Networking Gadgets, Inc. - Network Setup and File Management

Case Project 1-1
Networking Gadgets, Inc. currently employs eight people but plans to hire 10 more in the next four months. Users will work on multiple projects, and only those users assigned to a project should have access to the project files. You're instructed to set up the network to make it easy to manage and back up yet still provide centralized storage for project files.

•    Would you choose a peer-to-peer network, a server-based network, or a combination of both?
•    Why?

Case Project 1-2
CNT Books hired you as a productivity consultant. Currently, it employs six people who still use floppy disks to get files from one computer to the next. You're to bring them into the 21st century by configuring a network that allows them to share files through the network. Employees must also be able to control resources on their own machines. The company wants the most inexpensive solution and only minimal training for employees.

•    Would you choose a peer-to-peer network or a server-based network?
•    Write a list of supplies you might need to purchase to accomplish this task.
•    What computer configuration tasks might you need to perform?

CNT Books hired you as a productivity consultant. Currently, it employs six people who still use floppy disks to get files from one computer to the next. You're to bring them into the 21st century by configuring a network that allows them to share files through the network. Employees must also be able to control resources on their own machines. The company wants the most inexpensive solution and only minimal training for employees.

·         Would you choose a peer-to-peer network or a server-based network?

·         Write a list of supplies you might need to purchase to accomplish this task.

·         What computer configuration tasks might you need to perform?

CNT Books has expanded considerably since you first got the network up and running three years ago. It now occupies an entire floor in the building, and its LAN has grown to include several servers and more than 60 workstations. CNT Books has recently purchased another book company and needs more space and computers. Expansion plans include leasing another floor four stories up in the same building and adding 35 workstations and at least one more server immediately, with additional equipment purchases expected.

You want your GPS to upload data to your PDA wirelessly so that you can plot your travels on the advanced mapping software installed on your PDA.

What networking technology might you want as a feature of both your GPS and PDA to accomplish this task?