IT 212 Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

In Milestone One, you will:

Given the provided scenario, explain the key considerations (must-haves) and constraints of the networking project at the �rm’s new location.

Then make a well-reasoned recommendation of local area network (LAN) topology.

Scenario

You work for an advertising �rm with of�ces in Albany, NY, and Spring�eld, MA. The of�ces in Albany serve as the headquarters.

The Albany headquarters is home to the executive team and 150 employees. The headquarters also stores the corporate data and is the corporate internet backbone. It hosts the IT

department that centrally manages all LAN services, including the wireless LAN. The IT department also manages the wide area network (WAN) that connects all of the of�ces via site-to-site

virtual private network (VPN) tunnels. The Spring�eld of�ce hosts about 50 employees. Approximately 50% of these employees are mobile, de�ned as traveling more than 80% of the time.

To hire and retain the best talent, the �rm allows employees to work from home. This removes the constraint that employees have to live within commuting distance from the �rm’s of�ces.

Remote and mobile employees are provided access to the corporate network via a VPN client. The VPN client requires employees to have access to reliable internet services to allow for

effective collaboration across teams and for access to media content. The company provides all employees with a laptop with full disk encryption, data loss prevention (DLP), and antivirus

software. The IT department manages all corporate laptops and has the ability to log into all systems for support. This means that all laptops are centrally managed by the one IT department.

Due to an increase in opportunities for expansion to new markets, the �rm has embarked on an initiative to hire and train new college graduates for the company’s Future Vision program.

Future Vision focuses on global expansion. The initiative is to hire graduates into the marketing, �nance, and IT departments. You were hired as part of the Future Vision program and have

been working at this for some time now. You have spent a considerable portion of your time troubleshooting and analyzing the organization’s computer network to keep it running smoothly.

Your direct supervisor and lead network administrator have been very impressed with your skills and fast learning abilities.

To determine whether you are ready to take on more responsibility, you have been asked for your input regarding the new Fayetteville, NC, of�ce setup project. Your task is to conduct

research on this area and deliver a report to the team with key considerations and recommendations for the setup of the network infrastructure. The Fayetteville of�ce will be home to 50

employees, including the new executive vice president of sales and marketing. All the possible sites have of�ces located in an of�ce building with access to �ber, cable, and T1 internet service

providers. In addition to the standard network, the site must support live video teleconferencing calls with employees based at the other sites. It must also reliably send print jobs to billboard

printers located in the company headquarters in Albany.

Your primary task is to respond to these questions:

How would you approach designing the network at the new location in Fayetteville, NC?

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7/18/24, 1:22 PM Assignment Information

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What considerations are key in informing the systems and resources necessary to meet the organization’s needs and support the business goals and objectives?

Keep in mind that this milestone contributes to the �nal project for this course. It is designed to help you succeed in �nalizing the project. You will complete two milestones that provide the

opportunity to draft key sections of the project, receive valuable feedback from your instructor, and submit a �nalized report for the �nal project in Module Seven.

Speci�cally, your report should include the following:

Key Considerations: Summarize the key considerations of the project, being sure to identify your chosen location. For example, what are the must-haves? What are the constraints? In

this section, you will:

Determine the appropriate communications media and mode of data transport for the new network.

This could be an opportunity to explain the OSI stack in relation to a modern communications network.

Identify the common network hardware components for this new location.

Describe the important IP range considerations for a company of your size.

LAN topology

Describe possible LAN topologies that could be used at the new location that support the desired architecture.

Compare the identi�ed LAN topology possibilities based on their relative strengths and weaknesses in regard to support practices.

Based on your comparison, determine the appropriate LAN topology for this location to allow for optimal support practices. Be sure to explain your reasoning.

What to Submit

Your work must be submitted as a 1- to 2-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to

APA style.

Milestone One Rubric

Criteria Exemplary (100%) Pro�cient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Key Considerations Exceeds pro�ciency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner

Summarizes the key considerations of the project at the new location

Shows progress toward pro�ciency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include determining the appropriate communications media and mode of data transport for the new network

Does not attempt criterion 20

Criteria Exemplary (100%) Pro�cient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value

LAN Topology: LAN

Topologies

Exceeds pro�ciency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner

Describes possible LAN topologies that could be used at the new location Shows progress toward pro�ciency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include a comparison of the possible LAN topologies and why certain ones have potential over others

Does not attempt criterion 20

LAN Topology: Strengths and

Weaknesses

Exceeds pro�ciency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner

Compares identi�ed LAN topology possibilities based on relative strengths and weaknesses in regard to support practices

Shows progress toward pro�ciency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying speci�c strengths and weaknesses of possible topologies

Does not attempt criterion 20

LAN Topology: Optimal

Support

Exceeds pro�ciency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner

Determines the appropriate LAN topology for the new location to allow for optimal support practices

Shows progress toward pro�ciency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include emphasizing the strengths of the chosen LAN topology to demonstrate that it will provide optimal support at the new

location

Does not attempt criterion 20 Articulation of Response Exceeds pro�ciency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner

The submission has no major errors related to grammar, citations, spelling, syntax, or organization Shows progress toward pro�ciency, but with errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, negatively impacting readability

The submission has critical errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, preventing understanding of

ideas

20

Total: 100%

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