TECH2100 Introduction to Information Networks Report 2 Sample

TECH2100 Introduction to Information Networks

Assessment Description

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.

Your Task

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.

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

The intricate system of data communications and networking necessitates an in-depth analysis of the rapidly growing ABC Web Design company, which has a model that allows one to work from afar, allowing for such assessment as network architecture; technologies involved within its models and communication protocols. The technologies, models and protocols used by ABC Web Design that are critical for smooth connectivity are described in this section. However, the organization’s network structure and communication protocol that was discussed in detail identified problems. Finally, this discussion sets out strategies for solving and resolving network performance problems to improve the overall productivity of ABC Web Design through a reduction in activities.

Technologies, Models, and Protocols in Data Communications and Networking

In the data communications and networking domain, various technologies models protocols perform an important role in providing reliable connectivity as well as successful information transfer. These elements must be analyzed to evaluate and reformulate the network structure of ABC Web Design for MBA assignment expert.

Technologies

The network structure by ABC Web Design is a central server with satellite offices and remote workers connected via VPN. This implies the use of technologies like VPN technology to create secure and private communication paths over a network. Further, if the workforce works remotely; technologies like offsite remote access solutions and cloud services are likely to be included that provide smooth connectivity of centralized resources (Sepasgozar et al. 2023, p.441).

Models

Its network architecture may adopt a model that describes the structure and interactions of its constituent components. A popular model is the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Model, which views networking as seven layers from a physical transmission to an application layer (Sullivan et al. 2021, p.116294). As an alternative, the TCP/IP model that consists of four components is broadly applied and corresponds closely to those protocols which ABC Web Design implements.

Figure 1: Layers of OSI Model
(Source: Sullivan et al. 2021, p.116294)

Protocols

ABC Web Design uses TCP/IP and SMTP communication protocols. The Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is essential for the communication on Internet based on reliable data transmission between devices. It includes protocols such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) for web communication. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is uniquely focused on email transmission, handling the interchange of electronic letters between servers (Altulaihan et al. 2023, p.10612). TCP/IP stands out as the choice for a multi-location environment, based on its ability to integrate with global internet infrastructure. SMTP is essential for email communication; thus, the implementation of effective e-mail services in business management procedures.

Figure 2: SMTP
(Source: Altulaihan et al. 2023, p.10612)

These technologies, models and protocols may be understood before proceeding to discuss the performance problems encountered by ABC Web Design. The test will focus on the execution and performance of these elements, whether there are bottlenecks in any layers of OSI or TCP/IP models and if tweaks or improvements have to be made for efficient connectivity.

Network Architecture and Communication Protocols of the Organisation

The network architecture of ABC Web Design also plays an important role in supporting the web design services that played a key aspect and enabled remote work for employees who were located at different sites. The main server, which sits at the head office, acts as a central point where all data and resource coordination happens. This central server can be viewed as the bridge serving satellite offices and employees working from home.

Central Server

The centralized server serves as a repository for web design resources, databases and other vital files (Alkalbani, Hussain & Kim, 2019, p.128213). It acts as the infrastructure for this system, enabling employees to work together on projects through access. The performance of the network also depends on how efficiently this central server operates.

Figure 3: Centralised Server
(Source: Alkalbani, Hussain & Kim, 2019, p.128213)

Satellite Offices

The satellite offices are branches of the central server providing local nodes at specific geographical locations. These offices are likely to be the homes of teams that work on specific projects or regions. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) enables connectivity between the central server and satellite offices.

Remote Employee Connections via VPN

Since remote employees operate from diverse locations, the VPN is a vital component in creating secure and private connections over the Internet. A VPN helps remote employees to be able to access the resources hosted on a central server while ensuring that their data remains confidential and intact (Prajapati & Shah, 2022, p.3996). On the other hand, current difficulties in network performance are suggestive of problems with VPN implementation or bottlenecks adversely affecting remote access.

Communication Protocols

ABC Web Design uses two basic communication protocols TCP/IP and SMTP. The TCP/IP is the fundamental protocol suite for internet communication that provides reliable data transfer between devices. On the other hand, SMTP is made for email exchange processing the movement of electronic messages between servers.

Problems Identified

ABC Web Design is facing a range of network performance problems that have significantly affected the efficiency and productivity levels of its operations. Some of the main issues are slow and unstable network connectivity, resource scarcity difficulties, and email messaging delays.

Slow and Unreliable Network Performance

The core challenge facing ABC Web Design’s network is intermittency and slowness in its performance. This appears as a lag in the retrieval of web design materials hosted on the central server. The slow speed of networks hinders the smooth exchange and instant sharing that is necessary for a web design business (Akhtar et al. 2019, p.1). This may lead to delayed projects, angry employees, and eventually an unsatisfactory client experience.

Difficulties in Resource Availability

The remote workforce is highly dependent on resources from the central server. However several challenges emerge when employees are trying to retrieve the required files and data necessary for their web design projects. This problem affects an individual’s productivity as well as readying for collaborative challenges wherein they are unable to access shared resources promptly.

Email Delays and Losses

The missing or late email cases are a major communication failure for ABC Web Design. But for a business that depends on effective and timely communication, such problems may have disastrous results. Client satisfaction is being affected as well due to the delays in email communication with those clients, and it may even lead to harming a company’s professional image (Winolo & Sukandar, 2019, p.174).

Quantifying the Impact

All of these issues ultimately hurt the total output and client relations in ABC Web Design. For example, late resource access can cause missed deadlines for a project that may involve financial consequences as well as customer dissatisfaction. The creative and collaborative nature of web design could also be affected by poor network performance as this will lead to ineffective products. The email communication problems add another dimension of worry since such issues directly affect the connection between clients and businesses (Suleiman et al. 2020, p.164). Delays and losses in e-mail communication can lead to misprisions, loss of the client’s trust in their benchmarks, and even loss of customers.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1: Optimizing Network Infrastructure

In order to increase the reliability and speed of the network ABC Web Design needs to do a comprehensive evaluation of its existing infrastructure. They should look into upgrading network hardware, such as routers and switches to newer models offering higher performance. QoS configurations can improve the flow of critical data traffic through prioritization, making sure that access to resources is smooth (Gündoğan et al. 2020, p.160). Further, the use of CDNs helps to distribute web design assets across geographical locations and this reduces latency for remote employees.

Recommendation 2: VPN Enhancements

Since ABC Web Design can enhance remote access for employees by implementing alternative technologies, such as Split Tunneling, the company should change its VPN setup. This implementation provides simultaneous access to local as well as corporate resources, thereby offloading the VPN and improving overall connection time. Multi-factor authentication can ensure security without adversely affecting the user experience (Sinigaglia et al. 2020, p.101745). Schedule periodic reviews and updates of VPN configurations for effective performance and security.

Recommendation 3: Communication Protocol Optimization

In addition, ABC Web Design should seek out alternate or modified protocols for TCP/IP and SMTP to eliminate the delays and losses encountered through communication. It is recommended to use a lightweight Transport layer protocol, such as UDP for real-time data transmission. Furthermore, fine-tuning SMTP settings and possibly investigating the benefits of newer email protocols such as IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) may aid in enhancing the delivery rate (Lotfollahi et al. 2020, p.1999). Visual aids, including network topology diagrams and flowcharts are useful in clarifying these recommended changes by providing an effective implementation plan.

Conclusion

Based on the above discussion it can be concluded that, the network performance problems ABC Web Design experiences pose productivity challenges and also client relations. Slow access, resource constraints and email delays warrant tactical approaches. The recommendations include the improvement of infrastructure, VPN effectiveness and communication processes. These policies are designed to strengthen network speed, dependability and security. By addressing these problems, ABC Web Design can establish a solid basis for sustained growth in the competitive web design industry by ensuring effective operations and timely project execution as well as sticking to maintaining proper communication with clients.

References

Akhtar, R., Shengua, Y., Zhiyu, Z., Khan, Z.A., Memon, I., Ur Rehman, S. & Awan, S., 2019. Content distribution and protocol design issue for mobile social networks: a survey. EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 2019, pp.1-19.

Alkalbani, A.M., Hussain, W. & Kim, J.Y., 2019. A centralised cloud services repository (CCSR) framework for optimal cloud service advertisement discovery from heterogenous web portals. IEEE Access, 7, pp.128213-128223.

Altulaihan, E., Alismail, A., Hafizur Rahman, M.M. & Ibrahim, A.A., 2023. Email Security Issues, Tools, and Techniques Used in Investigation. Sustainability, 15(13), p.10612.

Gündoğan, C., Pfender, J., Kietzmann, P., Schmidt, T.C. & Wählisch, M., 2020. On the impact of QoS management in an Information-centric Internet of Things. Computer Communications, 154, pp.160-172.

Lotfollahi, M., Jafari Siavoshani, M., Shirali Hossein Zade, R. & Saberian, M., 2020. Deep packet: A novel approach for encrypted traffic classification using deep learning. Soft Computing, 24(3), pp.1999-2012.

Prajapati, P. & Shah, P., 2022. A review on secure data deduplication: Cloud storage security issue. Journal of King Saud University-Computer and Information Sciences, 34(7), pp.3996-4007.

Sepasgozar, S.M., Khan, A.A., Smith, K., Romero, J.G., Shen, X., Shirowzhan, S., Li, H. & Tahmasebinia, F., 2023. BIM and Digital Twin for Developing Convergence Technologies as Future of Digital Construction. Buildings, 13(2), p.441.

Sinigaglia, F., Carbone, R., Costa, G. & Zannone, N., 2020. A survey on multi-factor authentication for online banking in the wild. Computers & Security, 95, p.101745.

Suleiman, M.I., Muhammad, N.B., Yahaya, I.S., Adamu, M.A. & Sabo, A.U., 2020. Benefits and challenges: for marketing strategies on-line. European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 7(3), pp.164-179.

Sullivan, S., Brighente, A., Kumar, S.A. & Conti, M., 2021. 5G security challenges and solutions: a review by OSI layers. IEEE Access, 9, pp.116294-116314.
Winolo, L. & Sukandar, R., 2019. Cabin Crew and Social Media: Negotiating Employees’ Emotional Labor and Corporate Image of Citilink Indonesia. American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, 3(3), pp.174-186.