Activity 1
In any network design, one of the main factors to consider is the number of clients served by the network. The number of clients is what forms the backbone of the network to be designed and the amount to spend on the project. The coverage of the network also dictates the best type of cable to use in the network so as to ensure that the project is both economical and efficient.
Taking into account the specifications of the network to be designed, the cabling required is a mixture of both the optic cables, coaxial cables and UTP cables. The design of each of the four cities should be similar in structure and components though may require some modifications due to geographical factors.
For each of the four cities, there is a hub which acts as the point of data transfer between the city’s network and the outside network. From the hub, there should be a number of routers which helps in intra-network communication in the city. The routers should be connected to switches. Switches act as IP storage devices since they play a basic role of DHCP which minimizes the number of IP addresses assigned in a network or sub network (Starbenz, 2006).
Each switch is located in a satellite site and communicates with the router using a coaxial cable. This ensures that the satellite sites communicate at adequate speeds (Starbenz, 2006). The domain controllers may be DNS (domain name servers) and each sub network contains 2-4 domain name servers which help in adapting the clients to internet protocol with ease. Within each sub network, the components are a switch, DNS servers, hubs and clients.
Communication within city network is enabled by the routers. The routers are configured such that if a router fails, alternative paths of data communication are available. The advantage of using a router instead of a bridge is the ability a router to enable communication between networks even if they operate in different layers while bridges allow communication only if the two networks operate in the same OS layer (Starbenz, 2006). For intercity communication of the clients, an optic cable is the best. This ensures fast and efficient communication link which will impress the clients.
Activity 2
The public hotspot which I have connected to is a WLAN. This is because the area of coverage is relatively small (radius of 200 meters from the transmitter). The other aspect that makes it a WLAN and not a WWAN is the security level (Starbenz, 2006). So as to access the internet from this network, you must be allowed by the network administrator who gives you a password. The network is therefore private.
Reference
Starbenz, T. 2006. Network architecture and topology. Penguin publishers
