Discussions

Discussion 1: "Topologies"

Please respond to the following:

? Per the text, network topologies are defined both physically and logically. Suppose you had to implement either a full-mesh topology or start topology network on a university campus that has ten buildings. Determine the topology that would you select. Provide two reasons for your choice.

Imagine that you work for a small company with one hundred computers that are not on a network. Your boss comes to you for advice on whether he should implement either a peer-to-peer or client / server network. Recommend one solution for your boss. Justify your recommendation with at least three advantages that your choice would afford over the network that you did not choose.

Discussion 2: "Working with the OSI Model"

Please respond to the following:

? Industry professionals use mnemonics in order to remember the layers of the OSI model. The most popular mnemonic is "Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away," with each capital letter representing the word of the OSI, i.e., Please (Physical), Do (Data Link) and so on. Create your own unique sentence that would help you to remember the OSI model. Provide a rationale for your response.

Consider the seven layers on the OSI model. Determine the layer that you would consider to be the easiest to implement and the layer that you would consider the most difficult to implement. Provide at least two reasons for each of your choices.

Discussion 3: "Ethernet"

Please respond to the following:

? Imagine that you work as a network administrator for a small manufacturing company. The company wants to upgrade its network infrastructure to include 1000Mb switches and 10/100/1000 auto sensing network interface cards in each desktop. Recommend the cabling type that you would use in this network, and provide a rationale to your superiors.

Imagine that your company is using 100BaseTX cabling, and you need to provide access to a machine that is located 400 meters from the switch. Recommend one strategy to accomplish this task, and justify your chosen strategy.

Discussion 4: "IP Basic Concepts"

Please respond to the following:

? Suppose that you work for a company that has been using IPv4 in each of its networks. After hearing a discussion about the differences between IPv4 and IPv6, your boss comes to you for advice on whether or not the company should upgrade each of its networks to IPv6. Suggest whether or not your boss should upgrade each network to IPv6. Provide at least two reasons for your suggestion.

Suppose you work for a small company that has three routers in its network design. Determine whether you would use static or dynamic routing to connect the routers. Justify your response with the key benefits that your choice provides.

Discussion 5: "Securing a Home Network"

Please respond to the following:

? Depending on where you live or go to school, you could have DSL, broadband, or high-speed fiber. Identify the type of Internet access that you use at home or in school. Discuss the pros and cons of the service available within your area. Justify your response.

From the e-Activity, compare the best practices mentioned within the document to the way in which your own network is setup. Determine whether or not you will fix / change any aspect(s) of your current setup after reading about the specific best practices. Provide a rationale for your response.

Discussion 6: "Optimizing Performance"

Please respond to the following:

? Explain three approaches that network administrators can use in order to ensure a fault tolerant network design without a single point of failure. Of the three approaches discussed, determine the single approach that you would recommend for an enterprise network. Justify your choice.

From the e-Activity, examine two strategies for tuning the network adapter of a Microsoft 2008 Server. Determine whether or not you would apply the same strategies to Windows Server 2012. Provide a rationale for your response.

Discussion 7: "Command Line Tools"

Please respond to the following:

? Suppose you are a network administrator and your boss indicates that a budget has been set aside to upgrade the network servers for the entire company. Your boss asks you to recommend whether the company should upgrade the network servers to Windows servers, UNIX servers, or Citrix Servers. Compare and contrast these network servers and make a recommendation for your boss. Provide a rationale for your response.

Per the text, the command-line utilities "ipconfig" and "ifconfig" are used to gather basic information about a computer's network interface on Windows and UNIX respectively. Of the two utilities mentioned, determine the single utility that you would prefer to use to gather and view diagnostic information. Provide a rationale for your response.

Discussion 8: "Maintaining the Network"

Please respond to the following:

? Examine three cable maintenance tools that you would consider essential for a network team. Of the three tools that you have examined, determine the one that you believe is the most versatile. Provide one scenario that demonstrates the versatility of your chosen tool and justifies your decision.

As explained throughout the text, documentation is one of the most critical roles that a network administrator must undertake. Industry professionals commonly use various tools for documenting and diagramming networks (e.g., Microsoft Visio, Dia, WhatsUpGold, etc.). Identify a diagramming tool that you prefer to use, and provide at least three reasons that justify your preference for that particular tool.

Discussion 9: "Network Security"

Please respond to the following:

? As a corporate network administrator the industry standard suggests your job is to maintain the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of all network resources. Choose an attack that affects one of the three areas in question. Describe the attack, and provide one example that illustrates the primary manner in which such an attack could damage a company. Suggest at least one strategy that a company can use in order to protect itself against the identified attack.

Explain three approaches to protecting an enterprise network against malware or viruses. Suggest two security products that one may use in conjunction with one another to help protect network resources. Of the two suggested products, give your opinion of the one that provides the greatest degree of protection for the enterprise. Provide a rationale for your response.

Discussion 10: "Troubleshooting"

Please respond to the following:

? As explained throughout the text, troubleshooting is a structured methodology that requires personal fine-tuning. With that in mind, suppose a user at your company calls the Information Technology (IT) help desk and reports that he / she is unable to log into his / her computer. Explain the primary manner in which you would apply the seven-step method to resolve this issue.

Suggest three key reasons why documenting solutions to network issues is an important best practice. Speculate on the implications of improperly / incompletely documenting the solutions to the network issue provided in Part 1 of the discussion.

Discussion 11: "Course Conclusion"

Please respond to the following:

? You have just completed 10 Parts of an introduction to networking course. Imagine you have been asked to create a one-day training course that highlights the important elements of what you have just learned within the past ten Parts.

Create a hierarchy of no more or no less than five of the most important topics that you believe that a one-day course entitled "Introduction to Networking: The Essentials Presented in One Day" should address. Provide a detailed rationale for each of the five topics.