IT6011
Routing and Switching
Project
Course Level: 6
Course Credits: 15
Weighting Towards the Final Grade: 60%
IT6011Project_v2a
ROUTING AND SWITCHING PROJECT
Overview
In this assessment you will work as part of a team to design a LAN for each site of a multi-site company, and implement a prototype of the design in Cisco packet tracer. The design will be expanded upon in subsequent courses of your Diploma in Networking. You will also take part in a Hardware Lab to practise the skills needed for the design and create a journal to document your own individual contributions and understanding of the design concepts implemented by the group.
Learning Outcomes
? LO1: Apply advanced switching techniques to troubleshoot and resolve switching issues
? LO2: Configure VLANs to isolate traffic
? LO3: Apply routing techniques and protocols to implement and maintain networks
? LO4: Analyse and design an IP network to implement an organisational network
Conditions
? It is recommended that you spend around 24 hours to complete this project. This time should be spread throughout the duration of the course.
? The lead tutor for this course will communicate the due dates for this assessment to you. ? You can access all course materials and any other resources you wish to use as you work on this assessment.
? This project assessment is a team and individual exercise. You need to collaborate with members of your team and may talk about your project with other students, but the project outputs must be your own work and the work of your team.
? You will need Packet Tracer to complete the implementation of the prototype network, and software to design the building/network layout for each site, e.g. Visio, Network Notepad (there is a free edition available).
? You will also need a word processor for creating documentation, and a collaboration platform to communicate with your team members. Your assigned tutor must be added as a member of this platform to be able to assess each group member’s level of participation. ? Research any extra information you feel is needed to participate and complete the assessment.
? The work you submit must be your own work.
? You can ask a tutor to clarify the instructions and for advice, but they cannot assist you in completing the tasks required – you must carry out the tasks yourself!
? To be assessed as competent you must satisfactorily complete the assessment by completing the requirements as listed in the assessment marking schedule.
Success Criteria
Total marks available: 86
This project contributes to 60% of the final course grade.
Your performance, and that of your team, must earn 50% or more in each part for you to pass and be assessed as competent for this assessment. The table below shows the pass mark requirements for each part of the project.
Individual Work Team Work Total
Maximum Marks 40 46 86
Marks to Pass
(50%) 20 23 43
Contribution to
Final Course Grade 27.9% 32.1% 60%
Nature of Tasks Competency based Achievement Based
The rubrics are located at the end of this document. Please read them to make yourself familiar with the expectations for this project.
You are allowed a maximum of two attempts. The maximum percentage to be awarded on a second assessment attempt is 50%.
PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS
In the project for this course your team will choose an existing company, or create a fictitious one, and design and build the network for that company. This network will continue to be developed in the Project assessment component of your remaining Networking courses. This project has two components:
Individual Work: The individual part of the project includes a Hardware Lab, a Research Assignment, your Reflective Journal, and a Peer Evaluation.
? Hardware Lab: There are two Hardware Labs in this project and each is designed to be conducted over a single shift of about 4 hours. The labs are designed to be led by a tutor with one to three students participating in the lab. The tasks may therefore be shared among several students, or you may complete them by yourself. The completed lab will be submitted as part of this assessment.
? Reflective Journal: The journal will be used to assess your individual understanding of the overall design and the theory concepts behind the decisions you and your team made. ? Peer Evaluation: At the end of the project you will review the contributions and communication of your fellow team members and they will review yours. Your marks will be calculated as an average of all your team member peer reviews.
TeamWork: Network Structure: as a team you will be assessed on the overall design and implementation of the prototype based on the submitted Cisco Packet Tracer file and the associated documentation. You will also be assessed on the effectiveness of your teamwork.
Scenario
You work for Datacom, a New Zealand IT Services company. Datacom has been awarded a contract for the installation of a network for a new company. The team you are a member of have been tasked with designing, planning and implementing the network infrastructure for the new company.
This project assessment document does not specify the name, location, or layout of the new company or its network. Instead your team is to:
? Select a company by:
o choosing a real world company that meets the minimum requirements specified in this document, or o make up a fictitious company
? Use the organisational structure, name, sites etc. of the company you choose as a model for the new company and its network, or make up your own name, structure, sites, etc. if you create a fictitious company.
Whichever you choose, the company must meet the minimum physical and logical requirements listed in the Requirements section below.
As a group you will design a network for each site of the company, and implement a prototype of your design using the skills that you have learned in this course. Some parts of the network, such as the connection between sites, will be implemented in your next course, IT6012 Connecting Networks. Other network features will be implemented in the Project assessment of later courses in your Diploma once you have learned the further skills required.
Things your team must consider:
? Number of nodes per site, equipment location and cabling requirements
? Configuration requirements for implementing an actual business LAN e.g. organizational structure, traffic isolation, load balancing of traffic, security, redundancy of switching paths, documentation of settings etc.
? All sites will eventually be developed and connected for successful communication to occur between sites [in the Connecting Networks course project]
? The company will require internet access at a later stage [in the Network Management course project]
? Additional switches and routers may need to be added at each site in later stages to support growth in host numbers, and redundancy/fault tolerance in the LAN [in the Connecting Networks course project]
? You should follow best practices, as taught in this course, for securing devices – security features will be expanded upon in future courses [in the Network Management course project]
? Network design should limit unnecessary traffic flow and allow for load balancing of traffic where possible
Requirements
As a team you will need to build the story of the company you will use for this project. You need to decide:
? The name of the company, if you create a fictitious company, or which company to use if you choose a real world company. You will design and implement the network for this company ? The number and location of office sites (at least 2 but no more than 4) and the building/office layout for the company (you will need to make up the layout of each site).
? The number of departments at each site (at least 2)
? The number of hosts at each site (at least 20)
? How router and switch devices will be accessed for management purposes
? The IPv4 network address you will use for all sites (your subnet design should follow best practice, and must conserve address space but allow for 100% growth)
? The number and type of infrastructure devices at each site (at least 3 switches and 1 router) and the topology
? How each device will be uniquely identified in documentation and network plans
? The switching technologies that will be employed in the network and demonstrated in your prototype to support and maintain continued successful communication between all devices e.g. redundant switching paths
? How traffic within the LAN will be load balanced
? Security measures for switch and router access
? The routing protocol you will implement at the LAN sites – this will need to be configured in preparation for connection to the other sites
Additionally, your team will need to decide:
? The collaboration platform your team will use for communication – you must add your tutor as a member
? Who will be responsible for each item of the design and the implementation
? A schedule for your team meetings – you must all take turns at leading a meeting. You will also need to assign a team member to take minutes at each meeting. Team meetings can be held in person and/or by using video/voice conferencing.
? Where and how you will store the team’s documentation and keep track of updates ? How you will share the packet tracer file. You could take turns using it according to a schedule, or each have your own copy and coordinate the copying of the configurations each worked on for specific devices to a master packet tracer file. The startup-configurations of packet tracer devices can be exported and imported, allowing members to work on them in different packet tracer instances, then load them in a master file device.
? Who will be responsible for submitting the final documents and packet tracer file to the tutor, and informing the tutor that your work is ready for assessment
Work as a team to design and develop your network. As a team you will implement a prototype of your design in Cisco Packet Tracer – the .pkt file must be submitted for assessment.
The prototype should contain a representation of hosts for each department (one per department per switch) with all switching techniques and the chosen routing protocol configured.
All devices within each LAN site must be able to successfully communicate. There is no requirement for inter-site connection and communication at this stage – this will be developed in the IT6012 Connecting Networks project.
Team Documentation
As a team you must document all aspects of your design. The information you record needs to be able to communicate all configuration of the devices to any future network engineers involved in network expansion and troubleshooting.
Your team documentation should include:
? Building plan with equipment location for each site (plans must be well labelled for company, site and device location)
? A table of the IP addressing scheme for all sites (information for each subnet must include subnet name, subnet ID, broadcast address and subnet mask)
? Tables listing the name, device model, location, IP address information and configuration items for each device configured, e.g. VLAN information, routing protocol information etc. (one table per device type, e.g. switch, router, PC)
? Tables detailing the communication testing performed to ensure complete communication between devices in the prototype network
Your team must also submit the minutes of each team meeting as evidence of your collaboration.
INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENTATION
You must keep a journal to document:
? Your own participation in group discussions/meetings
? Your individual responsibilities in the project
? Your configuration components
? An account of the group decisions made about the LAN design, detailing each item used/configured and the rationale for choices made (why each item was chosen, its purpose and impact on the network design, why it was chosen over any alternative solutions, and, if appropriate, why certain switching technologies weren’t deployed).
Your journal should address each of the following:(Note – your answers should reflect your ideas and understanding and may differ from your group’s actual implementation)
? Explain the purpose of the switching technologies Port Security and EtherChannel, your explanation should include analysis of the benefits, any disadvantages, and the configuration options for these technologies. Discuss where implementation of these technologies would be most appropriate in your network design.
? Consider the number of VLANs in your network and explain how STP could be best used for load balancing in your network design.
? Explain the purpose and benefits of implementing VLANs in a network.
? Analyse the subnet design used in your network, and explain how this implementation relates to design best practice.
? Consider the routing protocol implemented in your design and provide the rationale or justification of this choice compared to any alternative option.
? Analyse the design architecture or topology of your network and provide an explanation for the choices made.
The journal will be submitted and form part of the individual assessment. It can be in any format, or combination of formats, including but not limited to: written report, blog, video blog, screen recordings of configuration, oral presentation (you will need to provide a copy of your presentation slides or preparation notes and schedule the presentation with your tutor if you are giving an oral presentation).
Hardware Lab
The two Hardware Labs are designed to be conducted separately. Each Lab should be conducted over a single shift of about 4 hours. The labs are designed to be led by a tutor with one to three students participating in the lab. The tasks may therefore be shared among several students, or you may complete them by yourself.
This guide takes you through a series of exercises to reinforce your learning from the material and the Packet Tracer software labs. It also explains the concepts at the same time as showing you what to do.
It is a good idea to do this lab before you do the Practical Assessment. Extra practice of the lab activities can be carried out using Packet Tracer; however, there are a number of commands that are supported by real Cisco IOS but not supported in the Packet Tracer software.
If there is more than one of you doing the lab together, then you can decide amongst yourselves which devices each student will take responsibility for configuring. It is suggested that, where two or more devices are involved in an exercise, one student configures one device, while another student configures the other.
The equipment will be supplied in the lab – if you are missing any item please ask a tutor.
During the labs the tutor may not always be present, but will answer questions or demonstrate how to accomplish certain tasks, where necessary. The point of the lab is for you to practise and learn the concepts/commands that you will need for your Project and Practical Tasks. The detailed instructions for the Hardware Labs are available in the Hardware Lab booklet. This can be accessed through Assessments tab in iQualify. You will need to get this signed off by your Tutor after the lab and submit is as part of the project assessment. The Marking rubric for the Hardware Labs is in the Individual Work Marking Rubric at the end of this document. Made sure you are familiar with its contents before you start the lab.
MARKING FORM
The marking form is attached with this assessment and contains the marks for following parts:
Team Work
? Tutor will assess the group on their overall design and implementation of the prototype based on submitted Cisco Packet Tracer file and documentation [Itemized Marking Scheme]
Individual Work
? Hardware Lab: This is a competency based assessment. Your Tutor will sign off that you have completed the lab. The quality of the work you have captured in your Hardware Lab Booklet will be given a grade. See the [Individual Work Marking Scheme] marking guide for more information.
? Tutor and peers will assess each team member on their participation. [Collaboration marking rubric]. Students must fill in and submit a copy of the Project Assessment Peer Review Form for each member of their group.
? Tutor will assess each member on the information supplied in their journal – this will be used to assess each student’s understanding of the overall design and the theory concepts behind the decisions made [Technical marking rubric]
Submission Instructions
1. Verify that all the tasks have been completed.
2. Navigate to the assessment item in iQualify (Course Home Assessments tab Project).
3. Read the declaration in iQualify.
4. Upload your assessment documentation using upload facility for the Project assessment in iQualify.
? One team member of the group uploads:
? The required evidence for tasks 1 and 2 Team: Network Design and Implementation checklist.
? Each team member uploads:
? The required evidence for tasks 3 and 4 Individual: Individual Contribution, Reflection Journal, Hardware Lab, Project Assessment Peer Review Forms: in the checklist.
? The marking form supplied with the assessment
5. Submit your work.
Submissions not meeting these conditions will be returned to you for attention.
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