The design and implementation of a businesses’ network enterprise can play a major role in the success of that business. This proposal will provide a solution for the Worldwide Advertising Inc. Windows network infrastructure. This proposal will include a solution for WAI’s core IT services, such as DNS and DHCP. In addition we will provide a solution for application services, active directory and file and print sharing. This proposal will also address scheduling and manpower needed for the Windows network infrastructure to run efficiently and successfully now and for the next 2 to 3 years.
Deployment and Server Edition. Windows Server 2012 with Hyper-V will be deployed on all servers throughout the enterprise. Hyper-V will support WAI’s workload, with its expanded support for host processors and memory. In addition Hyper-V will allow WAI to utilize existing servers while still taking advantage of new hardware technology for virtualization now and in the future. Server Core will be installed on all servers for reliability and security. There will be a total of 10 servers for the WAI’s internal network. Windows Server 2012 will allow WAI to manage its entire Windows network infrastructure as a single server in its Los Angeles office, with four servers residing at the New York office. All servers and operating systems will be installed using Windows Deployment Services (WDS). This will allow the deployment of images for WAI’s mixed environment. Multicasting will be used to transmit the images and data and we will create the necessary images using the Image Capture Wizard. This will allow driver packages to be added to the servers and configured to be deployed with the client computers and install image.
DNS and DHCP. For this implementation, we will create a hybrid DHCP infrastructure. There will be a main DHCP server and a backup at the Los Angeles office and relay agents at the New York Office. This will minimize the network traffic between the two offices. We will also implement automatic allocation of IP addresses to help with excessive network traffic. The network layout will include large subnets which will allow for expandability. A split-scope configuration will be implemented to provide fault tolerance. The address range that will be used will be 10.0.0.1 thru 10.0.1.200 and 10.0.0.1 thru 10.0.0.90 will be excluded on the main DHCP server. The split scope DHCP exclusion range is 10.0.0.91 thru 10.0.1.200. The relay agents in the New York office will have a boot threshold configured to make sure that the DHCP clients obtain IP addresses from the local server. This configuration should easily be tested and configured by one administrator.
Active Directory. There will be a main domain controller and backup in the LA office and a Read Only Domain Controller (RODC) in the NY office. The RODC at the NY office will allow the WAN link to run more efficiently. In order for DNS replicated traffic to be processed, Active Directory Integrated Zones will be used. The parent domain will be called WAI.local and the child domains LA.WAI.local and NY.WAI.local respectively. Each department will be setup as an organizational unit, with the OUs group scope being global since this includes all employees at both locations. Permissions will be configured to prevent users from accessing data from departments other than their own using NTFS and shared permissions. This task would require a few hours to implement and could also be done by one administrator.
Application Services. System Center Configuration Manager, will provide remote control, software distribution and OS deployment. The Configuration Manager, will allow administrators to deploy applications to a specific users based on their specific needs. For example, if a user is accessing the network at the office, the manner in which an application is installed maybe different than if the user access the network from home. For this implementation, we will deploy applications through .appx files. This will include Windows 8, Citrix, Microsoft Office 2010 and all department specific applications such as Adobe Standard and SharePoint 2010 to name a few. All applications will have volume licenses and be tested before they are installed on the network. This task can be completed by one administrator.
File and Print Sharing. We will use Microsoft recommendations to implement file services for WAI. Users will be given a home folder for their private files, and access to a shared folder for files that need to be shared.
There will be four servers used for file services, two at each site. This will allow for fault tolerance if the WAN link fails and will allow for WAN traffic to run more efficiently. DFS replication used with DFS namespace and Remote Differential Compression (RDC) will be implemented to ensure both sites have the same data and to ensure that the proper bandwidth is available to transmit files that have been changed. In order to provide convenience and consistent backups, Distributed File Services (DFS) will be implemented as a single unified directory. To increase availability and allow the use of multiple servers, it will be a domain-based namespace.
The shared folders will be named shared and the home folders will be name using user’s account names. The account names will include the first initial of the first name followed by the full last name. If there are duplicate names, the middle initial will be used after the first letter of the first name. If there is no middle initial, a number will be added after the last name. To manage file storage, File Server Resource Manager will be utilized. Users will be given a 2000 MB storage limit. Limits for soft quotas will be set to alert administrators and users when they have used 90% of their allocated storage limit. Shared and public folders will be configured to prevent executable files from being saved. File and print sharing can be easily implemented by one system administrator.
Remote Desktop infrastructure will allow print services. Printers attached to the network will allow administrators to manage the printers and the print jobs as needed. This task can be configured very easily by one administrator.
Storage. The advertising industry uses tons of space to save audio, video and other large files, making storage very important to this organization. I would recommend 20 TB total between the two sites. Storage spaces will be helpful during this process. Storage Spaces allow you to group disk into one storage pool, which will allow you to create virtual disks from the available capacity. This allows you to provision a pool, allowing it to grow as needed. NTFS and GPT partitioning will be used to configure all network drives. A Storage Area Network (SANS) will be configured for bulk storage at the Los Angeles office. We will implement RAID 5. iSCSI technology will be implemented to support the storage infrastructure and because hardware versions don’t use up system resources, we will use hardware versions of iSCSI initiators and targets.
To fully implement and test this Windows network infrastructure, you would need two full-time administrators, utilizing one at each location.
In conclusion a well designed network is essential to the success of any business. Knowing the clients business needs and planning a network that will increase productivity and improve the business overall is essential. I believe this Windows network infrastructure proposal will allow Worldwide Advertising to accomplish its short and longer term goals in an efficient manner.
