A medium sized insurance company hired you as a Network consultant to advise them on the best and most suitable network solution for their business.

The company  provided a detailed specification document of their requirements for their network as following:

The company comprises of 3 different departments.

The sales and customer service department has 10 employees where each employee should use 1 PC and that needs to be connected to the network. The department should have access to two printers.

The Accounting department has 5 employees where each employee should use 1 PC and that needs to be connected to the network.  Accounting department should have access to one printer.

The Claims & Recovery department has 20 employees where each employee should use 1 PC and that needs to be connected to the network.  Claims & Recovery offices should have access to four printers.

In addition to the 3 departments, the company has four different servers.

The servers are:

-          A database server

-          Email server

-          Web server for the company Customer Relationship Management system CRM

-          A File storage server

The company has bought a static IP address for external access to the internet. The ISP has allocated the IP ‘192.168.10.10’ for their business.  You will need to divide your network into various sub networks to allow different functions to operate in various departments as below:

·         The Sales and customer service department PCs and printers should be on its own sub network.

·         The Accounting department PCs and printers should be on its own sub network.

·         The Claims & Recovery department PCs and printers should be on its own sub network.

·         All servers should be on their own sub network.

The company has asked you to produce a final report of your design and implementation no later than the 12^th  of June.

Task 1: Understanding Networking Principles.

1.1  Discuss the benefits and constraints of different networking systems types in order to convince the management of the company.

1.2  Analyze and clearly identify the requirements of the system for this network.

1.3  Explain the different types of network topologies. Select your suitable network topology options for each section of your network design with reason

1.4  Discuss and justify appropriate network protocols for the company. Discuss how protocols enable the effective utilization of different networking systems.

Task 2: Understand Networking Components.

2.1  Critically discuss and select suitable network software and hardware components needed in order to create this network infrastructure by mentioning their functions.

2.2  Identify all the servers required for the company network and discuss the server architecture needed for this network.

2.3  Discuss network hardware you have chosen for all the company PC workstations. 

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