Computer Network and Networking Essentials free essay sample

This foundational course covers local area network topics including rationale for networking, the open systems interconnection (OSI) model, common network topologies and architecture, client/server concepts, basic hardware devices and usage, and basic networking security concepts. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Stallings, W. (2009). Business data communications (6th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Tomsho, G. (2011). Guide to networking essentials (6th ed. ). Clifton Park, NY: Course Technology, Cengage Learning. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One, Mar 3, 2014: Local Area Networks Details Due Points Objectives Explain the purpose of a LAN and the benefits it can provide to its users. 1. 2 Differentiate between types of networks. 1. 3 Define basic LAN terminology. 1. 4 Explain how LAN operating systems work. Course Preparation Read the course description and objectives. Read the instructor’s biography and post your own. Reading Read Appendix A. Reading Read Ch. 2, â€Å"Network Hardware Essentials,† of Guide to Networking Essentials. Reading Read Ch. 3, â€Å"Network Topologies and Technologies,† of Guide to Networking Essentials. Reading Read Ch. 6, â€Å"Network Reference Models and Standards,† of Guide to Networking Essentials. Participation Participate in class discussion. All Week 10 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. DQ1- Day 2 DQ2- Day 4 10 CheckPoint LAN Operating Systems Scenarios Read the three scenarios in Appendix B. Answer the questions following each scenario for a total of 200 to 300 words. Day 5 30 Week Two, Mar 10, 2014: The OSI Model and Topologies Details Due Points Objectives 2 2. 1 Define key terms related to the OSI model. 2. 2 Describe the functions of hardware connectivity devices and tools. 2. 3 Illustrate different LAN topologies. CheckPoint OSI Model Key Terms Table Use the table in Appendix C to define the key terms related to the OSI model. Describe the functions of any hardware connectivity devices and tools listed. Post Appendix C as an attachment. Day 4 30 Individual LAN Topologies Read Case Projects 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 of the Guide to Networking Essentials. Determine what type of physical and logical topology will be used for each scenario. Substantively explain the reasoning for your answer. Create a visual representation of each chosen topology by copying and pasting the shapes provided in Appendix D—such as a bus, ring, star, or mesh—into a Microsoft ® Word document. Note that you will need to use the Draw feature in Microsoft ® Word to create lines between the shapes, and you may have to use some shapes more than once. Refer to the Figures 3-1 through 3-4 of Guide to Networking Essentials for examples. Post your assignment as an attachment. Day 7 100 Week Three, Mar 17, 2014: Technology Types Details Due Points Objectives 3 3. 1 Differentiate between types of Internet connectivity. 3. 2 Compare and contrast fat client and thin client concepts. 3. 3 Plan an Ethernet LAN. Reading Read the â€Å"Fiber Distributed Data Interface Technology† section through the end of the chapter in Ch. Network Topologies and Technologies,† of Guide to Networking Essentials. Reading Read Ch. 5, â€Å"Network Protocols,† of Guide to Networking Essentials Participation Participate in class discussion. All Week 10 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. DQ1 – Day 1 DQ2 – Day 4 10 CheckPoint Network Consultant Scenarios Complete Case Projects 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 of Guide to Networking Essentials. After determining if a client-based or client/server model will be used, substantively justify your choice in 200 to 300 words. Day 5 30 Week Four, Mar 24, 2014: Introduction to TCP/IP Details Due Points Objectives 4 4. 1 Describe how to troubleshoot the TCP/IP network. 4. 2 Explain TCP/IP and the concept of addressing and allocation. 4. 3 Distinguish between various networking protocols. 4. 4 Plan a TCP/IP LAN. CheckPoint TCP/IP LAN Plan Practice planning a network by completing questions 1, 2, 4, 11, 14, 15, 16, 20 in Ch. 5 of Guide to Networking Essentials. Select and explain each answer in a total of 200 to 300 words. Day 5 30 Exercise Toolwire Lab: Planning a TCP/IP Physical and Logical Network Log in to the student website. Click Week 4 and then click the link to the Toolwire Lab. A new window opens containing a description of the lab. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Lab Access to begin the lab. Complete the lab assignment as indicated. Take a screenshot of the completed Toolwire Lab activity and paste it into the body of a new post. To do this, press the Print Screen or Prt Scr key on the upper right-hand corner of your keyboard. Open a new post and press Ctrl + V. Your screenshot should paste directly into the body of your post. If your screenshot does not post, you may paste your screenshot into the body of a Microsoft ® Word document and submit it as an attachment. Post your message. Day 4 15 Individual TCP/IP Network Troubleshooting Use Appendix E1 Network Diagram. Identify the problems with the TCP/IP network configuration and explain how they should be fixed. Complete the table in Appendix E. Explain your answer for each problem found. Post Appendix E as an attachment. Day 7 100 Week Five, Mar 31, 2014: Protocols and Services Details Due Points Objectives 5 5. 1 Discuss the concept of domain/addressing and dynamic DNS and DNS. 5. 2 Outline simple network management protocol and how it is used. 5. 3 Differentiate between web pages, web servers, and web access. Reading Read the â€Å"Storage Area Network† section through the â€Å"DNS Server† section in Ch. 8, â€Å"Network Operating System Fundamentals,† of Guide to Networking Essentials. Reading Read the â€Å"Managing User and Group Accounts† section through â€Å"User Profiles,† section in Ch. 9, â€Å"Server Management and Administration,† of Guide to Networking Essentials. Reading Read Ch. 4, â€Å"The Internet,† of Business Data Communications. Reading Read section 20. 3 in Ch. 20, â€Å"Network Management,† of Business Data Communications. Participation Participate in class discussion. All Week 10 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. DQ1 – Day 2 DQ2 – Day 4 10 CheckPoint Domain Name Assume the role of an IT consultant to a new nonprofit organization, Free Flu, which provides flu shots to the elderly. The organization needs a domain name. Utilize Internet resources to determine which domain name is available to the company. Judge whether you would use . com, . org, or . net for the web address. Differentiate between any web pages or web servers you would use for this task. Describe your findings and reasoning in 200 to 300 words. Day 5 30 Week Six, April 7, 2014: Networking with Microsoft ® Windows ® Details Due Points Objectives 6 6. 1 Define the various network services in Microsoft ® Windows ®. 6. 2 Describe how to establish user rights and permissions. 6. 3 Explain how to assign work groups. CheckPoint Vocabulary Table Define five key terms listed in the Vocabulary Table in Appendix F. Post Appendix F as an attachment. Day 4 30 Exercise Toolwire Lab: Designing a Site Infrastructure Log in to the student website. Click Week 6 and then click the link to the Toolwire lab. A new window opens containing a description of the lab. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Lab Access to begin the lab. Complete the lab assignment as indicated. Take a screenshot of the completed Toolwire Lab activity from your computer screen and paste it into the body of a new post. Post your message. Day 5 15 Individual Work Group Scenarios Read the following scenario: Your Microsoft ® Windows ® 2000-based office network has three domains: ALPHA, BETA, and OMEGA, all in the same Active Directory tree. Required result: You must provide access to some users with accounts in the ALPHA domain to some resources in the OMEGA domain, but users in the OMEGA domain should not have access to resources in the ALPHA domain. Optional result: If possible, changes to the ALPHA users’ accounts should be reflected in the accounts they use to access OMEGA resources. Proposed solution: Add the ALPHA users to a global group in ALPHA, and add that group to a local OMEGA group that has permissions to the required resources. Based on your goals and your actions, determine which of the following statements is true and explain: You accomplished both your required result and your optional result. You accomplished your required result, but not your optional result. Post your assignment as a Microsoft ® Word attachment. Day 7 100 Week Seven, April 14, 2014: Network Security Details Due Points Objectives 7 7. 1 Provide examples of threats, vulnerabilities, and exploits to networks and how they relate to each other. 7. 2 Explain the importance of maintaining security on a LAN. Reading Read the â€Å"Backup and Fault Tolerance† section through the end of the chapter in Ch. 9, â€Å"Server Management and Administration,† of Guide to Networking Essentials. Reading Read section 5. 5 in Ch. 5, â€Å"TCP/IP and OSI,† of Business Data Communications. Reading Read Ch. 18, â€Å"Computer and Network Security Threats,† of Business Data Communications. Participation Participate in class discussion. All Week 10 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. DQ1 – Day 2 DQ2 – Day 4 10 Week Eight, April 21, 2014: Network Maintenance: Prevention and Recovery Details Due Points Objectives 8 8. 1 Categorize and describe the components of various types of computer viruses 8. 2 Discuss the relevance of system backup for data protection. 8. 3 Explain the RAID system of data protection. 8. 4 Create a disaster plan for the purpose of network preservation CheckPoint Threat Categorization Define each of the following terms in your own words: Boot sector File virus Multipartite virus Macro virus Trojan horse E-mail worms Instant messaging worms IRC worms File-sharing networks worms Internet worms Explain how each virus or worm functions and spreads. Determine in which category the threat you researched in Week Seven belongs. Your response must be between 200 and 300 words. Day 5 30 Individual Disaster Plan Read the company descriptions in Appendix G and select one. Create a disaster plan for your selected organization that includes how you would recommend the company back up and protect its network data. Your plan must be 1,250 to 1,500 words in length, and your recommendations must be based on the RAID system of data protection. Your plan must also address how the company should protect against natural disasters that might occur in the company’s geographic location. Include any charts, graphs, or visual components that are helpful in illustrating your plan. Format your plan consistent with APA guidelines. Post your plan as a Microsoft ® Word attachment. Day 7 100 Week Nine, April 28, 2014: Network Performance Details Due Points Objectives 9 9. 1 Develop a plan for a local area network. Participation Participate in class discussion. All Week 10 Capstone Discussion Question Respond to the capstone discussion question. Considering what you have learned throughout this course, would you feel comfortable setting up a local area network? Why or why not? Day 3 10 Final Project LAN Consulting Plan Read Appendix A. Develop a plan to set up a local area network based on the scenario presented in Appendix A. Create a 10- to 12-slide, boardroom-quality Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® presentation detailing your plan. Post your presentation as a Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® attachment. Day 7 260 Optional Discussion Questions Week One Discussion Questions Explain what kind of network you are on at work or home. If you do not have access to a network, ask a friend or family member to explain the type of network he or she has access to. What benefits does the network provide to its users? How does it help increase productivity? Read one of your classmates’ network descriptions. Respond to his or her post and identify whether the network he or she described is a client/server network or a peer-to-peer network, and whether it is a LAN, MAN, or WAN. Ask questions if you find that additional information is needed to determine the network’s characteristics. Which four terms relate to networking? Define them in your own words. Week Three Discussion Questions What are the various types of Internet connectivity available today? How do they differ? Explain your answers. Compare fat client and thin client concepts. What are the pros and cons of each? Provide examples to support your answers. Week Five Discussion Questions What is DNS? How do users benefit from it? Provide a brief description of the DNS process to resolve a URL to its IP address. SNMP is a protocol for network management. What are the basic components of SNMP? What are the benefits of the functions provided by SNMP? SNMP uses the UDP protocol for transport. Why was UDP chosen over TCP? Week Seven Discussion Questions What are some current computer threats? Describe the nature of the threat and the potential repercussions it could have for a network. The following are some suggested sites to begin your search: http://www. mcafee. com/us/ http://www. microsoft. com http://www. cnet. com What roles do firewalls and proxy servers play in network security? What is the importance of maintaining security on a LAN? Provide examples to support your answer. Copyright University of Phoenix ® is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft ®, Windows ®, and Windows NT ® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix ® editorial standards and practices.