ICT120

Introduction to Telecommunications
and Networks

Task 2

Semester 2, 2017
ICT120 Introduction to Telecommunications and Networks Assignment 2

Assessment and Submission Details

Marks: 20% of the Total Assessment for the Course

Due Date: 11:59pm Friday, Week 12

Submit your assignment to Blackboard Task 2. The submission link will be open a week
before the due date. Please follow the submission instructions in Blackboard.

The assignment will be marked out of a total of 100 marks and forms 20% of the total
assessment for the course. ALL assignments will be checked for plagiarism by SafeAssign
system provided by Blackboard automatically.

Refer to your Course Outline or the Course Web Site for a copy of the Student Misconduct,
Plagiarism and Collusion guidelines.

Assignment submission extensions will only be made using the official Faculty of Arts &
Business Guidelines.

Requests for an extension to an assignment MUST be made to the course coordinator prior to
the date of submission and requests made on the day of submission or after the submission
date will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

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ICT120 Introduction to Telecommunications and Networks Assignment 2

Case Study: Network Upgrading for Cookie Co.

Cookie Co. is a chain store for cookies, with business around the country. Alongside with its
fast expansion in the number of retail stores and online retailing, it experienced frustration
from slow data network connectivity, compounded by distorted and unreliable voice calls due
to network issues: a challenging situation for both staff and customers. It needed a solution
that would help it maintain its reputation for providing an elevated customer experience.

After comprehensive consultation with technical experts and business partners, Cookie Co.
decided to dump its current IT infrastructure because the patching changes may be costlier
and less likely to satisfy the business needs.

A fresh design for its IT infrastructure, especially the networking, is required. The design is
vital to support and enable the future growth of the company. It should enable the connection
of all devices, offices, branches, and staff.

End of Case Study

Assignment Task
You are a member of the network planning team, and need to write a formal business
management report to explain your solutions and recommendations about the future network
infrastructure for Cookie Co.

Your target audience is executive business people, who have extensive business experience
but limited ICT knowledge. They would like to be informed as to how your solutions may be
beneficial to their business. Therefore, the report needs to recommend the
telecommunications and networking technologies to be used in terms of business benefit.
You may need to compare your recommendation with other available technologies.

Specifically, you should discuss possible solutions for the following 3 topics in the report.
1. Network Infrastructure
1) Network convergence and unified communications
2) LAN types and cabling plan for the head office and branches
3) WAN connection for the head office and branches
4) Transmission media and connecting devices
5) IP and DNS management
2. Networked Services
Propose to deploy 4 types of network services. Candidates can be, but not limited to,
VOIP, WWW, Intranet, Extranet, Email, and Web Services.
3. Data Processing Facilities
1) 3.1 Data storage solution. Candidates can be, but not limited to, data centre,
SAN, Cloud, and distributed database.
2) 3.2 Data processing model. Candidates can be, but not limited to, C/S and
P2P.

When you provide solutions to each topic, remember to explain their benefits to some of the
following items:

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ICT120 Introduction to Telecommunications and Networks Assignment 2

The operation of the head office and/or branches

The collaborations between the head office and branches
The operation of the business
The satisfaction of customers

Note that you are requested to focus on the use of technologies into the proposed plan,
but not the discussion of actual network and infrastructure requirements.

Please note that standard business report structure, including an executive summary, must
be adhered to.

The following guidelines will be used in marking each section of the assignment:

100% 90% 75% 65% 50% 25% 0

Outstanding: High Distinction: Credit: Pass: Fail: Not
Distinction: Submitted:
An outstanding An excellent More than Competently Satisfactorily Did not No attempt
attempt well piece of work competently meets the meets the sufficiently made or
formatted and that meets all meets the criteria as criteria. meet the different from
professionally the specified criteria specified with criteria to what is
presented criteria with specified with few minor pass. acceptable
piece of work. very minor only minor mistakes or
omissions or mistakes or omissions.
mistakes omissions.

Report Format
Your report should be no less than 1,500 words and it would be best to be no longer than
3,000 words long.

The report MUST be formatted using the following guidelines:

Paragraph text 12 point Calibri single line spacing
Headings Arial in an appropriate type size
Margins 2.5cm on all margins
Header Report title
Footer page number (including the word Page)
Page numbering roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv) up to and including the Table of
Contents, restart numbering using conventional numerals (1, 2, 3, 4) from the first
page after the Table of Contents.
Title Page Must not contain headers or footers. Include your name as the reports
author but DO NOT include any reference to your student ID, course code or course
name.
The report is to be created as a single Microsoft Word document (version greater than
2007). No other format is acceptable and doing so will result in the deduction of
marks.
In Authorisation and Purpose Section, the report should be addressed to USC for the
purpose of ICT 120 assessment.

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ICT120 Introduction to Telecommunications and Networks Assignment 2

The report is to be structured as a formal business report. Refer to the following references
for details on report structures:
Summers, J. & Smith, B., 2014, Communication Skills Handbook, 4th Ed, Wiley, Australia.

Referencing
The report is to include (at least 5) appropriate references and these references should follow
the Harvard method of referencing. Note that ALL references should be from journal articles,
conference papers, technical papers or a recognized expert in the field. DO NOT use
Wikipedia as a reference. The use of unqualified references will result in the deduction of
marks.

Submission
The completed assignment is to be submitted to Blackboard Task 2 by the due date of
11:59pm Friday, Week 12.

The assignment will be assessed according to the marking sheet. Late submission will be
penalised according to the policy in the course outline. Please note Saturday and Sunday are
included in the count of days late.

Assignment Return and Release of Grades

Assignment grades will be available on the course website in two weeks after the submission.
An electronic assignment marking sheet will be available at this time.

Where an assignment is undergoing investigation for alleged plagiarism or collusion the

grade for the assignment and the assignment will be withheld until the investigation has
concluded.

Assignment Guidelines
This assignment will take a number of weeks to complete and will require a good
understanding of data science and management for successful completion. It is imperative
that students take heed of the following points in relation to doing this assignment:

1. Ensure that you clearly understand the requirements for the assignment what has to be
done and what are the deliverables.
2. If you do not understand any of the assignment requirements Please ASK the course
coordinator or your tutor.
3. Each time you work on any aspect of the assignment reread the assignment requirements
to ensure that what is required is clearly understood.

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ICT120 Introduction to Telecommunications and Networks Assignment 2

Appendix A

Marking Sheet for ICT120 Assignment 2

Student name:
Student ID:
Maximum Marks
Items
Marks Obtained
Report formatting (font, header and footer, table of content, 5
numbering, referencing)
Professional communication (correct spelling, grammar, formal 5
business language used)
Executive summary 5
Report introduction 5
A.1 Convergence 5
A.2 LAN 10
A. Network A.3 WAN 10
Infrastructure
A.4 Connecting media and devices 10
A.5 IP and DNS 5
B.1 Service 1 5
B.2 Service 2 5
B. Networked Services
B.3 Service 3 5
B.4 Service 4 5
C. Data Processing C.1 Data storage 10
Facilities C.2 Data processing 5
Conclusion and Recommendations 5
Total = 100 0.0

OVERALL COMMENTS:

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