Kudler Fine Foods Integrative Network Design

Kudler Fine Foods Integrative Network Design: Part 2

NTC362

Kudler Fine Foods Integrative Network Design: Part 2

Communication protocols, or systems of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages between computer systems and in telecommunications, provide a key role on the way communication is conducted in today's society. Without these protocols, many of the things we rely on today, such as the Internet, would be unable to exist in a way in which we would be able to take advantage of.

A communication protocol functions to allow information or data to be sent from one system to another. This data is usually sent over an interconnected computer network such as the Internet, or an office intranet. Two main communication protocols used to transfer data over these computer networks are the Transfer Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which were originally developed by the US Department of Defense to connect a number of different networks designed by different vendors into a network of networks that we know now as the Internet (Gilbert, 1995). In order to provide access to this network of networks, Internet Services Providers (ISP) use protocols such a Frame Relay and ATM.

For Kudler Fine Foods, we have selected the Frame Relay protocol in the implementation of the WAN. The Frame Relay protocol was selected based on its low cost, relative high speed and high efficiency digital data transmissions. The Frame Relay protocol's error handling techniques are very sophisticated and ensure that very little to no congestion occurs inside the network (Bukisa, 2012). In order to meet the requirement for all locations to connect to the network using wireless devices in the service request, we have included the Wi-Fi protocol in the design of the integrated network in addition to the Frame Relay protocol.

In the Kudler Fine Foods network design we are implementing a dual-ring topology in order to easily expand services to locations added in the future and to reduce the number of permanent virtual circuit connections, with an overall result of a faster, more efficient network that includes a secondary hub working as an initial connection point in case of failure at the main hub.

Traffic analysis in a network is useful because it allows us to identify patters in the communications over networks, and from those patterns we can deduce useful information about the health of the network and potential problems. We are able to examine the load congestion that may overload Frame Relay nodes and result in a full network collapse. By analyzing the traffic going through a network and recognizing potential problems, we can implement mechanisms to control congestion and maintain high network performance.

In a computer network, latency can be