DESIGNING NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

Designing Network Infrastructure

Designing Network Infrastructure

Analyzing Organizational Structures

The important consideration to design a network infrastructure for an organization which has three remote locations consists of many factors. Each remote location has a minimum of 50 computers. Two of the remote locations are within 80 miles radius distance and one location is more than 150 miles radius distance, and each remote location is a building consisting of three floors.

Analyzing Company Business Strategies

The purpose of this network infrastructure is to enable the business to perform its day-to-day activities and meet its objectives with the greatest efficiency. For this Financial organization the following factors must be known:

Company Priorities

Document all the goals of the business and assign a priority number to each one. Goals with higher priority levels get built into the design first, and goals with lower priority values are included in the design only if they can be delivered after satisfying the goals at the higher priority levels (Wong, 1996, pp 271-287).

Projected Growth Strategy

Company growth affects the demands placed on a network infrastructure. It is crucial that is developed an understanding of the company's projected growth as well as its growth strategy to ensure that the network infrastructure design meets the demands placed upon it. (Boorstyn & Frank, 1997, pp 29-47)

Laws and Regulations

Sometimes the operation of a particular business is governed by only a few relevant laws or regulations. Other businesses, however, must adhere to a very complex and strict set of laws and regulations. Partnering with the company's legal team can help make aware of any legal issues that may apply to the project, and enables to take advantage of its expertise in dealing with these issues. (Balakrishnanet al, 1991, 239-284)

Tolerance For Risk

Any time that is being designed something as mission-critical as a network infrastructure, this must be acutely awared of the risks that are involved in implementing the design. Knowing up front the company's position and tolerance for risk can help avoid serious problems later (Wong, 1996, pp 271-287). Companies that are very risk-averse may implement more fault- tolerant features to minimize the risk of a network failure; those less worried about network failure will not require the same level of fault tolerance.

Total Cost of Ownership

The aggregation of all costs associated with purchasing, implementing, supporting, and operating a network infrastructure is referred to as theTotal Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the network infrastructure

Analyzing Technical Requirements

The most obvious planning step when creating a network infrastructure design is the analysis of technical requirements. There are several steps to follow in order to perform a thorough and effective analysis of the technical requirements for a network infrastructure design.

Evaluating Technical Environment

Before beginning the network infrastructure design one must be able to determine three things: 1.What does the customer want to do with the network infrastructure?

2.What does the customer do with its existing network infrastructure?

3.What is the gap between the current infrastructure and the desired infrastructure?

Answering these questions is called performing a gap ...