ICT120
Introduction to Computer Networks
Task 2
Semester 2, 2018
ICT120 Introduction to Computer Networks Assignment 2
Page 2 of 7
Assessment and Submission Details
Marks: 20% of the Total Assessment for the Course
Due Date: 11:59pm Friday, Week 12
Submit your assignment to Blackboard Task 2. The submission link will be open a week
efore the due date. Please follow the submission instructions in Blackboard.
The assignment will be marked out of a total of 100 marks and forms 20% of the total
assessment for the course. ALL assignments will be checked for plagiarism by SafeAssign
system provided by Blackboard automatically.
Refer to your Course Outline or the Course Web Site for a copy of the “Student Misconduct,
Plagiarism and Collusion” guidelines.
Assignment submission extensions will only be made using the official Faculty of Arts,
Business and Law Guidelines.
Requests for an extension to an assignment MUST be made to the course coordinator prior to
the date of submission and requests made on the day of submission or after the submission
date will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
ICT120 Introduction to Computer Networks Assignment 2
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Case Study: Network Design for EZY-Books
EZY-Books is a specialised publisher for customised book publication services. The
company’s main office is in Sydney, and its
anch offices are in Melbourne and Brisbane.
The operation of the business is still quite old fashioned that all customer services rely on
paper-based forms. For example, if a writer wants to publish a book, he/she has to talk with a
sales representative by phone or face-to-face to receive a paper order form, and then send the
paper manuscript together with the completed form back to the company. The sales
epresentatives travel around the country to meet customers, but the only communication
channel to the company is via telephone.
The customers complain that the processing cycles of orders are too long, and frequently
paper-based forms get lost. Moreover, customers expect to submit their orders form and
manuscripts electronically, as well as an online order status tracking capability.
The sales representatives also complain that it is not easy for them to get the latest updates
from the company about the promotions or discounts. They have laptops with all working
documents stored locally, but they hope there could be a file server that they can access
anytime with any device, and sometimes they can share their working documents with the
administration team.
The company is very concerned about these complaints, and decided to rebuild its IT
infrastructure that would help it maintain its reputation for providing an elevated customer
experience.
After comprehensive consultation with technical experts and business partners, EZY-Books
decided to dump its cu
ent IT infrastructure because the patching changes may be more
expensive and less likely to satisfy the business needs.
A fresh design for its IT infrastructure, especially the networking, is required. The design is
vital to support and enable the future growth of the company. It should enable the connection
of all devices, offices,
anches, and staff.
End of Case Study
Assignment Task
You are a member of the network planning team, and need to write a formal business
management report to explain your solutions and recommendations about the future network
infrastructure for EZY-Books.
Your target audience is executive business people, who have extensive business experience
ut limited ICT knowledge. They would like to be informed as to how your solutions may be
eneficial to their business. Therefore, the report needs to recommend the
telecommunications and networking technologies to be used in terms of business benefit.
You may need to compare your recommendation with other available technologies.
ICT120 Introduction to Computer Networks Assignment 2
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Specifically, you should discuss possible solutions for the following 3 topics in the report.
1. Network Infrastructure
1) Network convergence and unified communications
2) LAN types
3) Cabling plan for the head office and
anches, including transmission media and
connecting devices
4) WAN connection for the head office and
anches
2. Networked Services
Propose to deploy 4 types of network services. Candidates can be, but not limited to,
VOIP, WWW, Intranet, Extranet, and Email.
3. Data Processing Facilities
1) 3.1 Data storage solution. Candidates can be, but not limited to, data centre,
SAN, Cloud, and distributed database.
2) 3.2 Data processing model. Candidates can be, but not limited to, C/S and
P2P.
When you provide solutions to each topic, remember to explain their benefits to some of the
following items:
• The operation of the head office and/or
anches
• The collaborations between the head office and
anches
• The operation of the business
• The satisfaction of customers
Note that you are requested to focus on the use of technologies into the proposed plan,
ut not the discussion of actual network and infrastructure requirements.
Please note that standard business report structure, including an executive summary, must
e adhered to.
The following guidelines will be used in marking each section of the assignment:
100% 90% 75% 65% 50% 25% 0
Outstanding: High
Distinction:
Distinction: Credit: Pass: Fail: Not
Submitted:
An outstanding
attempt – well
formatted and
professionally
presented
piece of work.
An excellent
piece of work
that meets all
the specified
criteria with
very minor
omissions or
mistakes
More than
competently
meets the
criteria
specified with
only minor
mistakes or
omissions.
Competently
meets the
criteria as
specified with
few minor
mistakes or
omissions.
Satisfactorily
meets the
criteria.
Did not
sufficiently
meet the
criteria to
pass.
No attempt
made or
different from
what is
acceptable
Report Format
Your report should be no less than 1,500 words and it would be best to be no longer than
3,000 words long.
ICT120 Introduction to Computer Networks Assignment 2
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The report MUST be formatted using the following guidelines:
• Paragraph text – 12 point Cali
i single line spacing
• Headings – Arial in an appropriate type size
• Margins – 2.5cm on all margins
• Header – Report title
• Footer – page number (including the word “Page”)
• Page numbering – roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv) up to and including the Table of
Contents, restart numbering using conventional numerals (1, 2, 3, 4) from the first
page after the Table of Contents.
• Title Page – Must not contain headers or footers. Include your name as the report’s
author but DO NOT include any reference to your student ID, course code or course
name.
• The report is to be created as a single Microsoft Word document (version greater than
2007). No other format is acceptable and doing so will result in the deduction of
marks.
• In Authorisation and Purpose Section, the report should be addressed to USC for the
purpose of ICT 120 assessment.
The report is to be structured as a formal business report. Refer to the following references
for details on report structures:
Summers, J. & Smith, B., 2014, Communication Skills Handbook, 4th Ed, Wiley, Australia.
Referencing
The report is to include (at least 5) appropriate references and these references should follow
the Harvard method of referencing. Note that ALL references should be from journal articles,
conference papers, technical papers or a recognized expert in the field. DO NOT use
Wikipedia as a reference. The use of unqualified references will result in the deduction of
marks.
Submission
The completed assignment is to be submitted to Blackboard Task 2 by the due date of
11:59pm Friday, Week 12.
The assignment will be assessed according to the marking sheet. Late submission will be
penalised according to the policy in the course outline. Please note Saturday and Sunday are
included in the count of days late.
Assignment Return and Release of Grades
Assignment grades will be available on the course website in two weeks after the submission.
An electronic assignment marking sheet will be available at this time.
Where an assignment is undergoing investigation for alleged plagiarism or collusion the
grade for the assignment and the assignment will be withheld until the investigation has
concluded.
ICT120 Introduction to Computer Networks Assignment 2
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Assignment Guidelines
This assignment will take a number of weeks to complete and will require a good
understanding of data science and management for successful completion. It is imperative
that students take heed of the following points in relation to doing this assignment:
1. Ensure that you clearly understand the requirements for the assignment – what has to be
done and what are the deliverables.
2. If you do not understand any of the assignment requirements – Please ASK the course
coordinator or your tutor.
3. Each time you work on any aspect of the assignment reread the assignment requirements
to ensure that what is required is clearly understood.
ICT120 Introduction to Computer Networks Assignment 2
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Appendix A
Marking Sheet for ICT120 Assignment 2
Student name:
Student ID:
Items Maximum Marks
Marks
Obtained
Report formatting (font, header and footer, table of content,
numbering, referencing)
5
Professional communication (co
ect spelling, grammar, formal
usiness language used)
5
Executive summary 5
Report introduction 5
A. Network