24/7 Call Centre Network Design Essay: Requirement Gathering & Analysis, Proposed Solutions, Metrics.

You have been hired as an IT Consultant to design a network for a 24/7 Call Centre that requires installationand implementation of networking hardware/software. You are required to use the latest technologies which can accommodate their network load now and for another five years.

Task 1:

It's difficult to build a solution if you don't know the requirements. Your task is to gather requirements (User, Application, Device and Network) to complete this project with the help of techniques such as Questionnaire, interview from Users or Call Centre Management staff. Students must discuss questionnaire/interview with tutor before finalizing all requirements.

Task 2:

Your task is to come up with a logical, efficient and scalable network design that is suitable for the 24/7 Call Centre. Analyze all requirements gathered in Task 1 and proposed suggestions accordingly. Create network performance metrics including (Bandwidth, Delay, Jitter, Packet loss, Utilization, uptime or responsiveness etc) and justify your proposed solution.

After successful completion of this assignment, students should be able to:

? Apply concepts and theories of human factors as related to network design and implementation

? Compare performance metrics and dimensions according to specifications

Requirement Gathering Techniques

Introduction

The report is prepared for a 24/7 call centre for the development of the network solution for the organization such that the network device are available all the time and it is able to deliver the data packet to the destination taking minimum time. For the development of the report a requirement analysis is done on the needs for the development of the network framework. The protocols that should be used for the configuration of the network is identified for the configuration of the routers and the switches used for the development of the network solution. Different techniques are used for gathering the requirement from the user such as brainstorming, using set of questionnaires and arrangement of stakeholder meetings. The number of user and the floor plan of the building of the call centre should be evaluated for the development of the network.

Task 1

Requirement Gathering

The main requirement of the organization is to develop a network solution for a 24/7 call centre that requires different hardware and software for the development of the network. A research has been done on the latest technology that can be applied in the network for the development of the network infrastructure. The success of the network solution depends on the quality of information gathered form the different sources. Questionnaires should be created and distributed to the users for the identification of the requirement of the network solution.  An appropriate cabling plan should be used for interconnecting the different departments and identification of the needs of the upgrades of the current network devices installed in different location of the organization.

Technique used for collecting requirements

A quantitative and qualitative analysis should be used for the identification of the requirement for the development of the network solution for the Call Centre. For gathering the requirement of the network the data is gathered from the users, applications and the devices. Stakeholder meetings should be arranged for the identification of the needs of the software and the hardware required for the development of the network solution. The constraints identified from the existing network and the expected growth of the network should be identified for creating an interoperability within the existing network. The services that are needed for the development of the network infrastructure should be identified for designing the architecture of the network. The existing network architecture should also be analysed for incorporating it with the existing network. The components that are needed to be identified are listed below:

• Upgrades of the systems
• Migration from one technology to another
• Use of network protocol for upgrading the network infrastructure.

Proposed Solutions Based on Gathered Requirements

It is also important to identify the dependency of the user and constraint of the existing network such as the change in the size and the scope of the network framework. The boundaries of the LAN or WAN should also be defined. The number of users using the system and the list of application and software installed in the system should be listed for the development of the network infrastructure and dividing the network into smaller subnets for increasing the security of the network.  

Task 2

Network Design

Figure 1: Network Solution for the Call Centre

Network Design Justification

The network is designed with 6 layer 3 switch for the management of the distribution of the data packets in the network. In the management department two layer 2 switches are used for connecting the hosts with the network. Two routers are installed in two different floors of the building and cisco 2811 series router is used for each of the floors. Cisco 7960 VOIP phone is used for the call center for making call using the internet and reach the client. The Phones are connected with the laptops for reducing the cabling cost and increasing the accessibility of the system. The network is divided into different subnet following the floor plan of the organization and reduce the generation of broadcast messages for increasing the efficiency of the network solution. The current network designed for the call centre can meet the requirement of the next five years and more devices can be added in the network for handling the growth of the organization in future. For increasing the security of the network the SYSlog server is used and it monitors the current flow of the data traffic in the network.

The dial peer configuration should be used for routing the source of the call to the destination location and defining the different characteristics between the routers connected in the network. The network is divided into eight subnets for different location of the building of the call centre. The default VLAN 1 is used for the management of the network device connected in the network. The VLAN 10 is used for the server network and the servers are configured as Syslog server for increasing the security of the network and it is able to generate alert, notification and alarms to the network administrator. Global, DNS and HTTP server is also connected with the VLAN 10. VLAN 20 and VLAN 30 is created for the first floor of the building and used for monitoring the current activity of the network. For the call centre operation the VLAN 64 and VLAN 65 is used for the data and voice respectively. A DHCP server is used for providing the IP address to the VLAN such that the manual input of static IP address is not needed for the PCs. For another Floor of the building VLAN 68 and VLAN 69 is created for the data and the voice. The creation of the different VLAN for the data and the voice helps in improvement of the performance of the network and eliminates the risk of collision of the data and the voice packets in the network causing a delay in the voice transmission. The core switch is connected with redundant link for connecting the different blocks such that if one link fails the data can be transferred using the redundant link. The responsive ness of the system should be high because the data are transmitted using different channels. For the identification of the performance of the network different network analysis tools such as PRTG network monitor can be used for the identification of the data flow and packet loss or jitter in the network.

Conclusion

From the above report it can be concluded that with the identification of the requirement of the call centre the errors in the network solution can be eliminated and it helps in development of an effective network solution for the company. The IP addressing plan and the configuration of the layer 3 switches and the router are done according to the identified requirement of the call centre. For increasing the availability of the network device and getting maximum network uptime. The availability of the network is the main requirement of the company and scopes are there for the expansion of the current network solution. The creation of separate VLAN for the data and the voice helps in dividing the network into different communication channel and reduce the packet loss, jitter, congestion and collision in the data packet of the network. A prototype of the network is designed in packet tracer and the screenshot of the configuration commands are attached with the report.

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