ALEXANDER APANYIN
SNHU
IT-640-Q4622 TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKING 23TW4
7-3 MILESTONE THREE: FUTURE NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
JUNE 2023
About the company
SHUEnery Inc is a company in the United States that deals with oil-based discovery and drilling. The company is small as its operations are not expanded to include other processes, such as oil refining and transportation, that major companies in the industry do. The company aspires to grow and delve into these operations; it wants to venture into exploration and transportation. However, the current information infrastructure constrains the implementation of these plans. Therefore, the company wants to redesign the communication infrastructure, which should be ready in the next 12 to 18 months.
The company currently operates in Dallas, Texas, and has other small offices in the central united states. The company has 120 employees and wants to increase by about 50 % annually in the next two years. For these reasons, the company needs to evaluate its logical and physical design to understand its capacity and reliability when it grows.
The company needs to improve its communication reliability by ensuring the infrastructure is scalable in case new locations are added. It also needs to ensure that it is secure and reliable. The company must invest in a network connecting current and upcoming areas.
Future communication needs
SNHUEnery is anticipating growth in its operations; therefore, it looks forward to upgrading the network to accommodate all the upcoming changes. To achieve this, the company must add and upgrade the new equipment and the network logistics. The company has its headquarters in Dallas, with the most employees. The Memphis office has few employees; however, the company's applications and services are based in the location. Therefore, the company’s new network infrastructure should be manageable yet very secure and reliable. In addition, it should allow the company to meet its communication needs and customers.
Since the office in Memphis has much operational equipment and few employees, it should get fewer items. From the assessment, the location does not have a firewall or a wireless access point. Therefore, the lack of these resources constrains the organization from realizing its growth needs. In addition, the increase in the number of employees means the company needs additional network devices that might overload the network, affecting the infrastructure's reliability (Mitchell, 2018). Also, security measures are necessary to ensure that the information resources in the company are maintained.
Therefore, the office in Memphis needs a network resource upgrade as, for now, it needs an additional router and firewall. With this component in place, the office will not need the resources in Dallas to function effectively. These changes will also mean Memphis will be online regardless of the downtime's other locations.
As the company gain growth and gradually increase its business operations, especially if it is considering going global, it should consider moving its operations to a cloud-based infrastructure which is very efficient in term of scalability, costs, security, and availability. The strategy will allow the Information technology department to reduce their work of installing products and programs on the workstation. It will also increase workers' output because the cloud allows them to work remotely (“What is Cloud Computing,” n.d.). The Amazon Web services are the best cloud infrastructure that the company can implement. Also, the company can implement a Hybrid infrastructure if it wants to utilize its existing resources.
Network Architecture improvement
To enhance the network infrastructure, SNHUEnergy Inc. has several avenues for improvement. One practical approach is the implementation of SharePoint virtualization within the network. SharePoint offers a valuable means for remote offices to access network documentation and other data. Once deployed, users can conveniently access data stored on the SharePoint drive (“Microsoft SharePoint: What it is and why it matters,” n.d.). In addition, this solution allows for customization on a departmental level, granting each department its page and access privileges. Moreover, SharePoint streamlines server maintenance for the IT department, ensuring a clean server environment. Finally, its introduction empowers employees to access data and applications like emails and collaborate on documents within the network, even if the Dallas network experiences downtime.
Transitioning to a cloud-based infrastructure presents numerous advantages for the company. The business gains flexibility and efficiency by reducing reliance on hardware and applications. Eliminating excess hardware frees up physical space and conserves network bandwidth (Shaw, 2018). However, it is crucial to consider potential system upgrades to ensure smooth and equal functioning across all components when eliminating applications and servers. Investing in routers, firewalls, and switches becomes essential when migrating to a cloud-based infrastructure as the company expands.
Furthermore, it is imperative to provide sufficient wireless access points to accommodate end users' increasing data transfer and usage requirements. As data travels through the infrastructure via the internet, additional wireless access points, particularly at the Memphis office, can alleviate data traffic and enhance connectivity to the router. Finally, configuration and efficient infrastructure management are paramount to maintaining optimal performance. With the company's growth, it is vital to ensure that upgraded hardware operates uniformly and at the same speed throughout the network. A slowdown caused by a single device can adversely impact the entire network, highlighting the significance of comprehensive network performance.
Visual Representation of the Future Infrastructure
To demonstrate the new future network infrastructure, we have incorporated it into our proposal, the diagram that shows the new changes to the infrastructure. This proposal visually represents how the company's network will appear as it expands. For instance, both locations now possess routers, firewalls, switches, laptops instead of workstations, and wireless access points, enabling employees to move more freely within the office premises (“What is a Firewall? How Firewalls Work Process Flow”, 2023). In addition, each location is now equipped with a Wireless Access Point (WAP), facilitating seamless data transmission between office devices while relieving the IT staff from extensive wiring tasks.
Figure 1: Future Network Infrastructure
Moreover, adding a second router and switch at the Memphis office allows for independent operations separate from the Dallas office. Additionally, as SNHUEnergy Inc. transitions to a cloud-based infrastructure, specific server applications will be eliminated from the network topology. These applications, such as email and billing, will now be hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Consequently, the server farm can be utilized for data backup services and storing user account information, ensuring that the company only retains essential data.
References
Shaw, K. (2018, October 22). The OSI model explained: How to understand (and remember) the 7-layer network model. Retrieved from https://www.networkworld.com/article/3239677/the-osimodel-explained-how-to-understand-and-remember-the-7-layer-network-model.html
What is a Firewall? How Firewalls Work Process Flow. (2023, May 28). Retrieved from https://personalfirewall.comodo.com/what-is-firewall.html
Sieber, T. (2018, March 09). What Is a Router and How to Use One: The Beginner's FAQ. Retrieved from
Mitchell, B. (2018, October 31). What Can a Switch Device Do for Your Computer Network? Retrieved from
What is Cloud Computing? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloudcomputing/
Microsoft SharePoint: What it is and why it matters. (n.d.). Retrieved from
