to address them. Your report should include an executive summary, an overview of the organisation's network architecture and communication protocols, a summary of the problems identified, and your recommendations for addressing them.

Case Study:

ABC Web Design is a small business that provides web design services to clients. The business has grown rapidly in recent years and has expanded its operations to multiple locations. The company's employees work remotely from different locations and rely on the company's network to access the resources they need to perform their work.

The company's network architecture consists of a central server located at the head office, which is connected to satellite offices and remote employees via a virtual private network (VPN). The communication protocols used by the company include Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

Recently, the company's employees have experienced slow and unreliable network performance, and they have difficulty accessing the resources they need to perform their work. Additionally, there have been instances of lost or delayed emails, which have caused communication breakdowns with clients.

You have been hired by ABC Web Design to evaluate the organisation's network architecture and communication protocols, identify any problems, and provide recommendations to address them. This assessment aims to achieve the following subject learning outcomes:

Assessment Instructions

• Your report should be submitted in Word Document or PDF format and be approximately 1500 words in length, excluding references and appendices.

• Your report should include an executive summary, an introduction, a discussion of the organisation's network architecture and communication protocols, a summary of the problems identified, and your recommendations for addressing them.

• You should include relevant diagrams or figures to support your analysis and recommendations.

• Your report should be properly formatted with headings and subheadings.

• Your report should include a minimum of ten (10) academic references from credible sources, such as peer-reviewed journal articles, industry reports, or academic books. These references should be cited using KBS Harvard referencing style.

• Please refer to the assessment marking guide to assist you in completing all the assessment criteria.

Solution

Introduction

This document endeavors to assess the network architecture and communication protocols of ABC Web Design, pinpointing any hindrances that may be causing a sluggish and unreliable network performance. University Assignment Help, Subsequently, this report will offer suggestions to resolve the identified problems and elevate the firm's network performance and communication capabilities. The report is partitioned into multiple segments, namely an abridged version for executives, an introduction, an elaboration of the organization's network architecture and communication protocols, a compendium of the issues detected, and recommendations to tackle them. Moreover, relevant diagrams and figures have been incorporated to buttress the analysis and suggestions.

Discussion

The network architecture of ABC Web Design comprises of a central server at the headquarters that is linked to satellite offices as well as remote workers by a "virtual private network (VPN)". The firm employs "Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" and "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)" as its communication protocols.

Although the VPN is a safe and economical solution to link satellite offices and remote workers to the main server, it might not be able to cope with the traffic created by the expanding business with the remote workforce of the firm (Eridani et al., 2019). The capacity of the present network design to meet the rising demands made on it could be constrained.

 

Figure 1: Basic Diagram
(Source: created by the learner)

Furthermore, ABC Web Design's communication methods can be obsolete and unsuitable for the demands of the business. For instance, the commonly used SMTP protocol for delivering emails is known for its security and dependability concerns (Yeh et al., 2021). Emails may be misplaced or delayed, resulting in a breakdown in client communication and harming the company's brand.

ABC Web Design may take into account a hybrid network design, which combines the VPN using a cloud-based solution, to enhance the network architecture. This would ease the strain on the VPN by enabling distant workers as well as satellite offices to connect to resources from the cloud. The cloud-based solution could be more scalable, enabling the business to manage more traffic as it expands.

The existing network design and communication protocols have been found to have issues with sluggish and unstable network service, communication breakdowns with consumers owing to lost or delayed emails, and challenges gaining access to the tools needed to complete tasks (Ahad et al., 2019). Numerous things, such as a lack of bandwidth, old technology and software, and bad network architecture, might be blamed for these issues.

We advise ABC Web Design to update its hardware and software, enhance the network's architecture, increase bandwidth, and put in place stronger and more reliable communication protocols in order to solve these issues. The following is specifically suggested (Chen et al., 2020). To accommodate the demands of satellite offices and remote workers, the network design has to be enhanced. To guarantee that all staff members have access to the tools they require for their jobs, this involves utilizing a hybrid network design that combines a VPN alongside a cloud-based solution. To guarantee that emails are sent quickly and securely, ABC Web Design should integrate more reliable and safe communication protocols, like "Transport Layer Security (TLS)" and "Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)".

ABC Web Design could think about introducing more dependable and secure protocols, including TLS and IMAP, to address the problems with the current communication methods. IMAP enables users to see their emails from many devices, boosting accessibility and convenience, while TLS offers secure communication across the internet and may be used to encrypt email communications (Huang et al., 2019). The efficiency and effectiveness of ABC Web Design's present network architecture as well as communication protocols may be constrained. The business may guarantee smooth and efficient operations, enhance network performance, and prevent client communication failures by improving the network architecture and employing more dependable and secure communication protocols.

Figure 2: Company Network Architecture
(Source: Created by the learner)

Summary of the Problems

ABC Web Design's network design and communication protocols have been giving rise to poor and erratic network performance as well as disruptions in client contact. A few of the issues noted include:

? "Network congestion" The company's expanding operations and remote workforce may put too much strain on the present network design, which depends on a VPN to link satellite offices and remote workers to the main server (Yu et al., 2019). Employees have difficulty getting the resources they require to do their jobs due to the network's poor and unstable performance as a result.

? "Outdated communication protocols": “Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)”, which the firm uses to transmit emails, is recognized to have security and dependability problems. Emails may be misplaced or delayed, resulting in a breakdown in client communication and harming the company's brand.

? "Limited scalability": The capacity of the present network design to accommodate the escalating demands made on it may be constrained (Säily et al., 2020). The network can become overloaded and unable to manage the extra traffic as the business expands.

? "Lack of accessibility": Since employees might not be able to view emails from different devices, the company's demands may not be met by the present communication methods. Employees find it challenging to maintain connections and do their tasks effectively as a result.

? "Security concerns": It's possible that the present communication methods aren't secure enough to safeguard sensitive data. This might result in costly security lapses and information leaks that harm the company's brand.

The company's network design and communication protocols have issues, which affect how effectively and efficiently it can operate (Glaroudis et al., 2020). To maintain seamless and effective operations, enhance network performance, and prevent disruptions in client communication, the organization must solve these challenges.

Recommendation

The following suggestions are made in order to fix the issues with ABC Web Design's network design along with communication protocols.

Figure 3: Proposed Architecture
(Source: Created by the learner)

? "Upgrading hardware and software": ABC Web Design has to do this in order to meet the demands of its expanding clientele and remote employees. This includes updating the main server, switches, routers, and firewalls in addition to making sure all software is current.

? "Upgrade the network architecture": The organization needs to take into account a hybrid network design that fuses a VPN with a solution that is cloud-based. This would ease the strain on the VPN by enabling distant workers and remote offices to utilize resources from the cloud (Chien et al., 2019). The solution that is cloud-based may also be more scalable, enabling the business to manage more traffic as it expands.

? "Implement more dependable and secure communication protocols": ABC Web Design has to use TLS and IMAP among other more dependable and secure protocols. IMAP enables users to see their emails from many devices, boosting accessibility and convenience, while TLS offers secure communication across the internet and may be used to encrypt email communications.

? "Increasing bandwidth": In order to meet the demands of its expanding clientele and remote staff, ABC Web Design has to raise its bandwidth. This entails improving the connection to the internet and putting "Quality of Service (QoS)" procedures in place to guarantee that crucial apps have first dibs on network resources.

? "Improve network monitoring": To measure network traffic and locate bottlenecks, the business should employ network monitoring technologies. This will make it easier for the IT team to identify and immediately fix any potential problems, resulting in smooth and effective network performance.

? "Enhance cybersecurity measures": ABC Web Design has to put more firewalls, antivirus software, as well as intrusion detection systems in place to secure sensitive data. To prevent security breaches, the business should also lay out clear security procedures and regulations for staff to follow.

? "Provide employee training": The business needs to instruct staff members on how to use the new cloud-based services and communication protocols (Sobin, 2020). This will guarantee that workers can use the new technologies to do their tasks quickly and successfully.

? "Conduct regular maintenance": To make sure the network along with communication systems are current and operating at their best, the firm should do regular maintenance on them. This will lessen downtime and assist in avoiding problems.

By putting these suggestions into practice, ABC Web Design may enhance its network architecture including communication protocols, resulting in more streamlined operations, enhanced network performance, and improved client communication. These adjustments will aid the business in meeting rising client demands and preserving its competitiveness.

Conclusion

To fix the issues mentioned in this report, ABC Web Design's network design along with communication protocols needs to be significantly improved. ABC Web architecture can maintain smooth and efficient operations, increase network performance, and prevent communication breakdowns with clients by updating hardware and software, enhancing network architecture, expanding bandwidth, and using more dependable and secure communication protocols.

The business may maintain the best performance of the network as well as communication systems by adopting network monitoring tools, increasing cybersecurity measures, offering staff training, and performing routine maintenance. These adjustments will aid the business in maintaining its competitiveness and satisfying the rising client needs.

The success of every organization in the modern business world depends on having a dependable and secure network as well as communication infrastructure. ABC Web Design may position itself for a long time success and growth by taking the appropriate actions to solve the issues raised in this study. It is advised that the organization conduct frequent assessments of its network architecture alongside communication protocols to make sure they are still current and suitable for serving the demands of the company and its customers.

References

Eridani, D., Widianto, E.D. and Augustinus, R.D.O., 2019, December. Monitoring system in LoRa network architecture using smart gateway in simple LoRa protocol. In 2019 international seminar on research of information technology and intelligent systems (ISRITI) (pp. 200-204). IEEE.

Yeh, C.S., Chen, S.L. and Li, I.C., 2021. Implementation of MQTT protocol based network architecture for smart factory. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 235(13), pp.2132-2142.

Ahad, A., Tahir, M. and Yau, K.L.A., 2019. 5G-based smart healthcare network: architecture, taxonomy, challenges and future research directions. IEEE access, 7, pp.100747-100762.

Chen, C., Wang, C., Qiu, T., Atiquzzaman, M. and Wu, D.O., 2020. Caching in vehicular named data networking: Architecture, schemes and future directions. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 22(4), pp.2378-2407.

Huang, T., Yang, W., Wu, J., Ma, J., Zhang, X. and Zhang, D., 2019. A survey on green 6G network: Architecture and technologies. IEEE access, 7, pp.175758-175768.

Yu, Q., Ren, J., Fu, Y., Li, Y. and Zhang, W., 2019. Cybertwin: An origin of next generation network architecture. IEEE Wireless Communications, 26(6), pp.111-117.

Säily, M., Estevan, C.B., Gimenez, J.J., Tesema, F., Guo, W., Gomez-Barquero, D. and Mi, D., 2020. 5G radio access network architecture for terrestrial broadcast services. IEEE Transactions on broadcasting, 66(2), pp.404-415.

Glaroudis, D., Iossifides, A. and Chatzimisios, P., 2020. Survey, comparison and research challenges of IoT application protocols for smart farming. Computer Networks, 168, p.107037.

Chien, W.C., Lai, C.F., Hossain, M.S. and Muhammad, G., 2019. Heterogeneous space and terrestrial integrated networks for IoT: Architecture and challenges. IEEE network, 33(1), pp.15-21.

Sobin, C.C., 2020. A survey on architecture, protocols and challenges in IoT. Wireless Personal Communications, 112(3), pp.1383-1429.

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