Networking Concepts

How to setup and configure a college network?

1.      Introduction:

                              

In today’s world information technology has gripped the whole world in a single hand. Information technology has merged the computing with high speed communication link carrying data in the form of images, videos, text, audios etc. from place to place over this global village, where global village means the whole world. Networking enables multiple computer users to share their resources amongst each other. So, in this way multiple computers shares their data in networking. The first and foremost purpose of networking is to centralized information and share information from one computer to other. Moreover, hardware sharing also enables by networking.

Even the smallest businesses can take advantage of networking to share the cost of peripherals such as printers and scanners and provide access to shared data. However, the growth of wireless networks and the increasing use of virtual private networks, which allow a user to access a business' network via the internet, have not only resulted in a wider choice of solutions for the business owner, but also a number of additional business benefits.

This report will explain networking between 3 departments having multiple computers and 1 server.

Following are main devices in the network:

·      Server Computer

·      Marketing department (3 PC’s)

·      Management (2 PC’s)

·      ESTATE (2 PC’s)

In our network printer should be shared only by Marketing and management department.

1.1.   Benefits of using networks

With the growth of business, good communication between employees is essential. You can improve efficiency by sharing information such as common files, databases and business application software over a computer network.

With improvements in network capacity and the ability to work wirelessly or remotely, successful businesses should regularly re-evaluate their needs and their IT infrastructure. You can improve communication by connecting your computers and working on standardized systems, so that:

·     Staff, suppliers and customers is able to share information and get in touch more easily

·     sharing information can make your business more efficient - e.g. networked access to a common database can avoid the same data being keyed multiple times, which would waste time and could result in errors

·     Staff are better equipped to deal with queries and deliver a better standard of service as a result of sharing customer data

You can reduce costs and improve efficiency by storing information in one centralized database and streamlining working practices, so that:

§  staff can deal with more customers at the same time by accessing customer and product databases

§  network administration can be centralized, less IT support is required

§  costs are cut through sharing of peripherals such as printers, scanners, external discs, tape drives and internet access

2.  Requirements analysis:

         

As we are supposed to create a network between three departments, where marketing has 3 computers, college management holds 2 computers and likewise, estates hold 2 computers. In order to share printer between management and marketing department we must use firewall to apply restriction protocols in our network. A server will work as main computer and it will handle all services like FTP, software sharing, printer sharing, and any other hardware sharing. We have following basic requirements in order to design an efficient network.

Computers:

We need seven personal computers for three departments. These computers will be used by different departments in our network.

Operating system:

An operating system is a set of programs running in the background of computer providing an environment in which other programs can run and user can work easily and efficiently. Here for our network I thought to use windows XP for networking between three departments (management, marketing, estate) because this is one of the best operating system. However, the most recent version of windows i.e. windows 7 is also capable of developing networking, but in our network I would like to use windows XP on all local computers and server.

Network Interface card:

Each computer which we are interested to connect to the network must contain a network interface card (NIC). Sometimes NIC is called LAN card.

Ethernet cables:

All the computers in network require Ethernet cables to enable a wire connection for resource sharing. For this purpose Ethernet cables should be there in order to implement the network.

Network Routers:

We also require a network router for printer sharing or any network compatible hardware. Basically, network router enables communication between two computers on the network.

Networking Software:

Networking software is used to create networking between computers. So we also need networking software for creation of network between three departments. Most operating systems contain the soft wares and drivers to enable networking.

Examples of network software:

Utilities, communication, VNC, team viewer.

Wireless network:

If we are interested to provide wireless connection to computers in network having wireless card we need a wireless router to accomplish this task.

Printers:

We need a printer in the network that would be shared between marketing and management departments for printing documents.

Switch:

We also need network switches to divide server access and access to hardware between marketing, management and estate. So in order to accomplish these tasks we must have at least four switches for joining three departments at a single place.

Firewall:

We also require a firewall which is a set of related programs located at a network gateway for restricting unauthorized and illegal access to user files and hardware sharing. Moreover, it will enable a secure and compiled data between three departments in our network.

3.  Development: and design of network:

In order to develop and design our network we must ensure the basics of networking.

So that in this way we’ll enable ourselves to design an efficient and secure network. Firstly, the basic network connection between two computers can be explained as:

                                             

                   Networking between two PC’s:

We can connect two basic computers by using Ethernet cables and just by using both pc. In this way both these personal computers may share their software resources.

Before carrying on our project we must have suitable knowledge about different types of network.

3.1.      What is a network?

A network is a way to produce a linkage between personal computers, so that they may share their own resources like software sharing and hardware sharing.

Main networks:

·     LAN (local area network)

·     WAN (wide area network)

·    MAN (metropolitan area network)

LAN:

A home based network between some computers in the same building, office of institute is referred to as Local area network.

MAN:

A network that is spreader around a city is called metropolitan area network. For example, the network between different branches of a college.

WAN:

A network between geographically speeded computers in called wide area network. For example Internet.

Here, I would like to show a basic network between four computers as shown in below diagram. This type of networking is called peer to peer networking, where all these four computers are connected by a hub. They may share their resources and programs amongst each others.

Available at [Reference: http://techsoup.org][18/05/2010]

I would also like to review client server networking before developing my network.

In client server networking we have multiple clients connected to a single server.

All clients have permission to access data on the single server. This server produces software and file sharing between three clients computers in above little network.
After studying peer to peer and client server networks now we are capable to design our own network where marketing department, management department and estate department should be connected to a single server for sharing their resources and information.

3.2.     Review of our own network:

We have chooses windows XP operating system for networking between management, marketing and estate department. XP will enable an ease interconnection between different computers and a server. So we must make sure that window XP operating system is installed on all computers of three departments. After observing different network diagrams and types of networks I formed a network diagram for networking between management, marketing and estate. Network Diagram is shown in diagram_network:

diagram_network

3.3.      Explanation of networking diagram:

1.   Components of network:

Internet

Router

Server

7 personal computers with XP operating system

Switches

Ethernet cables  (depending on requirements)

Printer

Firewall

2.     Departments:

2.1.        Marketing having 3 computers

2.2.        Estates having 2 computers

2.3.        Management having 2 computers

3.     Restriction in our network

Only management and marketing department has authority to access printer for printing documents. Estate department doesn’t have authority to print any file on this network. However, all personal computers in three departments are authorized to access all files available or shared on the server. Moreover, the restrictions may be modified if required by utilizing networking soft wares.  Only network manager has authority to restrict the traffic of data/ file sharing/ hardware sharing. In this way normal user enables him to access shared files if he is not restricted by network administrator. The server computer provides accessibility to all departments to put file on it and share it with a selected department. For example, if marketing department wants to share the pay slip of employees with management department, it will just upload that slip on server and share it with management department. The estates department will be unable to access this pay slip because the administrator has just given this accessibility to management department.

3.4.      Brief description of network diagram:

First of all in our network diagram we have internet connection that enables internet access to all departments. Internet (ADSL) is connected to router where router is working to make sure that internet is accessible to all users of three departments. Then firewall (a set of different programs to put restrictions on the network) will purify the data on the network. Here, network administrator has authority to change the accessibility of files on the network. The printer sharing is restricted by manager means only marketing and management departments are capable to print their files via shared printer on the network. However, in some situations if network administrator is interested to provide printer sharing to estate then he can easily provide printer sharing to estate’s department. Then main server computer providing access to all user files if they are shared. The main server enables files sharing, hardware sharing and it is also working as database server as well. We could also use print server and FTP server in our network but it will produce an increase in network cost. So, we will prefer to use only single server performing all these tasks in our network. Then server is connected to a hub or switch that is distributing the internet connection between management, marketing and estate.  This switch is further connected to three more switches that are distinctly connected to management, marketing and estate department via Ethernet cables. The printer is connected to central hub/switch through which the management and marketing department access printer and print their files.  Firewall is allowing management and marketing departments to share printer and print their files via network.

4.  Network Configuration and set up:

In order to setup our network I would like to create a client server networking model in which a centralized computer is used as a server. This centralized computer contains files, database, docs, spreadsheets, web pages and resources like hard diver, printer, fax modem, CD/DVD ROM and others. All clients computer has authority to share those files etc. over the network but only management and marketing department has authority to share printer. All clients’ computers in three departments are connected to the centralized server computer.

First of all we’ll prepare server computer. For this purpose we’ll install windows XP server on server computer and create a domain.

4.1.     Domain creation:

In order to create domain we’ll run “DCPROMO” command after successfully installing the server. After running “DCPROMO” command it will ask for domain name. All client computers will use this domain name for becoming part of this domain. This command has installed active directory on server, DNS and other required things. A step by step wizard ran all remain tasks are accomplished. During this procedure the network cable is plugged in the LAN card of the server when we ran DCPROMO.exe command.

After properly creating active directory on the server we did create network users on the server computer and also name/labeled the network resource like printer.

After successfully installing the server we are supposed to install windows XP on all clients. In this way all clients will enable to become a part of network.

4.2.    Configuration steps:

1.     Choose a unique name for each client such as PC A, B, C etc.

2.     Choose unique IP address for each computer for each computer and relevant.

3.     Use the same domain name for all client PCs.

Network system can do all these administrative tasks on clients and server computers. Any shared resource on server or client can be easily accessed by MY Network Place in windows XP platform.

a.   IP address assigning:

IP address:

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label that is assigned to devices participating in a computer network, which uses the Internet Protocol for communication between its nodes. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing

In our network:

For giving the IP address you will have to right click on the My Network places>properties>Local Area Connection>Properties>Internet Protocols (TCP/IP)>Properties and then give the IP address and subnet mask of the same range and class for all the computers in the network.

For assigning IP address we decided to use class C for all client computers in the network. For server we used class A IP address as shown in network diagram.

b.  Installation of Network software:

After creating our network we may need to upgrade software or we may also require sharing software among different computer users. But we must make sure that this software is properly licensed.

Following are few steps to install software on a network and use it between selected group of users or departments:

1.     Power on each computer within the network on which you would like to install the software.

2.     Log on to each computer with the administrator username and password. If the network administrator has not established a username and password for the network, you will not be prompted for a username and password.

3.     Check each computer to ensure that it meets the minimum system requirements for the software download (for example, the correct operating system, sufficient disk space and correct processor).

4.     Insert the software CD into the CD ROM drive of each computer on which you want to install the software. Enter the software license number or product key code. This will be located in your software package.

5.     Run the software installation wizard. Some software programs may require configuration after it has been installed.

In this way we will install software over a network. This software can be shared between any or all three departments in our network. Basically, this process has enabled us to share software between any or two departments in our network. Network manager has authority to change the sharing capability of sharing this software between selected departments.

c.    Installation of network printer:

As in this assignment of networking we are restricted to share printer only between management and marketing department. But this thing will allow us to use only 1 printer instead of using numerous printers. For printer installation we have connected it to the centralized server computer that will control printer sharing.

First of all we need to install printer software and drivers on all PCs of management and marketing department. After successfully installing printer software and drivers on management and marketing’s PCs and server as well. Now at this place our network diagram will purify and the most recent and efficient diagram of network will be formed as.

Now, we have connected printer with server computer which is centralized. Now management and marketing departments can access to printer.

i.    Finding a printer on the network:

Following are few steps to find printer on network in windows XP.

To install the printer using an IP address, go to Start>Control Panel>Printers and Faxes and then click the Add Printer icon. Next, click Create a new port, then select Standard TCP/IP Port from the drop-down menu. You will then be asked to enter an IP address. Enter the IP address of the print server and click next. You will be asked to select the printer manufacturer and the model from the list. If you do not see your printer listed, insert the disk that came with the printer and click Have Disk.

If you do not know the IP address of the printer, you can sometime select Browse for printer in the beginning of the process. If the networked printer is attached to another computer is being shared, you will need to enter the name of the computer followed by the share name of the printer. For example: \\computername\printername.

In our network we assign 192.168.0.8 IP address to our printer. By using this IP address management and marketing departments are capable of printing their source documents.

4.  Network management:

5.  GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Network manager manages the enterprise voice and data networks for Carroll County Government.

ESSENTIAL TASKS include the following; other duties may be assigned.

1. Perform supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the current Carroll County

Personnel Ordinance, County policies and applicable laws

2. Assign duties and examine work for exactness, neatness, and conformance to policies and

Procedures

3. Manage local and wide-area voice and data networks by providing access to network

Resources, maintaining equipment, and monitoring network performance

4. Interpret needs and oversee planning, installation, setup, support and documentation of

Network systems

5. Evaluate and recommend server hardware and software components and upgrades as

Required

6. Install, upgrade and configure client accounts, network printing, directory structures,

Rights, security and software on file servers

7. Respond to the needs and questions of clients concerning their access to resources on the

Network

8. Responsible for backup and disaster recovery measures

9. Maintain current knowledge of software and hardware methods, trends and techniques

10. Perform related duties as to specific assignments

11. Provide service to customers by answering questions, providing information, making

Referrals, and assuring appropriate follow-through and/or resolution

12. Communicate with managers, supervisors, co-workers, citizens, and others, maintains

Confidentiality; and represents the County

6.   Rights and responsibilities of network manager:

6.1.   Network manager:

A network manager is a person who is responsible for consistency and progress of network. He must make sure that network is working properly and all clients are accessing their files on server easily.

As a network manager, yours is a role of two halves. You’ll be responsible for installing and maintaining your company's computer networks, and also to train staff to provide first rate technical support.
If there are problems with the system, it’ll be down to you to have a recovery plan to minimize any disruption to the business. As most organizations are becoming increasingly reliant on technology, this makes your role particularly vital to the smooth running of the business. Depending on the size of the organization you may have more than one type of network to manage.

6.2.    Required skills for network managers:

Being a network manager is a varied role as it combines both strong IT and leadership skills. Employers will expect you to have the following:

• In-depth knowledge of all networks, especially those used by the company
• Interpersonal skills and experience in presenting
• Problem solving and project management experience
• Negotiation skills
• Team working skills
• Understanding of business
• Financial planning and budgeting experience

6.3.          Entry requirements
Training to become a network manager can start straight from school, provided you have good GCSE grades in English, Math’s, IT and Science. Although a degree or BTEC HND in a relevant computer course can give you an advantage. To enter the profession at network manager level you'll need a proven track record and relevant experience such as a previous role as a network engineer, IT support technician or IT manager.

6.4. Hours and environment

As a Network Manager, you’ll often work 37 to 40 hours a week in and office or between office sites. When a new system is being installed it may be necessary to work out of hours or at the weekend to minimize disruption to the office.  

6.5. Basic responsibilities of network managers:

The administrator's basic responsibilities include:

                 security, including password monitoring

                 designing and implementing back-up procedures - see our guide on keeping your systems and data secure

                 disaster recovery planning

One or more individuals are responsible for every IP net or subnet which is connected to the Internet.  Their names, phone numbers and postal addresses MUST be supplied to the Internet NIC (or to the local or regional transit network's NIC) prior to the network's initial connection to the Internet, and updates and corrections MUST be provided in a timely manner for as long as the net remains connected.

As the network grows the network administrator will need further training. At this point you will need their expertise to also cover the installation, configuration and maintenance of PCs, networking equipment and network operating systems.

It is a good idea to define exactly what type of emergency support and after-sales services your technology providers should supply, as they can be an important point of contact for any queries or problems you may have. If they cannot provide these services, consider another supplier who can. See our guide on computer hardware: the basics.

You need to maintain your network. You'll need to monitor software compatibility. This doesn't necessarily mean automatically getting the latest release available. Compatibility needs to extend across the network, so an upgrade strategy must be carefully planned and budgeted.

Make rules for file naming to ensure that changes take place to the right files at the right time. Multiple file copies will be created as employees download central files to work on whilst off-site and upload them later. Naming rules prevent overwriting of any changes made to the original files.

Network security issues

The increase in businesses connecting their systems and using the internet has its drawbacks. When all computers are networked, one user's problems may affect everyone. You should consider the greater potential for data loss, security breaches and viruses when creating a network.

It is important to ensure data security through regular housekeeping such as backing up files, password routines and system logs. It is important to remove access from employees who leave; otherwise they may still be able to access customer records.

As your data will be stored in one location on the server, physical security is very important. See our guide on keeping your systems and data secure.

You should enhance your system security to protect your business from potential virus attacks and hacking. This should include anti-virus software and a firewall or software barrier. See our guide on IT security: the basics.

Keep this up to date and download relevant patches - updates to software that fix security threats - because new viruses are frequently released. If you are affected by a virus your employees could lose data and have difficulties using their computers, and your business could come to a standstill.

If your staff needs to access the network while off-site, consider a virtual private network. This creates a secure link and protects information sent and received.

If you opt for a wireless networking solution then be aware that they can be insecure unless you take appropriate precautions. Typical threats include people being able to eavesdrop on your business activities or a hacker using a wireless connection to gain access to your key business systems. See our guide on securing your wireless systems.

Irrespective of the technology solution you select, you should seek expert advice when your system is installed - from your internet service provider, system provider, installer or an adviser. As when seeking any type of professional guidance, you should find out whether any adviser is familiar with businesses of your size or in your sector, or follow personal recommendations. Consult your local Chamber of Commerce or Business Link.

A Windows-based computer that is configured to use DHCP can automatically assign itself an Internet Protocol (IP) address if a DHCP server is not available. For example, this could occur on a network without a DHCP server or on a network if a DHCP server is temporarily down for maintenance.

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has reserved 169.254.0.0-169.254.255.255 for Automatic Private IP Addressing. As a result, APIPA provides an address that is guaranteed not to conflict with routable addresses.

After the network adapter has been assigned an IP address, the computer can use TCP/IP to communicate with any other computer that is connected to the same LAN and that is also configured for APIPA or has the IP address manually set to the 169.254.x.y (where x.y is the client’s unique identifier) address range with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. Note that the computer cannot communicate with computers on other subnets, or with computers that do not use automatic private IP addressing. Automatic private IP addressing is enabled by default.

You may want to disable it in any of the following cases:

- Your network uses routers.

- Your network is connected to the Internet without a NAT or proxy server.

7.   Rights and responsibilities of Network Users:

7.1.     User rights:

While the Network monitors electronic usage as part of its normal network operating procedures, the NA (network administrator) does not routinely inspect or monitor users’ computer hardware or files, email, and/or telephone message system, nor disclose information created or stored in such media without the user’s consent. The NA (network administrator) shall attempt to notify users before accessing computer hardware and files or prior to suspending service. In the event that the District acts without user consent, under its District Rights specified above, the NA shall do so with the least perusal of contents and the least action necessary to resolve the immediate situation. When NA accesses files without user consent, it shall notify the user as soon as possible of its access and provide the reason for its action.

In our network all the client computers in management and marketing department has right to access printer they can print their files via printer simultaneously. Similarly, all client computers has right to get information available on the server, they can share files by centralizing them on server.

7.2.    User responsibilities:

In our network the server computer allows all clients in three departments to share their resources. So, all users of client computer should be very much responsible on the network. The users must respect the rights of other users of the network e.g. management department. Likewise, the open access to internet for all client users determines that the users should utilize this access only for office work only. If a file is uploaded only for management department by marketing department but it is shared between all departments. Then the users of estate department should not delete or modify these files, because it is their responsibility to respect rights of others computer users. All users should be aware of their rights and responsibilities on the network.

8.   Print queue management:

Print queue management is really very essential in order to make best use of network. As we are only allowed to share printer between management and marketing departments. This task can be accomplished by using print server software on the server. This software can perform all jobs related to print queuing.  After configuring and installing this software on server, management and marketing department we are capable to configure various print queues. So, only management and marketing departments will get their prints via printer. But if we provide precedence to marketing department then the files of marketing department will be printed first. However, we have used only FIFO (first in first out) structure same like stacks. It means which department will click to print a file; its files will be printed first then others.

9.   Conclusion:

In conclusion of this report I would like to overview my network configuration and setup. As networking is one of the best ways to share all kinds of information amongst multiple computers. We just need to centralize this information on a server, and then all clients will be capable of accessing it. So, the users of different departments like management and marketing don’t need to type the same files for the same users separately. We just need to type those files once and share them on server. For example, if marketing and management department require the fee information a student. They just have to access server where the student database is centralized. In this way networking provides us a lot of pros such as time saving, efforts saving, ease and instant access to information. Moreover, networking also reduces the cost of system in an organization. In our network model we are using only single printer which is shared between management and marketing departments. It means that 2 users of management and 3 users of marketing department are printing their files via single printer on the network. However, without network we would require five separate printers for all 5 users in two departments.

The network manager and network users should be very responsible on the network. The network manager has authority to change privileges of server access for a selected group of users. In this way we designed an efficient network model where server computer is centralized and printer is shared between only management and marketing department.

Online references:

Different network diagrams

ü [http://images.google.com][viewed almost daily]

ü [www.google.com][visited daily for browsing about networks]

Roshan, P. & Leary, J. (2010) Wireless LAN Fundamentals

Sebastopol, CA: Cisco Press

ü [available at: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/1587050773] [Viewed on 14/05/2010].

Configuration of LAN networks

ü [http://www.networktutorials.info/about_us.html] [Viewed on 14/05/2010].

Printer queuing handling in the network

ü [http://www.networkprinting.info/] [Viewed on 15/05/2010].

LAN models and routers in network

ü [http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/hmnetwk1.html][Viewed on 17/05/2010].

Setting IP addresses and IP routing.

ü [http://ultralight.caltech.edu/web-site/ultralight/workgroups/network/netconfig.html][Viewed on 17/05/2010].

Introduction to windows peer to peer networking

ü [technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457079.aspx][viewed on 17/05/2010]

Networking in xp, introduction at Microsoft

ü [www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/.../networking/.../default.mspx][viewed on 18/05/2010]

Linux networking setup and routing in the network

ü [http://www.comptechdoc.org/os/linux/usersguide/linux_ugbasicnet.html][Viewed on 18/05/2010].

Petri.co.il by Daniel Petri is one of the most comprehensive IT and certification related web sites

ü [http://www.petrikb.com/adsl_home_network_config.htm][viewed on 19/05/2010]

International case studies, LAN switching

ü [www.cisco.com/en/US/.../internetworking/.../cs010.html] [viewed on 18/05/2010]

Wireless LANs

ü [learningnetwork.cisco.com/.../wireless_lan][viewed on 21/05/2010]

The End