Top Hit Studio (THS) operates a chain of 50 studio recording, jamming & music equipment rental stores located in the Klang Valley. They currently have a Point-of-Sale (POS) system in which each store posts its daily sales data and activities to a central database through dial-up communication. There is no interaction between the stores and the central system during business hours. The central site runs on a Fast Ethernet LAN. The only always-on WAN link is an Internet connection using wireless broadband to a local ISP.

THS wants to enhance their service offering by creating a new E-Commerce web site where customers can browse and search a catalog of music instruments and select the ones they want to buy or rent. The system will instantly communicate the order to the nearest store where employees pull the order and hold it until the customer picks it up. The service must operate on a 24x7 basis. THS sees this new business strategy as a means to increase revenue and expand the business nationally.

The company wants all stores to be connected to the central site through WAN links. The company is upgrading the central inventory database so that sales and rentals can be posted immediately in real-time. An Internet-based email and instant-messaging system will be set up for all headquarters employees and store managers to use. THS believes that networking the stores will improve order fulfilment processes which will improve customer satisfaction and thus, boost revenue. It will also help communication with store employees.

THS wants to upgrade the local LAN to a Gigabit Ethernet network to facilitate the demands of the new and upgraded systems. They have budgeted RM$500,000 for the networking equipment and another RM$10,000/month for the WAN charges including a faster Internet connection. They believe that 2Mbps speeds will be adequate to the stores. Since they have no staff capable of managing the new network, they will hire two engineers that already have the training and experience. The project must be complete in 6 months when the new inventory system goes online.

THS main office is located in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. The office has only one four-storey buildings with about 80 desktop computers and 2 servers. The existing network has 4 segments that connect to one router which is connected to the Internet. Within each floor, a 24- or 48-port Fast Ethernet switch on each floor connects end user systems. Figure 1 shows the building network architecture. The current network is poorly designed for its current needs and must be completely replaced. are frustrated at the current 1.5Mbps circuits they use for Internet access, so the firm believes that it needs faster data transmission capabilities.

The IT manager has concerns about the security of the servers and workstations on the network when all stores become connected. He does not want any Internet access to or from the stores. He is depending on you to recommend an effective yet affordable solution that will protect his system from intruders.

The question is :

2. Draw your proposed logical network diagram based on hierarchical method. (10 Marks)

40 PCS 80 Meters 3rd Floor 19 PCS 2nd Floor 60 Meters 21 PCs 1" Floor MDF Ground Floor Internet Figure 1: THS Campus Network Wiring 40 PCS 80 Meters 3rd Floor 19 PCS 2nd Floor 60 Meters 21 PCs 1" Floor MDF Ground Floor Internet Figure 1: THS Campus Network Wiring