Appendix B

LAN Operating Systems Scenarios

Read the three scenarios below and answer the questions that follow each scenario.

1. You are the network administrator for a new company that has 10 users and that plans to add 5 more users within a year. The files need to be accessed by all 10 users, and each user must have different security rights.

What kind of network would you install? How would the pieces and components of this network relate to each other? Define each component.

I think that for this particular situation I would set up an extended star network. I would choose this one because the business is relatively small and plans to grow, this type of network setup is very easy to add users onto and also still provides the access restriction needed for lower level employees and the ease of access for higher level employees without them being able to see what the other is able to access. “As the name implies, this topology is a star of stars. A central device, usually a switch, sits in the middle. Instead of attached computers forming the star’s arms, other switches (or hubs) are connected to the central switch’s ports. Computers and peripherals are then attached to these switches or hubs, forming additional stars. The extended star is sometimes referred to as a “hierarchical star” because there are two or more layers of stars, all connecting back to the central star (Tomsho, 2011).” I think that this network would be perfect for a small company that is planning to grow. Having more than one central location for all users to connect to will also improve network speed, security, and data access authorization better as well.

2. You are the network administrator for a company that has a peer-to-peer network.

How would the pieces and components of this network relate to each other? Define all the components of this type of network.

A peer to peer network is unique in that there is no central hub for any of the computers in the network to connect to. They are all simply connected to each other and each one holds a portion of the network capability, each one handles part of the memory requirements, the processing power, and the communication processes. Simply put, the components of this type of network are simply the computers that are connected to each other and the cables that connect them. Other than that the only other aspect of this particular type of system would be the software that each computer in the setup needs to have on it to be able to communicate with all the other units that it will be connected to through the cable. I think that this type of network setup would be perfect for a very small company or office environment that does not require more than 5 or 10 users. This kind of network does not allow for many additions to the network if there is a need for them and may require another network of this type separately to supplement for the need for more computers in the network without slowing the original network down.

3. You are the administrator of a client-server environment.

What kind of network would you install? How would the pieces and components of this network relate to each other? Define each component of a typical client/server environment.

For a client server environment I think that the best type of network for me to setup would be either a star or extended star network. This type of network is the most versatile example of a network that utilizes a single server for many users to connect to and get their information from. The star network consists of one server that a moderate amount of users can connect to and communicate to and from as well as communicate with all other users that are on the same sever. Each user connects to the server through cable, usually Ethernet, and each user usually has software that allows their computer to communicate correctly with the server. One of the really good administrative benefits of this type of network is that there is usually only one server that everyone is connected to which means that only that server needs to be monitored to be able to see what all users are doing instead of having to supervise each user individually. A broadband router may also be used in the client/server environment for example, to provide IP addresses to home or business computers that are not on the same site but need to access that server.

Resource: Tomsho, G. (2011). Guide to networking essentials (6th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Course Technology, Cengage Learning.