Riordan Manufacturing : Analysis of Service Request : Assessment

To remain competitive in an ever-dynamic environment, Riordan Manufacturing must stay current with the latest technology, recent developments in the industry, and attend to the needs of its customers. After Riordan manufacturing CIO's and other employees, Riordan manufacturing telecommunications and data networking systems require an upgrade to a better support of the companies recent and future growth needs.

Team A has its investigation by gathering information on the existing network system. Based on the diagrams provided, we have an inventory of existing hardware and evaluate the security of the protocols for Wide Area Network (WAN) and Local Area Network (LAN) connections at each location. The current model in the network is a server-based (client / server-) design. Each site is dedicated hardware (server) for dealing with the application requests from the workstations. All locations for more than 10 users. (Greg, Tittel, & Johnson, 2004) In the examination of networking Schematics, we noticed that the graphics and the logical design were outdated, they were not with the actual physical implementation. The current network consists of aging and obsolete technology and equipment, cabling CAT3, eg, hubs, Windows 98 and NT Server workstations. Two of the four plants employ firewalls are not on the networks, and two sides had firewalls, prior to their router. Limited information available on the port, router configurations, and security software. Another drawback is that the bandwidth is limited between the sites.

The current infrastructure has been carried out, with a unique concept. However, there are some basic similarities between the current design, on the San Jose and Hangzhou sites, only minor changes are necessary for the specific needs of individual sites. In addition, the network design at the Albany and Pontiac sites also bare some similarities with one another. Nevertheless, there seems to be a fundamental necessity for the local networks (LAN) to a mirror and standardize the network within the WAN.

In reviewing the drafts of the Pontiac and Albany locations of these networks, appear to be modeled on the Star bus topology principals with 1 WAN connection. Each network is a daisy-chained, the backbone. Ethernet cables connect multiple Bay stack Nortel routing devices (used Pontiac T-10 base lines with the hub and Albany uses 100 Base T line with a switch). Each was equipped with a single edge router for the transfer of data between sites over a fractional T1 line. Lack of inadequate safety precautions and routing protocols for communications to protect the WAN intrusion. There are no provisions for a variety of traffic management, across the network reliability is at risk. Another major problem is the lack of secure remote access or VPN (Virtual Private Network) to help with security for the network.

In the further review of the San Jose and Hangzhou sites, it seems that these networks under the bus and ring topology with two principles WAN connections. Each network patterned on a 100 Base-T Ethernet backbone with an edge router for data transfer to and from the other sites and external sources over a T1 line. In addition, each location, the following servers: Basic Windows NT network / domain network and Exchange server, UNIX-based ERP / MRP servers and NAS Storage Server file. The number of users in any location is 35 to 50 users per page.

The workstations connect to the network via 24-port Cisco 5950 switches to 100 Base-T Ethernet cables. However, there is only one UPS (uninterruptible power supply) backup device at any place around the entire site in the event of a power outage. The current network design extends to connect to a 1 GB Ethernet-based backbone, the 15 additional users, at an unknown MAC platform with its own Windows-based network servers. Each location also a satellite connection as a backup for these sites in the event that the primary T1 is not available.