Network Design Document For BLDRS-DC – ITCO103

Introduction
            Having coordinated activities in the construction industry is important in ensuring
efficiency and effective construction process. However, having a set of technologies is
important in ensuring effective coordination of the activities. Assuming I am a design specialist
for BLDRS-DC, the following is an outline of the technologies that are needed in the individual
companies to connect their information to their website. The necessary network components
needed by the individual construction company to enable customer access and scheduling are
discussed. Finally, any challenges and considerations uncovered from the research that was
conducted are discussed.
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The Network Components Needed To Allow Access to Marketing Materials and Scheduling
Information
            The first network component that is essential for all the companies is the virtual private
network. The Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a private network that employs public network
(the internet) (Cisco, 2008). Thus, this allows for an easy access to marketing materials and
scheduling of information. The BLDRS-DC has a number of employees, who would wish to
connect remotely to the company LAN remotely in their various locations. The VPN needs a
connection to an internet service provider, to provide internet dial-up account for successful
use of the VPN.
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            The other network component that allows access to marketing materials and scheduling
information is the public network. Through a local connection such as the VPN, the company
can connect multiple sites over the public network, thus ensuring easy access to marketing
materials, monitoring and scheduling of construction information. Typically, an extranet VPN
would be essential since the companies and the sites could be located in different geographical
locations. Moreover, there is need for standard switches to enable the connection of the virtual
machines to the virtual networks. Similarly, the host must have VPN client software, which
encapsulates and encrypts the traffic before it sends it over the internet to the target public
network.
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            The multiple organizations must be equipped with the necessary equipment that links to
the VPNs through the public network. Therefore, it is essential that networking is established
within every organization, linking all the departments. In order to achieve internal
organizational connectivity, a number of network components are essential. These components
include the cables, switches, hubs, routers, bridges, gateways, wireless access points, and
network controllers for automatic configuration and troubleshooting of the network
connectivity.
Specified Technologies Needed to Allow Construction Foremen Remote Access to
Construction Details
            The construction managers or supervisors often need to keep track of the construction
progress and often need to access information such as the quantity of materials used or
required, construction employee relationships, and the levels of construction. However, it
requires network technologies in order to create a link between the construction foremen and
the construction site employees. The host-to-site network provides the required connectivity
for this kind of remote access, where the host computer from the foreman is able to access the
client computer in the construction site. The following technologies are need for this remote
access.
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            First, there is need for an establishment of network connectivity between the host and
the client in the construction sites. This requires the use of public network, the internet
connection, for the remote access. The technologies required for this remote access are
Ethernet or dedicated private lines that allow the foremen to access the information in the
construction sites, as well as enabling the construction workers to communicate with the
foreman. Moreover, the dedicated private lines allow restricted access to the corporate
network of the BLDRS-DC company.
Challenges or Considerations Uncovered from the Research Conducted
            Having a remote network connection can offer challenges, which the organization must
envisage for smooth operations. One challenge that was uncovered was the security of the
corporate network. There is need for effective security measures to be provided to ensure that
access to the BLDRS-DC network is only restricted to its employees and the authorized people.
The organization must develop tough security measures, which include strong encryption to
protect its network from unauthorized intrusion. Moreover, installation of security measures
must be followed by regular system checks in order to identify any weaknesses and take
appropriate security measures.          
Finally, it was discovered that there are various remote access softwares and hardware offered
by multiple vendors. The increasing adoption and use of Smartphones and tablets has
accelerated remote access by employees. This has made it hard for enterprises to offer secure
and easy remote access. Despite the security concerns, the benefits of remote access exceed
the risks. For example, through remote excess, workers become more flexible; it lowers
administrative costs and enables the companies to hire far-flung workers