The Cleveland Department network design will be based off how many people are going to connect to the network, the number of stations and if there is a need for wireless connections. If wireless connections are needed, I will need to know the area in which we will need to cover and how many people will be connected.

Depending on the amount of computers needed and minimal amount of IP address needed I would like to use the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for our network. The DHCP has a set of IP addresses which would be leased out to each computer needed. Some advantages are IP addresses are configured by the computer. However, a few disadvantages are if an IP address that was leased out and the pervious computer having an IP address that is now unavailable could cause problems with the network. This means that if there were multiple computers/IP addresses needed, I would like to use Network Address Translation (NAT).

Network Address Translation will allow several different opportunities for the office. NAT does not require that all IP addresses need to be in use. A NAT network only uses the IP addresses that are called upon by the network. If there are only six computers in use for a certain day, only six IP address will be need and used on the network. This will cut costs and will also allow more security for the network. Because the network will change the IP address, it is possible that one computer will not receive the same IP address for a large amount of time. This could discourage any unwanted intrusion attempts on the network. The disadvantages to NAT network might be the issuing of IP addresses that could slow down the system and create some delays within the network. Also, this type of a network will need more attention from the IT staff because if the network were to fail, it could take a few moments to bring it back.
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