Project Overview:

Throughout the final project you will design a simple but operational network for a small company called

ASTL in four stages. Each stage of the project will build off the previous tasks. There is no limit to the

amount of equipment needed but be sure to think about each stage of the project as you go and

determine a cost$-$effective way to establish a well$-$thought$-$out network and what it will take to maintain

and upgrade in the future.

Overview of the Company:

ASTL is a medicinal herb company that hand$-$crafts herbal tinctures, salves, flower essences among

several other herbal products. They need a network to help fulfill their day$-$to$-$day operations which

include the printing of labels, electronic storage of all artworks, literature, and flyers, invoicing, shipping,

and maintaining a website. The company employs several people including two full time herbalist, one

bookkeeper, one accountant, and several employees that tincture, pour, record, fulfill and ship orders.

ASTL is also responsible to keep up on paperwork for the FDA including physical and electronic records.

Each member of the team needs an assigned workspace that consists of access to FDA records which

should be stored in a centralized location, artwork for labels, printing capabilities, and a VoIP phone.

There needs to be wireless access throughout the facility.

Objective:

$$ Build a network to fulfill the needs of ASTL. Include hardware and software needed for all

employees, the design including wired and wireless equipment as well as management and disaster

recovery in the event of failure.

Standards:

$$ Each employee must have a workspace with a computer and phone

$$ Wireless accessibility for everyone

$$ Access to a centralized location where all files are stored

$$ Outline a disaster recovery plan in the event of failure

Requirements$/$Task$($s$)$:

$$ Part $1$ consists of defining and rationalizing the topology, cables and connectors, protocols,

connectivity, and network hardware that will be used. Use what you have learned from

week $1$ through $4$ to determine these needs.

$$ Part $2$ consists of determining how hardware will communicate with servers $($if used$),$

defining VLANS $($if any$),$ configuration of firewall $($if used, ACL, DMZ etc.$).$ Use what you have

learned from weeks $5$ through $8$ as well as weeks $1$ through $4.$

$$ Part $3$ consists of defining whether SAN technology will be used and why, any virtualization,

cloud computing, the wireless network design including security as well as physical security

of all equipment. Use what you have learned from weeks $9$ through $12$ and weeks $1$ through

$8$ if necessary.

$$ Part $4$ consists of intrusion detection and hardening, monitoring, and managing the data

including data protection and recovery. Use what you have learned throughout the $11$

weeks to complete this portion of the capstone.

Outline the steps$/$plan for your project:

These are some questions to consider as you think about finalizing each part of the entire project. Please

include further details as these should not be the only answers to include in your summary.

Summarize what you learned:

Think about the equipment $($both hardware and software needed$)$ to create a network for ASTL Herbals.

It can be as basic as needed but part of a smart network design includes scalability and expandability.

ASTL Herbals wants the network to grow with the company and not have to worry about replacing

outdated equipment or software in a few short years.

$$ What topology did you use?

$$ What protocols will you put in place?

$$ What networkable devices did you decide to use?

$$ What connectivity did you use? $($ie$.$ Cable, fiber, etc.$)$

$$ How many servers?

Summarize what you learned:

This part of the plan requires thinking about the equipment you have chosen and how it will be

connected. Shared network printers, access to shared servers $($if used$)$ all require network addresses to

be seen. Think about IP addressing and whether it is better to use DHCP or static IPs or maybe a

combination of both. Another important part is the protection of data both internally and externally.

How do you plan to achieve this?

$$ Are you using DHCP or static IPs? Why or why not?

$$ Did you include a firewall? Why or why not?

$$ How will things be connected?

$$ Did you choose to use any VLANS? Why or why not?

Summarize what you learned:

This part of the project requires thinking about whether any of the data, backups, shares, etc. will be

virtualized and why would you want to virtualize. Regarding your wireless network, think about the basic

design and how you plan to protect connections. Will employees be required to authenticate and how?

Additionally, security has to do with physical space as well. Do you have a data closet?

$$ Are your servers virtualized? Why or why not?

$$ Did you elect to use a SAN? o How will you do backups?

$$ What does your wireless network consist of$?$

$$ Profiles?

$$ Separate SSIDs?

$$ How do you plan to secure ne