MN503 – T3 2019

Overview of Networking

Assignment 1

Network Requirement Analysis and Plan

Student Name Priya Rehan

Student ID 191092
 Proposed Wired and Wireless Network Solution for Albert Magnus College
Project Scope

The aim of this report is to offer wired and wireless network solution at Albert Magnus College which
is looking to upgrade their existing Wi-Fi network. The existing network cannot penetrate the thick
mansion walls of the college and fails to cater the needs of students residing at campus. The network
is would be required to ease the everyday administration of the IT staff and provide the flexibility of
delivering real time classes to students not able to attend the classroom lectures.

Challenges and Constraints

 The foremost challenge in successfully implementing a Wi-Fi network is the thicker walls of
the mansion which restrict the network access.
 The next challenge would be to provide a high speed network that supports live streaming of
classroom lectures outside the campus.
 To lessen the troubleshooting cases for the in house IT staff
 The network should support increase in student enrolment for coming five years

User Centric Design Concept

In a user centric design process the end users influence the design of the project and the focus is on
the usability of the design [1]. For this project TBNG used user centric design concept as the idea was
to overcome the difficulties faced with the existing IT network. Ruckus switches were used to provide
high performance network. Ruckus switches were selected as they integrate Beam flex technology
that mitigates interference, noise, network performance issues and provides clear video and voice
communications [2]. The architectural design is such that the students can access Wi-Fi throughout
the college and can also be utilised for out events of the college. Further to reduce the teacher and
student complaints (which overburdened the IT staff) access points were provided in the hallway each
for two classrooms. This has helped in reducing the call for help from the staff. The new Wi-Fi network
is designed to be centrally controlled which provides benefits like low power consumption when
compared to distributed approach [3]. Further the design process has considered that new devices
would be added and has made the process simpler by sharing a key.

Also the network has been designed to accommodate increase in student enrolment over coming five
years. The new network would support innovative digital learning programs aimed to be undertaken
by the university.

Project Hardware Requirements

 Ruckus ICX 7850 – 28 ports

 Advanced stacking, can be used for wired and wireless network management
 TP-Link TD-8817 ADSL2+ Wired Ethernet Router
High speed DSL modem and router in one device
 Netgear Orbi Pro AC3000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi system for Business
Similar to wired Ethernet without having an Ethernet connection

Cables

 Straight through cables – four pair, eight wire straight through cable for connecting hosts with
switches and different access points.
 Cross over cables – for connection between hosts or switches (when cross over cable is used
for switches it is called vertical cabling).

Servers /Hosts

 HP 200 G3 21.5” Anti-glare Full HD Business All in One PC

Network Design

The Wi-Fi is centrally connected through WLAN and with the help of wireless router we can connect
devices. Thus we have two routers for wired and wireless network connection.

Outcomes
  A high speed internet is available throughout the college which can be used by the students
 New devices can easily be connected on the network
 The trouble shooting work of IT staff has gone down significantly and they can be resourcefully
used for other work
 The university can now offer students the remote access to the class and can also provide high
quality digital learning.
 High speed internet has become one of the main attraction during student tours.

Limitations and Further Development

 The network currently uses a mix of 2 layer and 3 layer routing. In future it is proposed to
migrate to 3 layer routing.
 While designing the network, the switches were meant to handle high volume traffic on the
network. But the college plans to use the same for IP surveillance cameras and other devices.
However we recommend to check the capacity of router and switches before adding these
devices.
 The high speed wireless internet connection at the administrative department would help to
connect devices for academic usage.
 However the limitation of the above project is that while designing the network the mobile
devices that would be connected were calculated at present demand and future increase in
demand for five years was considered. However the mobile devices required to be connected
are growing at exponential rate. This might be a limitation for the network in future [4].

Conclusion

Thus a wired and wireless network was designed for Albert Magnus College. The college was facing
dead spots due to thick mansion walls at administrative department and a lot of trouble shooting was
required to be done. A new network was required to be designed and deployed by TBNG. TBNG
selected ruckus switches that would help in providing high speed internet with minimum interference
due to physical infrastructure of the college. The design of the project was user centric and was done
to help them achieve their mission of providing quality distance education to the students. It provided
120 ruckus switches (indoor and outdoor) along with thirty ruckus access points. The network was
centrally managed with different routers for wireless and wired network. The new network helped in
handling high volume of internet activity with good speed. The complaints by teachers and students
were reduced. Thus the new network has overcome the constraints of the previous network and
provides the flexibility of live streaming classes to help achieve the academic goals of the college.

Demonstration
 References –

[1] D. M.-K. J. P. Chadia Abras, “User Centred Design,” In Bainbridge, W. Encyclopedia of Human
Computer Interaction, 2004.

[2] B. A. A. Technology. [Online]. Available: https://www.ruckuswireless.com/rucktionary/beamflex.

[3] C. L. L. T. W. Urs Hunkeler, “A case for centrally controlled wireless sensor networks,” Sceince
Direct, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 1425-1442, 2013.

[4] R. University, “Designing the future internet,” 20 October 2016. [Online]. Available:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161020115310.htm.