Assignment

Assignment Title: Assignment

Course: Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

Unit: BIT3204 Network Management

Lecturer: Ms. Catherine Wanjiru Kiarie

Date: Tuesday 31st January 2023

Contents
Question One ................................................................................................................................................ 1
Definition of Network Administrator ....................................................................................................... 1
Challenges Faced by Network Administration ......................................................................................... 1
Question Two ................................................................................................................................................ 2
Definition of Network Devices ................................................................................................................. 2
Examples of Network Devices and What They Do .................................................................................. 2
1. Repeater ........................................................................................................................................ 2
2. Hub ................................................................................................................................................ 3
3. Bridge ............................................................................................................................................ 3
4. Switch ........................................................................................................................................... 4
5. Routers .......................................................................................................................................... 4
6. Gateway ........................................................................................................................................ 4
7. Brouter .......................................................................................................................................... 4
8. NIC (Network Interface Card) ...................................................................................................... 4
Definition of a Network Diagram ............................................................................................................. 4
Examples of Network Diagrams ............................................................................................................... 5
1. Basic Home Network Design ........................................................................................................ 5
2. Home Network Diagram with Modem and Router ....................................................................... 5
3. Router Switch Network Diagram .................................................................................................. 6
4. Wireless Network Diagram ........................................................................................................... 6
5. Advanced Network Diagram ........................................................................................................ 7
6. Mesh Network Layout .................................................................................................................. 8
7. LAN Diagram ............................................................................................................................... 8
Question Three .............................................................................................................................................. 9
Definition of a Network Operating System .............................................................................................. 9
Functionalities / Features of a Network Operating System....................................................................... 9
Examples of Network Operating Systems .............................................................................................. 10
Question Four.............................................................................................................................................. 11
Definition of Software-Defined Networking (SDN)............................................................................... 11
References ................................................................................................................................................... 11
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Question One
Describe the challenges faced by network administration

Definition of Network Administrator

We shall start off by defining who a network administrator is. A network administrator is an IT
professional who ensures that an organization’s computer networks (groups of computers that
share information with one another) are operating to meet the needs of the organization. They can
maintain and troubleshoot computer networks, and employ security principles to keep networks
secure. Some tasks you might find in a network administrator’s job description include:

1. Install, configure and maintain network hardware and software such as routers, firewalls and
switches.
2. Protect networks from unauthorized users through physical and technical means.
3. Set up and maintain virtual private networks (VPN).
4. Resolve network connectivity issues for other employees.
5. Maintain and troubleshoot storage networks.

Now that we know who a network administrator is and what he / she does, we can talk about some
of the challenges they face.

Challenges Faced by Network Administration

Below are some of the challenges faced by network administration:

1. Poor Network Performance – There is no question that poor network performance is a top
challenge. There isn’t simply more total traffic; there is more traffic in all directions. Without
the right equipment at endpoints and midpoints along the way, it is impossible to provide the
high-speed communication needed by today’s applications. Plus, performance isn’t just about
speed; it’s about reliability, too. Network designs need to handle spikes in load and provide
alternate routes to enable communication to continue even when a link fails. 24×7 online
business requires 24×7 network availability.

2. Security - Security is another top challenge. As the perimeter of today’s network is unclear,
blocking unauthorized outside traffic from the internal network isn’t adequate for protecting
data. Many threats make it into the network when employees respond to a phishing email.
Denial of service attacks only need to attempt connections to succeed. Encryption helps protect
traffic, but encryption can also make it harder to monitor network activity. There are many
tools that can be used to improve network security, but ensuring they work together and provide
a comprehensive solution is difficult. In addition, multiple tools require increased monitoring
and management.

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3. Configuration Management - As networks increase in size, overseeing the network

configuration increases in difficulty. Devices can conflict with each other. It becomes
challenging to keep the rules in firewalls up-to-date, and manually applying policies leads to
errors and inconsistencies.

4. Cost - Available budget almost never meets the need for network services, especially when the
network now needs to support not just traditional IT applications, but also conventional
business services like telephony (in the form of VoIP) and video conferencing that require new
levels of network quality.

5. Growth - All the other challenges would be easier to address if the network would stay the
same, but it doesn’t. There is a constant increase in the number of devices attached to the
network, with every additional connection an additional potential point of failure.

6. Vendor lock-in - Yesterday’s reasonable decision means today your architecture is built
around the assumptions and capabilities of yesterday’s vendor. Bringing in the best solutions
from today’s vendors means figuring out how to inter-operate, integrate and support multiple
solutions, or figuring out how to tear out all of the old equipment without tearing down the

Question Two
Check out different types of hardware network devices and using well-labelled diagrams, illustrate
the scenarios where you would use the following devices in network designs e.g., draw a sample
network containing a switch, hub, etc.

Definition of Network Devices

Network devices, also known as networking hardware, are physical devices that allow hardware
on a computer network to communicate and interact with one another. For example, we have
Repeater, Hub, Bridge, Switch, Routers, Gateway, router, Network Interface Card (NIC), etc.

Examples of Network Devices and What They Do

Network devices, also known as networking hardware, are physical devices that allow hardware
on a computer network to communicate and interact with one another. For example, we have
Repeater, Hub, Bridge, Switch, Routers, Gateway, brouter (bridging router), Network Interface
Card (NIC), etc.

1. Repeater
A repeater operates at the physical layer. Its job is to regenerate the signal over the same network
before the signal becomes too weak or corrupted in order to extend the length to which the signal
can be transmitted over the same network. An important point to be noted about repeaters is that
they do not amplify the signal. When the signal becomes weak, they copy it bit-by-bit and
regenerate it at its star topology connectors connecting if original strength. It is a 2-port device.

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2. Hub
A hub is a basically multi-port repeater. It connects multiple wires coming from different branches,
for example, the connector in star topology which connects different stations. Hubs cannot filter
data, so data packets are sent to all connected devices. In other words, the collision domain of all
hosts connected through Hub remains one. In addition, they do not have the intelligence to find
out the best path for data packets which leads to inefficiencies and wastage.

Types of Hubs
a) Active Hub - These are hubs that have their power supply and can clean, boost and relay
the signal along with the network. It serves both as a repeater as well as a wiring center.
They are used to extend the maximum distance between nodes.

b) Passive Hub - These are hubs that collect wiring from nodes and power supply from the
active hub. These hubs relay signals onto the network without cleaning and boosting them
and can’t be used to extend the distance between nodes.

c) Intelligent Hub - It works like an active hub and includes remote management capabilities.
They also provide flexible data rates to network devices. It enables an administrator to
monitor the traffic passing through the hub and to configure each port in the hub.

3. Bridge
A bridge operates at the data link layer. A bridge is a repeater, with the added functionality of
filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of the source and destination. It is also used for
inter-connecting two LANs working on the same protocol. It has a single input and single output
port, thus making it a 2-port device.

Types of Bridges
a) Transparent Bridges - These are the bridges in which the stations are completely unaware
of the bridge’s existence i.e., whether or not a bridge is added or deleted from the network,
reconfiguration of the stations is unnecessary. These bridges make use of two processes
i.e., bridge forwarding and bridge learning.

b) Source Routing Bridges - In these bridges, routing operation is performed by the source
station and the frame specifies which route to follow. The host can discover the frame by
sending a special frame called the discovery frame, which spreads through the entire
network using all possible paths to the destination.

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4. Switch
A switch is a multi-port bridge with a buffer and a design that can boost its efficiency (a large
number of ports imply less traffic) and performance. A switch is a data link layer device. The
switch can perform error checking before forwarding data, which makes it very efficient as it does
not forward packets that have errors and forwards good packets selectively to the correct port only.
In other words, the switch divides the collision domain of hosts, but the broadcast domain remains
the same.

5. Routers
A router is a device similar to a switch that routes data packets based on their IP addresses. The
router is mainly a network layer device. Routers normally connect LANs and WANs, and have a
dynamically updating routing table based on which they make decisions on routing the data
packets. The router divides the broadcast domains of hosts connected through it.

6. Gateway
A gateway, as the name suggests, is a passage to connect two networks that may work upon
different networking models. They work as messenger agents that take data from one system,
interpret it, and transfer it to another system. Gateways are also called protocol converters and can
operate at any network layer. Gateways are generally more complex than switches or routers. A
gateway is also called a protocol converter.

7. Brouter
It is also known as the bridging router. It is a device that combines features of both bridge and
router. It can work either at the data link layer or at the network layer. Working as a router, it is
capable of routing packets across networks and working as the bridge, it is capable of filtering
local area network traffic.

8. NIC (Network Interface Card)

NIC, or network interface card, is a network adapter that is used to connect the computer to the
network. It is installed in the computer to establish a LAN (Local Area Network). It has a unique
id that is written on the chip, and it has a connector to connect the cable to it. The cable acts as an
interface between the computer and the router or modem. The NIC card is a layer 2 device which
means that it works on both the physical and data link layers of the network model.

Definition of a Network Diagram

A network diagram is a visual representation of a computer or telecommunications network. It
shows the components that make up a network and how they interact, including routers, devices,
hubs, firewalls, etc.

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Examples of Network Diagrams

1. Basic Home Network Design

This is the most basic home network diagram that you can have. We have a router with a built-in
modem and an access point that we got from our ISP (Internet Service Provider). These kinds of
routers typically allow you to connect up to four devices using a network (UTP) cable.

2. Home Network Diagram with Modem and Router

It still has a pretty basic network layout, but as you can see in the network diagram below, we have
added our own router. If you have a fiber connection for example, you only get a modem from
your ISP. The modem can only setup the internet connection and delivery it to one network device.
Therefore, in theory, you could connect one computer to a modem with a UTP cable and you
would have internet. However, to use the internet connection with multiple devices, you will need
a router. Most routers have a WAN port which you can use to connect a modem to it, still leaving
four network ports free for your computers and printer.

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3. Router Switch Network Diagram

If you have more than four wired network devices (computers, game console, tv, etc.), then you
will have to add a network switch to your network layout. As you can see in this network diagram,
we have added a switch below the router. Network switches come in different sizes i.e., they start
from 4 network ports up to 48 ports. In your typical home network, you would use an 8-ports
network switch. Keep in mind that you need one port to connect the switch to the router, so you
can effectively only use 7 ports of the switch.

4. Wireless Network Diagram

A fully wireless network is also possible. In the wireless network diagram below, all devices are
connected wirelessly to the network. In this example, we are using a separate access point instead
of the built-in access point of the router. Access points can connect up to 20 or 30 devices at the
same time. Therefore, one access point could connect every device in your house, as long as they
are in range.

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5. Advanced Network Diagram

What you see below is an extended home network diagram. We have multiple switches and access
points, providing good wireless network coverage and efficient wired connections. The diagram
could be used for a two-story house for example. Always try to connect your switches directly to
your router for the best performance. In this case, we used an Edge Router X SFP (one of the best
value-for-money routers in the market), that comes with multiple PoE ports. This way, we can
connect access points to it and provide it with power and network connection with the use of only
a single network cable. In addition, the access points, Unifi US-8-60W, have PoE ports. This way
we can easily connect an IP Camera or Access Point to it.

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6. Mesh Network Layout

In a mesh network, you can connect multiple access point wireless together. Not to create one big
wireless network, but to extend your network wireless (without pulling cables). If you are using
more than 2 access points in a mesh network, then the network will find the best connection
dynamically. A mesh network can be used in-house, in case you are unable to pull cables through
your house. Or, it can also be used to extend your network to another building on your property
(the garage for example).

7. LAN Diagram
LAN is known as a Local Area Network that connects local regions or places like schools, houses,
offices, laboratories, and private buildings. It is a device that is linked with a domain server of a
particular locality. This helps in sharing a particular printer or a disk with hundreds of customers.
It is made up of several wires and connecting cables, which are linked on the base of a previous
network diagram. It reflects the communication schemes, physical structure, and network
arrangements in local areas. They are mostly used by IT professionals to monitor networking in a
particular area.

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Question Three
Compare all network operating systems e.g., Windows Server OS, LINUX, UNIX, Novell
network, MacOS, CISCO IOS (Inter-Network Operating System), etc. and state which version is
the latest and what features does it have?

Definition of a Network Operating System

A network operating system is a computer operating system (OS) that is designed to create a
network connection and share devices (such as printers and files) within a computer network. The
network operating system has the capability to handle simultaneously multiple client requests. The
network operating system is a powerful computer, which comprises of software and network
protocols to communicate with other computers over a network. It will give you the option to
remote access to another computer and it can share resources and storage within the networked
computers. Examples of network operating systems are Microsoft Windows Server, UNIX, Linux,
and Mac OS X, which are used to run the server programs and applications. Simply put, a network
operating system is designed for connecting multiple computers and sharing resources through a
local area network (LAN).

Functionalities / Features of a Network Operating System

A network operating system is a system that is designed for managing the network resources,
creating network connections, and sharing the file among multiple computers within the network.
The major functionalities of a network operating system are as follows:

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1. Storing the data on system and controlling the file access.

2. Sharing of resources such as files, applications and printer(s).
3. Improved performance and ensuring system security.
4. Protecting data from cyber threats such as virus and malware.
5. Providing remote access to the server and applications.
6. Managing the operations between main memory and hard disk.
7. Creating a new user, user group and managing the accounts on the network.
8. Receiving the client request and processing the request.
9. Monitoring the system and troubleshooting the network.
10. Managing the resources on the network.
11. Ensuring system security by blocking unauthorized access.

Examples of Network Operating Systems

The most common examples of network operating systems are Microsoft Windows Server, UNIX,
Linux and Mac OS X. Some other examples of network operating systems are Novell NetWare,
Sun Solaris, AppleShare, and Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), etc.

1. Microsoft Windows Server

Microsoft Windows Server is an example of a network operating system which has been designed
by Microsoft. Windows servers are extremely powerful and high configuration computers that are
used for enterprise-level management, data storage, applications hosting and networking.
Microsoft Windows Server ensures availability, stability and security of a system. The first version
of Windows Server edition was Windows Server 2003. Below are listed the full releases of
Windows Server as follows:

a) Windows Server 2003 (April 2003)

b) Windows Server 2003 R2 (December 2005)
c) Windows Server 2008 (February 2008)
d) Windows Server 2008 R2 (October 2009)
e) Windows Server 2012 (September 2012)
f) Windows Server 2012 R2 (October 2013)
g) Windows Server 2016 (September 2016)
h) Windows Server 2019 (October 2018)
i) Windows Server 2022 (August 2021)

2. UNIX Operating System

This is another example of a network operating system which was first developed by AT&T
Corporation’s Bell Laboratories in the late 1960s. The UNIX operating system is simple, multi-
tasking, multi-user, portable and stable that is used for web servers, laptops and desktop computers.
The UNIX operating system was mainly based on three parts such as the kernel, the shell and the
programs. There are different versions of UNIX operating systems such as SunOS, Solaris, SCO
UNIX, AIX, HP/UX, ULTRIX, etc.

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3. Linux Operating System

Linux is one of the most popular and open-source operating system that is used in mobile phones,
routers, super computers, mainframe computers and server applications. The Linux Operating
System is free and its source code is available to use. Linux is used for all types of server
applications such as web servers, database servers, DNS servers, antivirus servers, file servers,
email servers and shared servers. The important features of Linux operating system are portable,
open source, multi-user, multi-programming and it provides more security than other operating
systems. There are different distributions of Linux operating system such as Debian, Ubuntu,
CentOS, Fedora and Kali Linux Distribution.

Question Four
Explain what is software-defined networking (SDN)

Definition of Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is an approach to networking that uses software-based
controllers or application programming interfaces (APIs) to communicate with underlying
hardware infrastructure and direct traffic on a network. This model differs from that of traditional
networks, which use dedicated hardware devices (i.e., routers and switches) to control network
traffic. SDN can create and control a virtual network – or control a traditional hardware – via
software. While network virtualization allows organizations to segment different virtual networks
within a single physical network, or to connect devices on different physical networks to create a
single virtual network, software-defined networking enables a new way of controlling the routing
of data packets through a centralized server.

References
Coursera (2022, May 26). What Is a Network Administrator? Retrieved from
https://www.coursera.org/articles/what-is-a-network-administrator-a-career-guide

Lazy Admin (2022, December 13). Home Network Diagram – All Network Layouts Explained.
Retrieved from https://lazyadmin.nl/home-network/home-network-diagram/

Edraw Soft (n.d). Network Diagram Examples & Templates. Retrieved from
https://www.edrawsoft.com/network-diagram-examples.html

Cyber Threat and Security Portal (2021, November 7). Example of Network Operating System.
Retrieved from https://cyberthreatportal.com/example-of-network-operating-system/

VMware (n.d). What is Software-Defined Networking (SDN)? Retrieved from

https://www.vmware.com/topics/glossary/content/software-defined-networking.html

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