Imaging that you are a newly hired network consultant for SNHUEnergy Inc., a quickly growing oil and gas company that has decided to expand its operation and begin developing a more efficient approach to its use of the currently available technology. As a consultant for the company, you will evaluate the current network architecture, determine any key changes that should occur, and recommend a highlevel design for future growth. The leadership team within the company has made a major commitment to the board of directors that they will begin an initiative to create a communication architecture that will allow the company to grow for the next ten years. You have been assigned the task of addressing the overall framework for the architecture and evaluating the basic structure of the network, its communication paths, and the type of traffic utilized. You will also begin to develop a basic security plan in an effort to mitigate any risk the company currently has to internal and external factors. SNHUEnergy Inc. is a medium-sized oil and gas company that is focused on the discovery and drilling of oil-based products. It wants to grow from company solely focused on exploration into a company that also provides the transportation and refinement of its discoveries. This is a big step for the company, and it wants to make sure the communication infrastructure is ready to deliver in the next 12 to 18 months. The company is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and operates small facilities in the central United States. The total employee count is 120 across the organization, but this will grow by 50% each year for the next two years. Initially, you will evaluate the current logical and physical design of the network to determine the network connectivity, the traffic patterns of the organization, and what would need to occur to enable the business to grow. The network infrastructure consists of a wide area network (WAN) connecting the Dallas office (human resources, accounting, and payroll) with the Memphis office (billing and operations). The company will develop a plan to expand to two additional regional offices in Kansas City and Houston. You will be asked to take the initial design and determine what traffic will need to communicate at each office and which security parameters will need to exist as the company grows. This work will consist of understanding the connectivity and traffic traversing internally and externally and developing a plan to enable end-users to access the correct communication to the key critical applications (i.e., human resources, email, and Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP]) across the company. The infrastructure consists of network routers, switches, and firewall equipment that currently connect all the users to the internet internally and externally. All the connectivity between the users is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) traffic, which is utilized by data, voice, and video applications across the organization. n the future, the company will extend these services across the existing wide area network (WAN) by using TCP/IP communication processes.    Provide a high-level overview of the contents of your report for the leadership team. Include your findings around data traffic flows, applications impacted, and the overall network and security recommendations for the future needs of the organization. II. Current Network Architecture: In this section, you will analyze the information provided in the SNHUEnergy, Inc. scenario to provide high-level assumptions about the design of the network. A. Identify the network applications that are a part of the current network. B. Describe how the current network is designed by explaining how the different layers of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model relate to each other within the network. C. Develop a visual representation of an end-to-end path flow of the existing network by creating a Visio diagram showing the output of the traffic flows. Use the provided logical network design example as a guide for creating your diagram, and include your diagram with your submission. D. Explain the types of physical network devices used in connecting all devices across the organization based on what you know from the scenario. E. Identify the critical traffic patterns currently used by the organization, supported by examples. Use the provided Wireshark capture to guide your response. F. Describe the traffic patterns that the organization’s critical applications take across the infrastructure from office to office. Remember, the organization’s critical applications were specified in the scenario. G. Describe the potential performance issues that may occur within the current network if no changes are made to support the organization’s expansion. Provide examples to support your response. H. Describe the potential security issues that may occur within the current network if no changes are made to support the organization’s expansion. Provide examples to support your r

Fundamentals of Information Systems
9th Edition
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Chapter4: Networks And Cloud Computing
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Imaging that you are a newly hired network consultant for SNHUEnergy Inc., a quickly growing oil and
gas company that has decided to expand its operation and begin developing a more efficient approach
to its use of the currently available technology. As a consultant for the company, you will evaluate the
current network architecture, determine any key changes that should occur, and recommend a highlevel design for future growth. The leadership team within the company has made a major commitment
to the board of directors that they will begin an initiative to create a communication architecture that
will allow the company to grow for the next ten years. You have been assigned the task of addressing
the overall framework for the architecture and evaluating the basic structure of the network, its
communication paths, and the type of traffic utilized. You will also begin to develop a basic security plan
in an effort to mitigate any risk the company currently has to internal and external factors.
SNHUEnergy Inc. is a medium-sized oil and gas company that is focused on the discovery and drilling of
oil-based products. It wants to grow from company solely focused on exploration into a company that
also provides the transportation and refinement of its discoveries. This is a big step for the company,
and it wants to make sure the communication infrastructure is ready to deliver in the next 12 to 18
months. The company is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and operates small facilities in the
central United States. The total employee count is 120 across the organization, but this will grow by 50%
each year for the next two years. Initially, you will evaluate the current logical and physical design of the
network to determine the network connectivity, the traffic patterns of the organization, and what would
need to occur to enable the business to grow.
The network infrastructure consists of a wide area network (WAN) connecting the Dallas office (human
resources, accounting, and payroll) with the Memphis office (billing and operations). The company will
develop a plan to expand to two additional regional offices in Kansas City and Houston. You will be
asked to take the initial design and determine what traffic will need to communicate at each office and
which security parameters will need to exist as the company grows. This work will consist of
understanding the connectivity and traffic traversing internally and externally and developing a plan to
enable end-users to access the correct communication to the key critical applications (i.e., human
resources, email, and Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP]) across the company.
The infrastructure consists of network routers, switches, and firewall equipment that currently connect
all the users to the internet internally and externally. All the connectivity between the users is
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) traffic, which is utilized by data, voice, and video applications across the organization.
n the future, the company will extend these services across the existing wide area network (WAN) by
using TCP/IP communication processes. 

 

Provide a high-level overview of the contents of your report for the leadership team. Include your findings around data traffic
flows, applications impacted, and the overall network and security recommendations for the future needs of the organization.
II. Current Network Architecture: In this section, you will analyze the information provided in the SNHUEnergy, Inc. scenario to provide high-level
assumptions about the design of the network.
A. Identify the network applications that are a part of the current network.
B. Describe how the current network is designed by explaining how the different layers of the Open Systems Interconnection
(OSI) model relate to each other within the network.
C. Develop a visual representation of an end-to-end path flow of the existing network by creating a Visio diagram showing the output
of the traffic flows. Use the provided logical network design example as a guide for creating your diagram, and include your diagram
with your submission.
D. Explain the types of physical network devices used in connecting all devices across the organization based on what you know from
the scenario.
E. Identify the critical traffic patterns currently used by the organization, supported by examples. Use the provided Wireshark
capture to guide your response.
F. Describe the traffic patterns that the organization’s critical applications take across the infrastructure from office to office.
Remember, the organization’s critical applications were specified in the scenario.
G. Describe the potential performance issues that may occur within the current network if no changes are made to support the organization’s
expansion. Provide examples to support your response.
H. Describe the potential security issues that may occur within the current network if no changes are made to support the organization’s
expansion. Provide examples to support your response.

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