Appendix A: Final Project Overview In the final project, you play the role of a network consultant hired to design a new network for a company called Acme Manufacturing. Acme expects a network design document that includes your recommendations. The organization is growing and expanding their operations with the acquisition of a plant in China as well as several other offices throughout the United States. The following are the requirements for the new wide area network. • The network must be designed using all new equipment. • The design document must recommend the types of lines that should be used for each location (i.e. Ethernet, fiber, satellite, and so forth). • There are multiple departments that must be grouped logically to address security. Locations: o Headquarters—Atlanta, Georgia houses corporate operations, marketing, administrative staff, and accounting o Engineering—Atlanta, across from headquarters: houses sales and engineering o Distribution offices—Chicago, Phoenix, and New York: Each distribution office has a small sales staff and administrative staff. o Plant facility—China • Weekly meetings are held in the corporate conference room at headquarters, with people attending from multiple locations, including China, New York, Chicago, and Phoenix.
Develop a plan to set up a wide area network based on the scenario presented in Appendix A. Your plan must include the following:
o An overview of the company and its needs
o A logical network drawing for Acme to depict the recommended WAN
o Recommendations for the type of leased lines the company should choose at each location, how each location will connect to headquarters, and whether or not each location should be able to connect with the others
o Recommendations for what type of telecommunications system would work best for Acme: PBX or VoIP
o The IP address scheme, including the range of IP addresses, broadcast addresses, and subnets
o A VLAN to appropriately address Acme’s concerns that departments that are not grouped together are logically connected
o Recommendations for network equipment that should be placed at each location; also consider equipment based on the teleconferencing needs
o Protocols that will be used for the routers at each location
o Recommendations for wireless technology
o Recommendations for securing the network