Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal |
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Modern Learning Schools, Networking ProposalTable of Contents
End Table of ContentsModern Learning Schools, Networking ProposalSpecific Project ObjectivesThe purpose of this project is to develop a complete Network Design for the Modern Learning Schools, private school system. The needs of the school system involve creating a secure environment to handle the needs of the school system through a Metropolitan area network (MAN) where hardware is centralized, where all personal and laptop computers are connected within the schools, each student and faculty member has access to server disk space, any computer can access a printer within the same building, and Internet access available for all affiliated parties within the school system. The Modern Learning Schools, private school system is a fictional school system and the time of this proposal will be the first Wednesday of April 2004. The objective of this network proposal is to create an atmosphere where efficiency, security, and preciseness are the rule. The benefits of such a solution will not only enhance the learning experience of the individual student, but as well create a unified atmosphere leading to an ergonomically friendly and secure environment for all students, faculty, and administrators in a secure and mobile computing environment. Our intent is to model and create a highly scalable network design. Our solution will integrate combination of hardware and software, which will satisfy present and future needs of the school. By giving a detailed description of the system in a macro view, we would like to demonstrate how this solution will benefit the school system and show that our proposal is superior in many respects compared to any other competitive bids. DescriptionThe Modern Learning Schools is a private school system comprised of Kindergarten through 12th grade education for children. The school system consists of three campuses: East, Downtown, and North, respectively. The East campus consists of the Kindergarten through 5th grade, each class averaging about 20 students per school year and a teacher assigned for each grade as well as a principal and his or her secretary. The Downtown campus is very similar to the East campus, consisting of the same educational levels taught, the same amount of students, and faculty as well. Though the main difference being is that the Downtown campus has a computer lab which is made up of 16 Windows based computers. The North campus is comprised of grades Kindergarten through 12th grade. For the Kindergarten through 5th grade, there is an average of 240 students, resulting in 2 classes per grade and each class comprised of 20 students. Each principal and his or her secretary has a computer, additionally there is one computer in each of 15 teachers class rooms; also there is one computer each for the art room, the gymnasium, and one for the computer teacher. The North campus contains eight middle school classrooms for grades 6 through 8 and ten high school classrooms for grades 9 through 12. There is a separate principal for the middle and high school students, as well as one secretary per principal. There are a total of 21 teachers and a total of 350 students at the North campus. The school also has two computer labs, one has 16 Macintosh based computers and the other has 16 Windows based computers. There is also a need for a computer in the work room, art room, band room and gymnasium. Present equipment inventory is summarized in the table below (Anderson, 2004): Overall Requirements for Learning School System
Existing Equipment
Proposed Equipment
Assumptions
ProposalOur group's proposal is to create a user oriented environment with the benefits of cost efficiency and users' simplicity to accomplish all of their networking needs. Our simple and mobile environment will come with the security to protect the privacy and integrity of the school system and its participants. We will implement Wireless technologies to not only save the district money, but to add the functionality and productivity, which are only possible with wireless network. Benefits will not only be gained from the users' standpoint, but from the administration and maintenance of the system as well. So in our proposal we will give the Learning School System a thorough reasoning for the choice of the technologies and derived efficiencies. From a macro view, we intend to connect the school district together through 3 Cisco routers. Cisco is the leading manufacturer of routing equipment as well as the most trusted. With Cisco's reputation and reliability, such needs as firewall security, bandwidth management, VPN access, and integration creates the hallmark for a secure, efficient, and safe networking environment. The Internet access will be recommended by (AT&T, 2004) ATT Managed Internet Services. A Burstable T1.5 access to port should not only allow all students and staff to enjoy Internet research and freedom, but allow a consistent and speedy use of the World Wide Web. The reason that the Burstable T1.5 is an optimal choice is that it has T1 capabilities, but charges you for what you use. So during summer vacation, or even in the evenings, since there is miniscule Internet access, there is no need to pay for it. Individual users will gain access to network resources through Wireless LAN Adapter Cards. Approximately 15 Airespace Access Points (APs) will be installed throughout the campuses in strategic locations to provide wireless clients with access to the network. To best fulfill the needs of the Learning School systems' students as well as the general public, we propose to have a separate web server for the general public and a separate web server for the students. Such arrangement will help to load balance server traffic. (AT&T, 2004) The T1.5 Burstable Internet access with full T1 capabilities should easily shoulder the effort of all visitors and users associated with the Learning School system. The idea of the T1.5 Burstable Internet is that T1 capabilities will be utilized when needed, helping school to save money during off school hours, such as evenings, weekends, and vacations. The corporate Modern Learning Schools website will be created by one of our developers. It will be a design that reflects the integrity and culture that surround the school system. There will be an additional cost of $2000 for the site that will include any logo design, all specified static pages for informational needs, and optional static pages for user input. The site will be created in ASP 3.0 format and data will reside on the MYSQL Pro database. Hosting will be done in house on the upgraded Gateway 920 server, running the Windows Server 2003 IIS 6.0 web server software. For revisions, FrontPage 2003 software will be installed for the administration staff to add any changes. In the future, any complete design needs, which can not be fulfilled by the district administration staff can be forwarded for development to our company that will aid with development for a prearranged consulting fee. The student's website will be a consortium of information ranging from a list of the school activities to class assignments. The initial static pages will be created in house at a cost, which is included with the corporate web site. Since the site will be encompassed in the .Net framework, VB.Net and C#.net will be used to represent each student with their accompanying classes and its assignments. Should any major changes need to be made; our company can provide this service for a fee. The website will be hosted on the school premises on the upgraded Gateway 920 and running the Windows 2003 web server. With the students and faculty needs as top priority, we not only have a belief in modular software and hardware but want to give all participants a real life experience. We briefly considered other file server software, but felt that Windows technology would be best for the students and faculty as a whole. In a real life scenario, people from all walks of life must be able to create, distribute, and manipulate files in a general environment. We feel that windows will fulfill these requirements, plus will standardize all hardware and software configurations. To satisfy the needs of storage requirements, we feel that one file server should be adequate to support the needs of the entire school system. Running our Windows 2003 Server software will be the upgraded Gateway 920 with additional processor. The web servers will also be separate units as well. With today's mass of unwanted email, the needs of the students and faculty must not be compromised on a shared server. Symantic Anti Virus software in conjunction with Windows 2003 Server will help to create secure and virus resistant environment. The hardware for the web server will be the same version Gateway 920 with the processor upgrade. The proposal was prepared by a team of experts in wireless and wired network infrastructure, web hosting and web design and security areas. Each step of the proposal was approached with the same degree of rigor to deliver the final product. So for a price of $99,142.09, all of the needs are met and most importantly your expectations are exceeded. School Design(Anderson, 2004)Below is a rendition of the macro view of the Modern Learning School System.![]() Present System(Anderson, 2004)Below is a rendition of the present system of the school system.
Network Diagram(Anderson, 2004)Below is a rendition of the proposed system overview.
Network Diagram Breakdown
(Anderson, 2004)Below is a rendition of the proposed downtown campus.![]()
(Anderson, 2004)Below is a rendition of the proposed north campus for middle and high school.![]()
(Anderson, 2004)Below is a rendition of the proposed north campus elementary.![]()
(Anderson, 2004)Below is a rendition of the proposed downtown campus.![]()
(Gakenheimer, 2004)Below is a summary for the total costs of the networking system.
Cost Analysis Complete BreakdownThe cost analysis includes all needed hardware, software, networking, and miscellaneous expenses. The products were compared against other products to meet the needs of the Learning School district. The pricing is a compilation of matching the best overall value from multiple distributors to finalize each itemized cost. The total amount needed to fulfill the needs of this project comes to a total of $99,142.09. There are other expenditures which may or may not need to be made in the future, those include Internet access, virus software, and intermittent consulting for associated Below is our final offer, we are very firm in our beliefs that these products will fulfill your needs and that the pricing is the most effective for your needs. (Gakenheimer, 2004)Below is a complete itemized listing of network, hardware, and software expenditures. Network ResourcesJustification Wired Network
Wireless vs. Wired.
(Smetiouk, 2004)Below is a price comparison of wireless versus wired networking for the Modern Learning School district.Our selection of networking equipment was narrowed down to two leading suppliers of wired and wireless networking equipment. We decided that the best solution for the wired part of the network can be handled by Cisco products and as for wireless, Airespace manufacturer won that spot. It was a difficult decision not to go with just a single supplier for all networking needs, but based on the latest independent product testing results we decided that Airespace products are superior to Cisco when it comes to wireless choice of products. All three campuses will be connected using T1 links of an independent ISP. All three campuses will have 2611XM router installed on each site and connected via T1 links. All routers at each of the campuses will have16 port 10/100 Base-T Ethernet module installed to act as router and switch in one. The North campus will have additional modules added to the 2611XM router to provide firewall and virtual private network capabilities. We will install Airespace 4000 WLAN switch and Air Control System software to seamlessly manage all Access Points at all three campuses. The benefits and key features of each network equipment item are detailed below: The Cisco 2600 Series Router
Cisco 16 port 10/100 Base-T Ethernet Module for 2611XM Router
Cisco VPN Encryption Module AIM-VPN/EP
Airespace 4000 WLAN Switch
Airespace 1200 Access Point
D-Link Systems Wireless PCMCIA and PC LAN Adapter Cards
D-Link Systems Wireless Print Servers
ISP ProviderWhen choosing an ISP, the decision not only is based on price, but quality, reputation, history. We choose the AT&T Managed Internet Service for a variety of reasons. Not only does AT&T signify all that Telecommunications stands for, but offers an excellent product that exactly fits the needs of the school system. The Learning School district needs Internet access for only part of the time, meaning typical business hours, autumn through spring. On occasions, there will be a need for Internet usage, but as a whole there is no need to pay for what you don't need. With the AT&T Managed Internet Service, the need of a full T1, which is approximately 1.5 Mbps is needed only part time. So we will contract with them to allow for a full T1 limit, when needed. This plan is called the T1.5 Burstable, and will not only save your district money, but will fulfill all the needs of the users as well as the hardware. Other Hardware and Software
BibliographyGateway (2004) Gateway 920 Configuration sweet spot. Retrieved on March 18, 2004 from http://products.gateway.com/products/GConfig/prodconfig.asp?system_id=gtwy920&seg=sb Gateway (2004) Cisco 1721 Router. Retrieved on March 18, 2004 from http://accessories.gateway.com/ Cisco (2004) Cisco 2600 Series Multiservice Platforms. Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from http://cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps259/index.html Cisco (2004) Cisco Catalyst 2950g 48 Ei Switch. Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from http://cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps628/ps3821/index.html NewEgg.com (2004) The Showroom. Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from www.newegg.com Comp-U-Plus (2004) Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from www.compuplus.com Lanstreet (2004) Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from www.lanstreet.com Z-Buy (2004) Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from www.Z-buy.com Airespace (2004) Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from www.airespace.com Oppenheimer, P. (1999). Top-Down Network Design. Indianapolis: Macmillan Technical Publishing AT&T (2004) AT&T Managed Internet Service. Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from http://businessesales.att.com/ AT&T (2004) AT&T Managed Internet Service. Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from https://dsl.ipservices.att.com/ MYSQL (2004) MySQL Database Server. Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from http://www.mysql.com/products/mysql/ D-Link (2004) Retrieved on April 5, 2004 from http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=38 Gakenheimer, J. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Chart of Cost Analysis]. Created April 4, 2004. Gakenheimer, J. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Chart of Cost Analysis Complete Breakdown]. Created April 4, 2004. Smetiouk, M. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Chart of Wireless vs. Wired]. Created March 28, 2004. Anderson, T. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Image of School design]. Created April 4, 2004. Anderson, T. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Image of Present state]. Created April 4, 2004. Anderson, T. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Image of Proposed system overview]. Created April 4, 2004. Anderson, T. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Image of Proposed downtown campus]. Created April 4, 2004. Anderson, T. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Image of Proposed north, middle and high school]. Created April 4, 2004. Anderson, T. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal [Image of Proposed north elementary]. Created April 4, 2004. Anderson, T. (2004). Modern Learning Schools, Networking Proposal Updated: June. 16, 2004; Joe Gakenheimer, © joegakenheimer.com |
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