MIS 320: Network Design and Security

Assignment 1: Network Topology

This is a group assignment and you should work in groups of no more than three. Your work will not be
evaluated any differently if you work in a group with less than three members.

Objective
The goal of this assignment is to familiarize you with the three main network topologies – bus, star and star-wired
ring topologies. This part of the assignment will require you to specifically identify all the required hardware, locate
the online retailers who sell this hardware and price each of the topologies. You will also be familiarized with
network configurations (peer-to-peer and server-based).

Case
A small, independent, business/home/life insurance company consisting of an owner, a business manager, an
administrator, and four agents decides to implement a network. The company occupies half of a small building in an
office park. Their volume of business had been stable for the past three years, but recently it has been increasing.
To handle the increased business volume, four new agents will be hired. Figure below illustrates the current
arrangement. Assume the dimensions of the office to be 80 ft long x 40 ft wide.

Figure Case study model

Everyone in the company has a computer, but the business manager has the only printer. None of these
computers or printer(s) is currently using any form of networking, nor are they equipped with any network hardware.
When agents need to print a document, they must first copy the file to a floppy disk, then carry it to the business
manager's computer, where they are finally able to print it. Similarly, when staff members want to share data, the
only means available is to copy the data on one computer to a floppy disk and insert the disk in another computer.
Often times they ran into problems where the data or file was larger than the capacity of the floppy disk and so the
business owner had hired somebody to come and install zip-100 disk drives. Though this solved part of the
problem, as the business expands and more data needs transferred back and forth, the employees have started
complaining about the inefficiencies.
 MIS 320: Network Design and Security
Assignment 1: Network Topology
Recently, problems have arisen. The business manager is spending too much time printing other people's
documents; and it is frequently unclear which copy of a given document is the current and authoritative version.
Your task is to design a network for this company. In doing this you are required to design the following topologies:
1) bus topology, 2) star-topology, and 3) ring topology. Clearly draw the layout and connections of computers and
other resources (printers, servers, etc.) for each of the 3 designs.
DELIVERABLES (Read Carefully)
For each of the designs, present the following information:
- To prevent uneven distribution of work between group-members, list the group-members responsible for
each of the designs. This in no way will result in separate evaluation for different members of the group.

- Hardware required for each computer on the network, such as type of network card, type and length of
cable. NOTE: the variety of cables comes in fixed lengths such as 3ft, 5ft., etc. For sake of standardization
you may choose all cables to be of the same length or some groupings of these. If you choose different
cable lengths, state the number of cables for each length. The three different designs should be clearly
marked on a layout of office 80ftx40ft. Your diagram does not have to be to scale. However, you should
clearly show all the computers and shared resources as indicated above. Include the future computers in
the network design.
- Clearly show the hardware shared by all computers, such as hubs, switches, etc. Mark the cables and
specify the type and lengths on the design
- On your network diagram, present the list of resources shared by each computer (if any) such as folder(s),
printer(s), etc. This may vary based on configuration/topology you are designing.
- Research the web using useful urls listed below to find the cost of required hardware. On a separate sheet
following each design, in a tabular form list the make, model and cost of each item. Present the total cost
of networking of each of the six designs.

- For additional required computers for new agents, research using www.dell.com Provide the configuration
of the computers. The configurations for the computers will be common for all of the designs. The
configuration of the server will be common for all the server-based configurations. NOTE: you may have to
buy network cards for the computers if they do not come with compatible network cards.
- Recommendations: Recommend a topology and configuration to the company. Justify your
recommendation based on technical and economic evaluation. Also suggest the next best alternative.

- You may do the topologies in PowerPoint. A schematic help file is provided to show you how to show the
details of the topology. However, you will have to copy-paste these designs in a single Microsoft Word
file for submission. The word copy should be legible – you may have to switch the page layout etc. to
accommodate.

DUE DATE/TIME: As stated on course website.

 MIS 320: Network Design and Security
Assignment 1: Network Topology

SOME USEFUL URLS:

Network Cards, Hubs, Switches, etc.

www.pricescan.com

www.pricewatch.com (best option is to use “search site” feature at top of the page)

http://shopper.cnet.com

Computer Configuration

www.dell.com

Browse to Small Business Category for both computers and servers (Power Edge or Tower
Servers)

Cables

www.belkin.com

www.cablesnmor.com