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Digital Edge Manufacturing Networking Technology Plan Digital Edge Manufacturing

ID: 3919800 • Letter: D

Question

Digital Edge Manufacturing Networking Technology Plan

Digital Edge Manufacturing Networking Technology Plan

With the review of user requirements in Part 1 of the Digital Edge Manufacturing Networking Technology Plan, we are now able to develop an appropriate and adaptable networking framework that will meet the needs of the company.

Modern companies realize that, no matter what they manufacture or what activities they perform, well-running networking technology, a digital nervous system, is a necessity. They know the importance of networking to monitor work progress and ensure the data needed to tailor their products to the customer reach the right resource at the right time.

For this project, you will be developing a unified networking framework for an advanced manufacturing company. Though the company is fictional, the class project is meant to demonstrate how important an understanding of networking technologies can be when preparing a company to compete in our modern, interconnected marketplace.

Part 3 General Network Hardware/Software Review

Provide background information for each of the networking technologies you will be implementing in the final design.

Review of applicable 802.11 wireless standards

Incorporate a brief review of the 802.11 and any other wireless standards you will plan on employing in the proposal

Include speed, security, authentication standards, and range issues

Review of guided media: twisted pair, fiber, etc.

As there will be some need for traditional media, briefly discuss if you see a need for high speed wire/optic media and the advantages/issues of each

Review of interconnection hardware – hubs, switches, routers

There will be a need for virtual lans (VLANs), switches and routers in the infrastructure. Provide a brief overview of the differences between these devices and where you are planning to incorporate them into the system

Review of security requirements including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, authentication, encryption standards, and anti-virus solutions

This should comprise a multi-page overview of what security measures each of these hardware/software security products will provide

Include any discussion of hardware/ software security standards that must be incorporated to meet financial reporting requirements

Explanation / Answer

Developing a unified networking framework for an advanced manufacturing company.
With a unified networking framework, your manufacturing company team will no longer need to manage each requirement individually, trying to constantly keep up with the mapping process for each specific manufacturing company requirement. You will be able to see everything at a glance, picking out potential conflicting risk assessment dates and planning accordingly. You can also make scheduling arrangements with your auditing team with plenty of advanced notice.

Basically, by investing your resources in creating a unified networking framework, you stand to save costs and reduce stress for yourself and everyone on your manufacturing company team.

• Scales all manufacturing company management into one set of controls.

• Easy to identify the owner of each process.

• Concentrates on a well-designed set of processes that apply to all regulations instead of meeting a specific set of manufacturing company requirements.

• Allows for a consistent communications mechanism when working with business partners and outside auditors.

• Helps businesses of every size—from small-to-mid-sized businesses to multinationals—meet regulatory manufacturing company.

3 Key Steps for Creating a Unified networking Framework to Simply manufacturing company.

Build or Gather Your Manufacturing company Team

Examine and Define Your Regulatory Responsibilities

Enlist Your Auditing Team to Help

Important an understanding of networking technologies can be when preparing a company to compete in our modern, interconnected marketplace.

With the advent of the internet and management information systems (think computers, phones, and software), businesses have been able to transform from local mom and pop shops to international household names. In order to keep up with competition as a result of internet commercialization, companies are increasingly turning to information technology (IT) -- or hardware, software, and telecommunications networks -- to streamline services and boost performance. As such, IT has become an essential feature in the business landscape that has helped companies cut costs, improve communication, build recognition, and release more innovative and attractive products.

IT Streamlines Communication :

Efficient communication is critical to company success. In an increasingly connected and dispersed business landscape, recruiting, retaining, and leveraging employees requires ongoing communication and collaboration. A key advantage of information technology lies in its ability to streamline communication both internally and externally. For example, online meeting and video conferencing platforms such as Skype, GoToMeeting, and WebEx provide businesses the opportunity to collaborate virtually in real-time, significantly reducing costs associated with bringing clients on-site or communicating with staff who work remotely.

IT Facilitates Strategic Thinking

One of the fundamental advantages of IT is its ability to enhance a company's competitive advantage in the marketplace, by facilitating strategic thinking and knowledge transfer. Accessing and leveraging social networks and subscription databases, for instance, has enabled companies the ability to assemble, interpret and transfer information like never before. This has given businesses unparalleled access to customers and consumers, enabling organizations to deliver new and enhanced products.

IT Stores and Safeguards Valuable Information

The storage, preservation, and maintenance of information -- known as information management -- is another domain in which IT shines. Information management is essential to any business that must store and safeguard sensitive information (such as financial data) for long periods of time. IT affords companies the ability to store, share, and backup files for later use, as well as protecting information from unauthorized individuals.

IT Cuts Costs and Eliminates Waste

Although IT may seem expensive when first implemented, in the long run, however, it becomes incredibly cost-effective by streamlining a company's operational and managerial processes. The implementation of online training programs is a classic example of IT improving an organization's internal processes by reducing costs and employee time spent outside of work.

Review of applicable 802.11 wireless standards :

The Importance of Standards

Vendors and some end users initially expected markets to dive head first into implementing wireless networks. Markets did not respond as predicted, and flat sales growth of wireless networking components prevailed through most of the 1990s. Relatively low data rates, high prices, and especially the lack of standards kept many end users from purchasing the wire-free forms of media.

Types of Standards

There are two main types of standards: official and public. An official standard is published and known to the public, but it is controlled by an official standards organization, such as IEEE. Government or industry consortiums normally sponsor official standards groups. Official standards organizations generally ensure coordination at both the international and domestic level.

A public standard is similar to an official standard, except it is controlled by a private organization, such as the Wireless LAN Interoperability Forum. Public standards, often called de facto standards, are common practices that have not been produced or accepted by an official standards organization. These standards, such as TCP/IP, are the result of widespread proliferation. In some cases, public standards that proliferate, such as the original Ethernet, eventually pass through standards organizations and become official standards.

Benefits of the 802.11 Standard :

The benefits of using standards such as those published by IEEE are great. The following sections explain the benefits of complying with standards, especially IEEE 802.11.

Appliance Interoperability

Compliance with the IEEE 802.11 standard makes possible interoperability between multiple-vendor appliances and the chosen wireless network type. This means you can purchase an 802.11-compliant scanner from Symbol and a Pathfinder Ultra handheld scanner/printer from Monarch Marking Systems and they will both interoperate within an equivalent 802.11 wireless network, assuming 802.11 configuration parameters are set equally in both devices. Standard compliance increases price competition and enables companies to develop wireless LAN components with lower research and development costs. This enables a greater number of smaller companies to develop wireless components.

Review of guided media: twisted pair, fiber, etc.

Twisted Pair Copper:

Copper Co-axial Cables

Fiber Optic Cables

differences between these devices (Router & Switch).

Cost:

More expensive than hubs or switches

Costlier than hubs

Manufacturers:

Cisco, Juniper Networks, Belkin, Extreme Networks, Huawei, Netgear

Cisco, Sun Systems, Oracle, Belkin, Linksys, and Net Gear, Huawei

Function:

Routers connect two or more logical subnets, which do not necessarily map 1-1 to the physical interfaces of the router.

Network switches inspect data packets as they are received, determining the source and destination device of that packet, and forwarding it appropriately

Definition:

A router is a piece of hardware tailored to the tasks of routing and forwarding information. Routers generally contain a specialized operating system, RAM, NVRAM, flash memory, and one or more processors, as well as two or more network interfaces.

A way of routing electricity and data flow patterns through circuits based on binary decisions

Technical Specifications:

Routers operate at Layer 3 (Network) of the OSI model.

Network switches operate at layer two (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model.

Review of security requirements including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, authentication, encryption standards, and anti-virus solutions.

System Security

The objective of system security is the protection of information and property from theft, corruption and other types of damage, while allowing the information and property to remain accessible and productive. System security includes the development and implementation of security countermeasures. There are a number of different approaches to computer system security, including the use of a firewall, data encryption, passwords and biometrics.

Firewall

One widely used strategy to improve system security is to use a firewall. A firewall consists of software and hardware set up between an internal computer network and the Internet. A computer network manager sets up the rules for the firewall to filter out unwanted intrusions. These rules are set up in such a way that unauthorized access is much more difficult.

A system administrator can decide, for example, that only users within the firewall can access particular files, or that those outside the firewall have limited capabilities to modify the files. You can also set up a firewall for your own computer, and on many computer systems, this is built into the operating system.

Encryption

One way to keep files and data safe is to use encryption. This is often used when data is transferred over the Internet, where it could potentially be seen by others. Encryption is the process of encoding messages so that it can only be viewed by authorized individuals. An encryption key is used to make the message unreadable, and a secret decryption key is used to decipher the message.

Encryption is widely used in systems like e-commerce and Internet banking, where the databases contain very sensitive information. If you have made purchases online using a credit card, it is very likely that you've used encryption to do this.

Passwords

The most widely used method to prevent unauthorized access is to use passwords. A password is a string of characters used to authenticate a user to access a system. The password needs to be kept secret and is only intended for the specific user. In computer systems, each password is associated with a specific username since many individuals may be accessing the same system.

Good passwords are essential to keeping computer systems secure. Unfortunately, many computer users don't use very secure passwords, such as the name of a family member or important dates - things that would be relatively easy to guess by a hacker. One of the most widely used passwords - you guessed it - 'password.' Definitely not a good password to use.

Cost:

More expensive than hubs or switches

Costlier than hubs

Manufacturers:

Cisco, Juniper Networks, Belkin, Extreme Networks, Huawei, Netgear

Cisco, Sun Systems, Oracle, Belkin, Linksys, and Net Gear, Huawei

Function:

Routers connect two or more logical subnets, which do not necessarily map 1-1 to the physical interfaces of the router.

Network switches inspect data packets as they are received, determining the source and destination device of that packet, and forwarding it appropriately

Definition:

A router is a piece of hardware tailored to the tasks of routing and forwarding information. Routers generally contain a specialized operating system, RAM, NVRAM, flash memory, and one or more processors, as well as two or more network interfaces.

A way of routing electricity and data flow patterns through circuits based on binary decisions

Technical Specifications:

Routers operate at Layer 3 (Network) of the OSI model.

Network switches operate at layer two (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model.