Question

CNET Books has expanded considerably since you first got the network up and running three years ago. It now occupies an entire building with 4 floors, and its LAN has grown to include several servers and more than 60 workstations. CNET Books has recently purchased another book company and needs more space and computers. Expansion plans include leasing another building four storeys
(floors) higher in an adjacent location. The company has staff and guest users. There are 20 guest users and 50 staff members respectively on each floor.
Answer the following questions:
a. Draw the network diagram/topology, assuming that you have designed the network. Write
possible IP addresses of at least 2 PCs with subnet addresses.
b. Specify all the devices for the network in terms of their hardware and software
requirements. Justify the bandwidth given for the communication links.
c. Identify the two servers needed in this network.
d. Identify the cables for this Network
e. Which design methodology (Top down or bottom up) would be good for the given scenario?
Justify your answer.

Answer 1

CNT Books expansion has only grown to have more server and user requirements, moreover, it has purchased a new company and will incorporate it in the same building. As such, the new network will be a local area network. Although extended, the new network still covers the same location and has the same requirements of sharing computer resources in the most inexpensive way. Moreover, its additional requirements include an additional server and new workstations which mean no public network is needed, eliminating the possibility of it being a wide area network.
Nevertheless, the network has grown to include additional networks which might necessitate the need for a router to enable internetwork communication. Routers facilitate communication between different networks by identifying the best paths to data destinations.

If the building has the ability to connect the new floor to the original floor via ethernet, that would be an easy solution. If the two companies shouldn’t have access to each other’s resources then different vlans could be set up. They might need another switch upstairs to connect into. Also with so many people wanting to access printers and shared files, I’d probably want to set up a primary server with which to put shared files on. We could still use boxcryptor for encrypted backup just in case.