Bead Bar Network

The following paper will shape the development of a high-level computer network design for the Bead Bar Company. It will consist of the network topology that would be best used, the network architecture, and the advantages and drawbacks that the recommended network would provide to the organization.

The Bead Bar Company has had some difficulty with their business because of the lack of updated technology. In previous years, efficiency has been a problem because the systems used didn’t help them take advantage of the numerous business opportunities that were available to them. With the Bead Bar Company having several locations throughout the United States a strong networking system would be crucial in maintaining the communication internally at all the location for external communication with the stores and franchise locations.

The Bead Bar Company makes it possible for their customers to design their own jewelry by using tools such as wire, beads, and string. The Bead Bar Company consists of three divisions. The divisions are studios, franchises, and Bead Bar on Board. The studio divisions’ responsibilities are to watch over the company’s six bead bar studios. The studio locations are located in New Canaan, Connecticut, two in New York City, one on Long Island, one in Washington, D.C. and one in Boston, Massachusetts.

The franchise divisions’ responsibilities are to sell beading supplies to stores that would like to open their own studio locations. The division also implements the franchisees supply requirements. The franchise locations are located in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Chicago, Seattle, and Miami.

The Bead Bar on Board is a portable Bead Bar designed especially for cruise ships. The company is composed of 15 full-time employees and 20 part-time employees.

Computers are important in the Bead Bar Company because the company frequently processes orders for supplies, and ringing up customer purchases. When the Bead Bar had a paper-based system, they experienced a high amount of human error because they found it quite difficult to keep everything organized. Recommendations were made by consultants to fix some of the problems by purchasing computer hardware, software, and database management systems. Currently, there are 2 notebook computers, 14 printers and 14 personal computers. The personal computers are equipped with standard keyboards, CRT monitors, printers 2.8 MHz processor, 512.8 MB of RAM, CD-RW drives, and 80 GB hard drives. All of the computers use the Microsoft Windows XP Professional operating system. The Microsoft Office Productivity Suite was purchased for employees to do word processing, prepare presentations, and spreadsheets. Some of the employees have access to Adobe PageMaker and QuickBooks. The Bead Bar runs on an Oracle 9i database, which is an enterprise database management system designed to handle the growing needs of the Bead Bar Company. They are looking to form their database properly through a network so their database can function to its full ability.

In order to run a well-organized business, it is essential for the Bead Bar Company have a star topology. The star topology would perform well for the Bead Bar since this type of networking system is extremely reliable and it transmits data quick and efficiently. The star topology, are the central computers or servers that are connected to a central hub that all the workstations are directly connected. All workstations are not directly connected to all the others through the central computers. The