Recent Question/Assignment
Task Description
Imagine that you have been employed by XYZ Corporation as a junior network administrator. As part of your duty, you are requested to configure and manage a network lab to perform tests on before they are deployed to the real network. The network lab imitates a typical enterprise network with the Headquarter and two branches connected over the Internet. The high-level logical topology of the network is given in Figure 1 and the physical layout of the offices is given in Figure 2.
To study the network before the actual deployment, you will use a network simulator to complete the following tasks:
• Task 1: Network simulation. In this task, you will create the network in a simulator from its logical topology and perform all necessary configurations for the network devices to make the network operational. Verify the network connectivity.
• Task 2: Configuration management. In this task, you will document the network configurations following the network configuration management practice.
Simulation Software:
The organisation has 2 (two) enterprise network simulators that you may choose from.
1. eNSP Huawei Network simulator
2. Cisco Packet Tracer.
Figure 1 High-level logical network topology.
Figure 2 The branch physical layouts
Assignment-1 marking guidelines
The following are the major assessment criteria of this assignment
Task 1: Network simulation
• Physical network topology
o Suitable hardware configuration
o Suitable link technologies
o Correct physical topology with sufficient notation
• Device configuration
o Correct IP addressing scheme.
o Correct basic administrative configuration i.e. device name, time zone, clock and device access control.
o Correct interface configuration i.e. interface IP address and status.
• Internetwork routing configuration
o Correct configuration of either static routing, RIP or OSPF.
o Evidence of the network connectivity verification
Task 2: Network configuration management
• Document network physical and logical topology with sufficient notation
• Document network inventory i.e. detailed network hardware and software
• Document current configurations of each device in the network
• Configuration change management
Task 2
What to write in the document
Network description
Briefly describe the network and its purpose.
Network logical topology
Place the network logical topology here. The logical topology should show the network hierarchical structure, logical organisation and addressing scheme.
Use a separate table to show the address assignment of each device in the network.
Network physical topology
Place the network physical topology here. The physical topology should show the cabling layout and physical locations of the network devices. If the devices are place on racks, physical layouts of the racks should be included.
Network inventory
Record the following parameters for every network device and present the information in an easily readable format.
Consider tables to record the information.
General information
• Name
• Make / Manufacturer
• Model Number
• Device Type
• Physical location
• Device owner/manager
• Asset/tag ID if applicable
Hardware configuration
• CPU, RAM, Flash
• Number of network interfaces/ports of each interface type
• Network modules (type, model, serial number if available)
• Interface modules (type, model, serial number if available)
Software configuration
• Firmware Version
• Operating System Version / Model
• Additional software modules if applicable
Interface configuration
• Name/ID
• Link technology e.g. Ethernet
• Physical address e.g. MAC address
• Logical address e.g. IP Address
Management information
• Admin person and contact information
• IP address for remote in-band management
Device configuration
Save the configurations and place the configuration of each network device here or make them text files and attach as a zip.
Save the configurations in the network simulation scenario and include the topography as a zip file.
Change management
Implement the change management as you progress in the assignment. You should be able to track the following information at the minimum:
• Date the change was made
• Type of the change e.g. topology, hardware, software, configuration etc.
• Description of the change
• Status before the change
• Status after the change
• Who made the change?
Consider a table for this.
Submission Format
You will need to submit at least 2 files.
1. You are required to submit the assignment document in the Word DOC or DOCX or PDF format. The file will be named using the following convention:
2. Your network configuration, including the optional configuration files if chosen.
a. You must also submit your simulation network as either an eNSP or Packet Tracer file.
i. eNSP must be a zip file with all devices configured and saved.
ii. Packet Tracer files must be a PKT file with all devices configured and saved.
b. If you do not put the configuration in the word document you must place them in text files and attach them in the network configuration zip file.