Networking Reflective Journal Week 5

The first part of the lecture was, as usual, a quiz based on topics discussed last week. These included hubs, routers, bridges, TCP/IP, cabling, and infrastructure. i find that this approach to learning in extremely beneficial and really helps information "sink-in". See below for the questions and the CORRECT answers (supplied by steven).

Why is it important to thoroughly analyse network requirements with the client?

This will enable you to analyse the various issues the network needs to address.

What is meant by the term interoperability?

This refers to the hardware’s ability to communicate and interact with different hardware and operating systems.

Why is it important to consider existing network infrastructure prior to purchasing new hardware?

It is important to consider the existing infrastructure as it may limit what options are available.

How can interviews and meetings help when gathering information?

It ensures that the network design best suits the client’s needs.

What is a hub and when is it commonly used?

A hub is a basic piece of networking equipment. Physically it is a box with a number of RJ45 ports. They are commonly used in small networks.

What is meant by built-in intelligence?

It means the device can be programmed and have memory.

Describe the different options available when it comes to cabling a network

• Coaxial Cable
• Twisted Pair Cable
• Fibre Optic Cable
• Wireless

What is a router, and in what circumstances would it be more useful than a bridge?

Routers translate information from one network to another; it is similar to a bridge with extra intelligence.

Routers can ‘listen’ to the entire network to determine which sections are busiest – they can then redirect data around those sections until they clear up.

What is the TCP/IP protocol and when is it used?

TCP/IP is a protocol stack and is the communications protocol used on the Internet. If your LAN will be connected to the Internet you will need to enable TCP/IP protocol.

What sources of information are available when researching network hardware?

• Consultants
• Hardware vendors
• Colleagues and Co-workers
• Newspapers and Magazines
• Trade shows
• the Internet

Why is it important to document your research findings?

To process what and how things were gathered in the instance that the project continues to development and installation.

The second part of the lecture was mainly focused on the different stages involved in designing, planning and building a medium sized network for a business. We discussed how we would approach a project involving a network for twenty computers. We all basically agreed that proper planning was essential, and that without it the actual installation would more than likely fail or would take far longer than it should, causing unnecessary disruption to the business in question.

After discussing the planning stages of the project, we were assigned a class activity; this involved drawing a basic network diagram of the classroom. obviously it was important to make this diagram as detailed and accurate as possible. We detailed items such as individual PC's, servers, cabling, power-points, printers etc as well as the general layout of the room.

After this activity we asked to write a hardware "shopping list" for the project. see below for the final list.

Purchases

1 x server styled PC

20 x complete Setup PCs must have network cards or built in

UPS – uninterruptable power supply

Surge protection – can come in some UPS

Network Switch

Broadband Modem

Router with 20 connection slots

1 x LAN printer

Possible purchases

Network cable cat 5

Network cat5 wall plugs

Document character reader

Barcode reader and related database software

Software Purchases

20 x windows Licences

1 x server style licence

21 x MS office licences

The final part of the lesson was dedicated to physically installing Windows Server 2000 including configuring a web server. As we are doing this only a weekly basis I am feeling far more confident with server installations in general.

Windows server 2000 installation steps.

Boot from cd.
Set up loads files.
Enter to set up.
F8 to agree license conditions.
Delete exisiting partition (C drive).
L to delete.
Enter to install.
Format partition.
Checks drives.
Files copy.
Install devices.
Regional settings.
Name & organisation.
Product key.
Select licensing mode.
Administrator password.
Add or remove Windows components.
Date & time settings.
Networking components install.
Performs final tasks.
Successful installation.