CCNADiscovery:NetworkingforHomeandSmallBusinesses Chapter1CaseStudy INTRODUCTORYSCENARIO Youareacomputerconsultantwhospecializesindevelopingproductivitysolutionsforsmalltomedium sizedbusinesses.YouhavejustrecentlybeenhiredbytheOneWorldRealEstateCompanytoassist themwithamovefromtheircurrentdowntownlocationtoamorepurposebuiltoffice.Theyare currentlydiscussingtheirofficerequirementswithbuildersandarchitects,andwanttomakesurethat youareinvolvedatallstagesoftheplanningprocess. Currently,theiruseoftechnologyisfragmentedanddisjointed.Theyhaveacoupleofoldcomputers thatarenotnetworked,althoughoneisconnectedtotheInternetviaadomesticADSLconnection.The privatecompanyconsistsoftwojointowners,whoarealsothelicensedbrokers,togetherwithsix agents,allofwhomusetheofficeasrequired,butalsoworkfromhome.Bothownershavetheirown office,andthereisageneralofficethatcanseatthreeadditionalagents.Desksarenotallocatedtoa specificperson.

Thereisafulltimeofficemanager,whoisabletousetheexistingcomputerstoperformsimpletasks, butisfrustratedbyherinabilitytobemoreproductive.Thecompanyhaspreviouslycontractedto externallyhostaverylimitedwebsite,butitisstaticandhaslittleinformationofvaluetopotential customersexceptalistofstaffcell(mobile)phonenumbers.Theagentsandbrokerscomputer experiencevariesfromnovicetoreasonablycompetent. Thecompanyhasrecentlybeenrequiredtopurchaseanupgradetoitsuserlicensesforanew extensive,webbasedrealestatemultilistingapplicationservice(MLS)thatcoverstheirsalesarea. However,thegenerallackofuserskills,modernhardwareandInternetconnectivityiscausingserious problemswitharealpotentialtolosepossiblesalesandlistings.Inaddition,theMLSsystemrequires InternetExplorer7asaminimumstandardwhichiscausingproblemsonthelegacyhardware. Theofficeisequippedwithtwoanalogtelephonelines,andasimplelegacyextensionsystem.Thereare anumberofphonesthatarelocatedintheoffice,butincomingcallscannotalwaysbererouted.Calls cangenerallybetransferredfromoneextensiontoanother,althoughthereisnomethodofscreening calls,exceptverbally,andthetransfercanbeproblematic.Oneofthetelephonelinesisalsousedfor theADSLservice,whichusesatelephonecompanysuppliedDSLmodemthatconnectsviaaUSBporton aninternalcardontheInternetconnectedcomputer. Twooftheagentsownandusetheirownlaptopcomputers,althoughtheyhavenowaytoconnectto theofficesystem.Theofficehasasingleemailaddress,suppliedthroughthetelephonecompanythat suppliesInternetconnectivity.Thosestaffwhohave,anduse,emailhavetheirownpersonaladdresses indifferentdomains. Currently,mostoftheinformationonsales,potentialsalesandrentalpropertiesundermanagement,as wellaspersonneldata,iskeptinhardcopyformat.Computerfiles,whentheyexist,arenotadequately

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CCNADiscovery:NetworkingforHomeandSmallBusinesses Chapter1CaseStudy maintainedorbackedup,andthereisfrequentfrustrationwhenafilethatisthoughttobeonone computerisfoundonlyontheotherorisnotfoundatall! Untilrecently,despitetheloomingproblems,thecompanyhasbeenreasonablysuccessful,sinceit specializesinaveryspecificandincreasinglyexpensiveareaofthetownthatcontainsmainlyoldand historicproperties.Sincetheofficewasintheheartofthisdowntownarea,itreceivedalotofwalk pasttraffic.However,theownerswishtoexpandtheircompanyexpertiseandbemoreproactivein sellingpropertiesinthelargermetropolitanarea.Tothisextent,theyareplanningthemovetoamore modernoffice,andintendtocontractatleasttwoadditionalsalesagents.Inaddition,theowners realizethattheyneedtomakegreateruseoftechnologytoimprovesalesfigures,andmaintainmarket share. CHAPTER1OBJECTIVES Identifythepurposeandusesofpersonalcomputersanddescribelocalandnetwork applications. Compareandcontrastdifferenttypesofcomputingdevices. Determineappropriatecomponentsandperipheraldevicestomeetrequirements. Install,verify,andupgradecomputercomponentsandperipherals(virtual). Explainthebinaryrepresentationofdata(separateissue).

SCENARIO1.1 Youhavebeenaskedtocommenceplanningforthemovetothenewoffice.Youhavebeengivena cleansheetintermsofequipmentrequirements,sincethecompanydoesntexpecttotakeanyofthe currentcommunicationsorcomputingequipmenttothenewoffice.Atthispointintime,youshould concentrateyourplanningonanumberofissues: TASKS1.1 1. Whattypeof,andhowmany,computersshouldbepurchasedforthenewoffice? 2. Whatapplicationsshouldbeincludedforgeneralofficeuse? 3. What,ifany,componentsshouldbepurchasedtoenhancetheofficecomputers?

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CCNADiscovery:NetworkingforHomeandSmallBusinesses Chapter1CaseStudy 4. Whatadditionalperipheralequipmentwouldyourecommendbepurchased? 5. Whatadvicewouldyougivetothestaffintermsofpurchasingcomputersfortheirpersonal businessuse? 6. Oneoftheagentsisimpressedwiththelatestmobilephonetechnology,andyouhavebeen requestedtoprovideadviceastowhetherthiscouldbeusedasanalternativeforInternet accessandasaworkingcomputer.Whatwouldbeyouradvice? 7. Theownershavealsorequestedthatyoupresentabriefplantothemastohowanynewly acquiredcomputerequipmentwillbesafelyinstalledandmaintainedinthefuture. 8. Thisshouldincludeaplantoensurethattheallpotentialcomputingandcommunications equipmentiskeptuptodateandsecureagainstphysicalandvirtualthreats. 9. Includeaplanforreplacementofequipmentonaregularcycle. SCENARIO1.2 Youhavepresentedyourplanforequipmentpurchase,andoneoftheagentsfromtheOneWorldReal EstateCompany,impressedwithyourobviouspersonalandtechnicalskills,hasnowapproachedyouto askafavor.HerdaughteriscurrentlytakingamathematicsclassinHighSchool,andtheconceptof numberbaseshasbeenraised.Theregularmathematicsteacherisunfortunatelyonsickleave,andthe standinteacherwhodoesnotnormallyteachmathematicsappearstobehavingsomedifficulty withtheconcept. This,inturn,iscausingsomegriefwithherdaughter,andshehasaskedifyouwouldbepreparedto providesomeadditionaltutoringforthechild.Themotherrealizesthatthisisacriticalissue,sinceher daughterhasexpressedaninterestintakingcomputerscienceclassesinfutureyears.Theagent (mother)knowsjustenoughtorealizethatthishassomethingtodowithcomputersanddigital technology,andshedoesntwantherdaughtertobeleftbehind. Youhaveacceptedherrequest,andpromisethatyouwillputtogetherashortinteractivetutorialfor herdaughterthatwillexplainnumberbases,andespeciallytheimportantconceptofbinary(base2) numbers. Yourealizethatthisinitselfmaynotbesufficient,andsoyoudecidetoalsoincludeashortexplanation ofwhymoderndigitalsystemsworkwithbinarynumbers,andtheassociatedconceptsofthedigital representationofeverydayanalogquantities.

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CCNADiscovery:NetworkingforHomeandSmallBusinesses Chapter1CaseStudy Theagentisdelighted,andrequeststhatifyourpresentationclearlyworksforherdaughter,youmight liketoconsiderprovidingittotheteachersothatshecanpresentittotheremainderoftheclass!The childrenrangeinmathematicabilityfrombelowaveragetoaverage. TASKS1.2 1. Developaninteractivepresentationthatwillmeettheprovidedrequirements.

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