Question

Stock Inc. has two sites in Pittsburgh that are four miles apart. Each site consists of a large factory with office space for 25 users at the front of the factory and up to 50 workstations in two work cells on each factory floor. All office users need access to an inventory database that runs on a server at the Allegheny Street location; they also need access to a billing application with data residing on a server at the Monongahela site. All factory floor users also need access to the inventory database at the Allegheny Street location. Office space is permanently configured, but the manufacturing space must be reconfigured before each new manufacturing run begins. Wiring closets are available in the office space. Nothing but a concrete floor and overhead girders stay the same in the work cell areas. The computers must share sensitive data and control access to files. Aside from the two databases, which run on the two servers, office computers must run standard word-processing and spreadsheet programs. Work cell machines are used strictly for updating inventory and quality control information for the Allegheny Street inventory database. Workstations in the manufacturing cells are switched on only when they’re in use, which might occur during different phases of a manufacturing run. Seldom is a machine in use constantly on the factory floor. Use the following write-on lines to evaluate the requirements for this network. After you finish, determine the best network topology or topology combination for the company. On a blank piece of paper, sketch the network design you think best suits ENorm, Inc.’s needs.

● Will the network be peer to peer or server-based?

● How many computers will be attached to the network?

● What topology works best for the offices, given the availability of wiring closets? What topology works best for the factory floor, given its need for constant reconfiguration?

can i also have the network design please

Answer 1

1) Peer to peer or Server based Network.

Peer to Peer Network (P2P)

In a network, the computers are connected via internet and the files the are transferred one computer to another without the need of central server is called Peer to Peer Network (P2P).

We can say that the computers are File Servers or they are Clients. So, if we want to connect the system as peer to peer network then we need an internet connection and a peer to peer (P2P) software.

If we connected with a peer to peer software, then it will help you to search files on other people’s computer and vice versa. But there is a limitation that the designated folder for sharing the file.

A P2P network can be an ad hoc connection which means that a couple computers are connected via a Universal Serial Bus to transfer files.

Server Based Network.

It is a network in which the network security and storage are managed centrally by one or more server.

All the activities in server-based network will manged by the server like authenticating users, storing files, managing printer, storing files, and running application such as database and e-mail programs.

The server-based networks are more costly and complex to set up. But it is very helpful for business who are all concerned about security and file integrity. Normally a network of an organisation with more 10 computers are preferred by server-based network.

Basically, a server-based network termed as Client-Server Network. here a server is act like a service provider to the client. They wait for client request and respond to them. Server is a central location where users share and access network resources.

In an organization like Stock Inc. there are 25 peoples on the front of the factory and 50 workstations in two work cells on each factory floor need a Server-based Network for their communication.

1. Because it is centralised network so we can access the data anywhere on the network.

2. It is properly managed.

3. Takes a backup and we can recover at any moment.

4. Provide upgradation and scalability.

5. More accessibility

6. Better security.

2) The Computers need for the network

The question says that Stock Inc. has two sites which is in Pittsburgh which is 4 miles apart.

The front space of the factory needs 25 users in each work cell. And also 50 workstations in each factory floor.

So, they need 152 computers for the entire factory.

3) Best Topology on Office space and factory.

In the Office space we can use Star Topology. Here we can connect each node by point to point connection to a single central location.

Topology is diagrammatic representation of a network in bird’s eye view. According to an office space we can build the network or connect the computer.

In most of the cases, the Star Topology is a combination of Bus Topology. The main advantage of the star topology is the malfunctioning of a node does not affect the rest of network.

In the factory floor also, we can implement the Star Topology. Because star topology recommends the wiring closets to its node. So, it is easy to change if any one of the systems get damaged. And it is easy to reconfigure the network when it is needed. Also is a combination of bus topology so, we can add more system to this network very easily.