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Unit: Computer Networks Assignment Title: Financial Services Firm June 2014

Important Notes: Please refer to the Assignment Presentation Requirements for advice on how to set out your assignment. These can be found on the NCC Education Campus. Scroll down the left hand side of the screen until you reach Personal Support. Click on this, and then on Policies and Advice. You will find the Assignment Presentation Requirements under the Advice section. You must familiarise yourself with the NCC Education Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy and ensure that you acknowledge all the sources which you use in your work. The policy is available on Campus. Follow the instructions above, but click on Policies rather than Advice. You must complete the Statement and Confirmation of Own Work. The form is available on the Policies section of Campus. Scroll down the left hand side until you reach Personal Support. Click on this and then click on Policies and Advice. Please make a note of the recommended word count. You could lose marks if you write 10% more or less than this. You must submit a paper copy and digital copy (on disk or similarly acceptable medium). Media containing viruses, or media which cannot be run directly, will result in a fail grade being awarded for this module. All electronic media will be checked for plagiarism. Marker's comments:

Moderator's comments:

Mark:

Moderated Mark:

Final Mark:

Introduction
The assignment will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of computer networks. This assignment is based on the development of a computer network for a financial services firm with offices in five locations within the same country. The network will provide services to users in all five locations and also while they are out of the office. You are not required to design a complete network, only the detail specifically covered by the task list shown below.

Scenario
A large financial services firm is installing a data network for use by staff in all five of its offices. Each office consists of six small rooms and a reception area, all on a single floor. The five offices are separated by hundreds of kilometres but are located in the same country. The reception area of each office has one receptionist/administrator on duty and each of the small rooms houses a financial adviser. The data network installed by the firm will provide Internet facilities for each office, plus an intranet and extranet that will provide services for all staff, including access to client information, email facilities and file storage. Your role is to write a report outlining the options for the financial services firm in setting up their data network, including details of how intranet and extranet services will be provided. The detail of your report is given in the tasks below but, in general, you should provide a range of options and make recommendations as to which you think is the best option.

Task 1 35 Marks
Investigate network cabling options available in your country for the networks within each individual office. Pay particular attention to: a) The media used. (6 marks) b) The connectors used. (6 marks) c) The cost of cabling and installation. (6 marks) d) The data transfer rates that will be required. (6 marks) Provide recommendations for the cabling and connectors to purchase, including reasons for these recommendations (6 marks). Provide a diagram showing the internal network topology for one office a neat and labelled sketch is acceptable (5 marks). This task requires approximately 500 words plus a diagram.

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Computer Networks June 2014 Final NCC Education 2014

Task 2 30 Marks
The financial services firm needs to connect all five offices on the same network. Research methods for providing a secure intranet that will connect all of the offices together on the same network. For each method you research, give details of: The protocols used. (6 marks) The media required to connect the offices. (6 marks) The hardware required to connect the offices. (6 marks) Describe how access could be provided to the firms intranet by staff not present in any of the companys offices via an extranet (6 marks). Provide a diagram showing the network topology of the complete intranet and extranet a neat and labelled sketch is acceptable (6 marks). This task requires approximately 400 words plus a diagram.

Task 3 25 Marks
Investigate the security issues relating to the intranet and extranet you have designed in Task 2, including: a) The security issues that are specific to such a network. (10 marks) b) Protection from viruses, Trojan horses, etc. (10 marks) Provide recommendations as to the security measures that should be implemented to reduce and remove threats to the network. (5 marks) This task requires approximately 450 words.

Task 4 10 Marks
Combine Tasks 1 to 3 into a word-processed report that is structured as follows: Table of Contents Introduction Main Body (Tasks 1 to 3) Conclusion List of References (each reference must be cited in the main body of the report) Review In no more than 150 words, write a review of your work. Describe any assumptions you have made (2 marks), any weaknesses in your work (4 marks) and any changes you could introduce to improve your work (4 marks).

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Computer Networks June 2014 Final NCC Education 2014

Guidance
The word-processed report must be 1500 words in length (+/- 10%) not including the review. You will lose marks if you go under or over this word count. Familiarise yourself with the NCC Education Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy and ensure that you acknowledge all the sources which you use in your work. All references and citations must use the Harvard Style Media containing viruses, or media which cannot be run directly, will result in a fail grade being awarded for this module.

You must read and understand NCC Educations policy on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism. You must complete the Statement and Confirmation of Own Work form and attach the completed form to your assignment.

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Computer Networks June 2014 Final NCC Education 2014

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