Learning Outcomes:

Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:
1. Justify the need for network management, considering the main network
management functions, and be able to discuss the benefits and limitations of each.
2. Interpret current research and development in the field of network management
security.
3. Critically review the requirements for the design of a network system from a given
scenario and evaluate the aspects of security along with methods of protection.
Assignment case study: HandMade Furniture Ltd.
This case study provides background information for both assignment 1 and
assignment 2.
As a network consultant, your initial examination of the company has discovered the
following facts:
1. It is a single site company with a factory and office on site.
a. There are 80 employees in total, 60 in the factory and 20 in the office.
b. Each office worker has their own PC. There is a mixture of Windows XP,
Windows 7 and Windows 8 installed together with various versions of
Microsoft Office.
c. There are 8 PCs in the factory, all running Windows 7 and Microsoft Office
2010.
d. There is no central subscription to anti-virus software. Staff are left to do
this themselves.
2. The network is completely wired and they have not yet started to explore the use
of Wi-Fi. If staff bring their own devices to work, they need to make their own
provision for Internet access (3G etc.)
3. The network runs on a single Windows Server 2012 server. There is an additional
NAS storage device that will store up 10TB of data. There is no formal backup
plan; again staff (and individual teams) are expected to manage their own data.
Some do this better than others. For example, the design team have their own
NAS storage and additionally copy designs to backup DVD on a weekly basis.
4. Internet access is provided through an ADSL account with a local Internet
provider. This gives a maximum of 4.5 Mbit/s of bandwidth. They have found that
this is not sufficient for their needs.
a. The company does not have a website.
b. There is a single email address for the company that the MD (Managing
Director) and her PA (Personal Assistant) have access to.
c. Other staff have set up ‘unofficial’ company emails for their requirements;
for example, the finance team have a shared email address with a Gmail
account that they use for ordering.
5. No single person has responsibility to managing the network. A previous office
manager (who has now left) had some IT experience and supported the network
as part of his job. There have been some serious incidents recently, most notably
a serious virus infection that was dealt with by bringing in a local IT technician to
clean a number of PCs
6. The arrangements for printing are very mixed:
a. There is a single inkjet printer in the factory shared between the factory
PCs. This printer is networked.
b. In the office, there is a high volume laser printer connected directly to one
of the admin support team’s PCs. This is connected via Windows printer
sharing to the other PCs in the admin team but no-one else has access (in
the past, if anyone else needed a large number of documents printing they
had to email it to a member of the support team).
c. The remainder of the office staff use 22 inkjet printers, from a variety of
manufacturers. Some of these are connected to individual PCs and some
are shared between workgroups. These have been bought over the past
few years on an ad-hoc basis; responsibility for their upkeep is usually
shared by the members of that workgroup.
Assignment Part 1 (50%)
Assignment 1 covers LO1 and LO3
Your report should be 2,500 words in total (+ or – 10%), excluding contents and
references.
Title: Network Management Justification
Assignment
You are a self-employed Network Consultant and you have been approached by a small
furniture manufacturer (HandMade Furniture Ltd.) to examine their network.
The information you have discovered from your initial visit is in the case study on pages 3 &
4)
Your initial findings have determined that the network is currently working within acceptable
parameters but you can see that there will be problems in the future unless they implement
some additional infrastructure and a management plan in the very near future.
The Managing Director has asked you to produce a briefing paper to be presented to the
Board. This should be written as a fully referenced formal report.
The purpose of this paper is to:

Justify why the company should implement a network management plan.

Describe and explain elements of a network management plan suitable for this
organisation.

Propose support solutions based on the company employing a suitable level of
technical support or outsourcing it to another organization.
Your report should include the following sections:
a. Introduction and terms of reference
b. Justification of network management plan
c. Suggested elements of network management plan
d. Support solutions (minimum of two, no more than three) with costing implications
e. Conclusion and recommendations
Marking Scheme:
Subject Element
Weighting
Introduction and terms of reference
10%
Network management plan justification
20%
Elements of a network management plan
20%
Support solution 1
20%
Support solution 2
20%
Conclusion and recommendations
10%
Within this, marks will also be allocated as follows:
Academic Element
Weighting
Subject matter knowledge
20%
Critical analysis
20%
Evidence of wider reading
20%
Coherence (this means that the ideas should
be smoothly joined together.)
20%
Presentation and English
20%
Assignment Part 2 (50%)
Assignment 2 covers LO2 and LO3
Your report should be 2,500 words in total (+ or – 10%), excluding contents and
references.
Title: Devising a Network Management Plan and Security Plan for HandMade
Furniture Ltd.
Assignment
This assignment requires you to create a network management plan and a security plan
for HandMade Furniture Ltd. that will include both local and cloud-based services.
This is based on the same company case study that you used for assignment 1, but with the
following additional information:
1. A decision has been made to upgrade the company Internet connection. Your advice
will be appreciated on how this should be done.
2. The company have decided to upgrade all PCs to the latest versions of Microsoft
Office and Windows.
3. Email addresses will be provided for all staff via Google Apps for Business
4. Wi-Fi will be added to the network and team leaders in the factory will be issued with
a Wi-Fi enabled laptop.
5. Staff will be able to bring their own devices to work and connect to the work Wi-Fi
network. Advice on how to do this will be appreciated.
6. The company are considering moving away from individual printers to networked
‘pull’ printing. They would appreciate your advice on the implications of this.
7. The company has decided to move their accounting and stock control systems to a
cloud based service, managed and maintained by another company. The provider
has a good international reputation, however the board would appreciate you advice
on this.
Again, the managing director has asked you to produce a briefing paper for the board
that addresses the following issues. This should be written as a fully referenced formal
report.
The purpose of this paper is to:

Produce a network management plan for the company based on your advice in
the earlier paper.

Produce and justify a suitable network security plan for the organization. This
should address threats to network security, indicate how these can be mitigated
and what steps can be taken to recover from serious incidents.
Your report should include the following sections:
a. Introduction and terms of reference
b. A detailed network management plan
c. A detailed network security plan with costing implications
d. Conclusions, recommendations and further advice
Marking Scheme:
Subject Element
Weighting
Introduction and terms of reference
15%
Network management plan
30%
Network security plan
30%
Costing implications
10%
Conclusion and recommendations
15%
Within this, marks will also be allocated as follows:
Academic Element
Weighting
Subject matter knowledge
20%
Critical analysis
20%
Evidence of wider reading
20%
Coherence (this means that the ideas should
be smoothly joined together.)
20%
Presentation and English
20%
Indicative grading criteria
Generally, to get an A:
a. Your work should focus specifically on the assignment question and generally not
divert from the question. There should not be a rudimentary and elementary
discussion of ‘basic’ and ‘introductory’ concepts. You should assume that the reader
has a basic and fundamental understanding of core concepts (remember that your
audience, the board members, will probably not have an IT background).
b. The report should be well structured which means that it should follow accepted
norms and most certainly should be formatted in accordance with any structuring
requirements stipulated in the assignment question. It should be professionally
resented which means that your use of fonts is consistent and professional; it has a
table of contents and page numbers and is properly structured.
c. It should be well written which means that the grammar and spelling is perfect.
d. There should be a demonstration of very clear understanding of the material
presented in the report. You should be able to demonstrate that the work is yours
and that you understand what you have written. There means that there shouldn’t be
too much reliance on quotations and you should have attempted to put things in your
own words.
e. Evidence of good background research. You are able to demonstrate (if appropriate
to the assignment) that you have found adequate sources of material. Where you
have found relevant and suitable sources, you should reference them properly (using
a recognized referencing system, such as the Harvard system) and professionally.