Exercise 1.

1: Case Study Problem

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, two new agents will be hired.

Figure 1.31 illustrates the current arrangement.

Figure 1.31 Case study model

Everyone in the company has a computer, but the business manager has the only
printer. These computers are not connected by any form of networking. 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.

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.

To clarify the task of choosing a solution, you ask some questions.

Circle the most appropriate answers to the following questions:

1. Which type of network would you suggest for this company?

o Peer-to-peer
o Server-based
2. Which network topology would be most appropriate in this situation?
o Bus
o Ring
o Star
o Mesh
o Star bus
o Star ring
Exercise 1.2: Troubleshooting Problem
Use the information in the next section to help you solve the troubleshooting problem that
follows.

Background Information
Choosing a network that does not meet an organization's needs leads directly to trouble. A
common problem arises from choosing a peer-to-peer network when the situation calls for a
server-based network.

A peer-to-peer, or workgroup, network might begin to exhibit problems with changes

in the network site. These are more likely to be logistical or operational problems than
hardware or software problems. The presence of several indicators is a sign that a
peer-to-peer network is inadequate. Possible scenarios include the following:

Lack of centralized security is causing difficulty.

Users are turning off computers that are providing resources to others on the network.

When a network's design is too limited, it cannot perform satisfactorily in some

environments. Problems can vary depending on the type of network topology in effect.

Bus Topology

A few situations will cause a bus network's termination to fail and thereby take the
network down. Possible scenarios include the following:

A cable on the network breaks, causing each end of the cable on either side of the
break to lose its termination. Signals will bounce, and this will take the network
down.
A cable becomes loose or is disconnected, thereby separating the computer from the
network. It will also create an end that is not terminated, which in turn will cause
signals to bounce and the network to go down.
A terminator becomes loose; thereby creating an end that is not terminated. Signals
will start to bounce and the network will go down.

Hub-Based Topology

While problems with hubs are infrequent, they do occur. Possible scenarios include
the following:

A hub drops a connection. When a computer becomes disconnected from the hub,
that computer will be off the network, but the rest of the network will continue to
function normally.
An active hub loses power, causing the network to stop functioning.

Ring Topology

A ring network is usually very reliable, but problems can occur. Possible scenarios
include the following:
 One of the cables in the ring breaks, causing the network to stop functioning
temporarily. In token-ring networks, restoring the cable will immediately restore the
network.
One of the cables in the ring becomes disconnected, causing the network to
temporarily stop functioning. In token-ring networks, restoring the cable will
immediately restore the network.

The Problem
Use what you have just read to troubleshoot the scenario that follows.

A small company with three departments recently began networking and has installed
peer-to-peer networks in each department. The peer-to-peer networks are not
connected to each other. A user in one department must make a diskette of the
information to be loaded on the next network. Four employees in one department are
working on a project. Each person has a different set of responsibilities, and each
produces documentation for a different part of the project. Employees have each made
the hard drive on their own computers available to everyone else on the project.

As the project grows, each user produces more documents, and questions arise about
who has which document and which employee last revised a given document. Also,
employees outside the department who have an interest in the project are asking to see
some of the completed material.

1. Why are problems arising concerning who has which document? Suggest at least one
reason.
2. What one change could you make that would give you centralized control of the
access to these documents?
3. Describe one change that your solution will bring to the users' operating environment.