Network Implementation - Wbs, Task Flow, and Project Schedule

Service Request: SR-ht-001

Acme Apparel is looking for a network solution that will allow them to share data to their remote location and their corporate staff. They have commissioned a project to create an internal network with 10gbps speeds to the server locally and 1gbps to the workstations from the access layer. The project has a million dollar budget and has a six month timeline.

Background and Statement of Need

Acme Apparel is one of the nation's leading retail chains specializing in Women's clothing. Their corporate offices and distribution center is located in Jacksonville, Florida and they have over 287 stores nationwide that have no real stable connection to the corporate offices.

The problem is that Acme Apparel is still using dial up connections between all locations as a form of data communication and they want to implement a high-speed LAN, WAN to their user environment. Also another issue is distance between buildings at the corporate complex because it exceeds 300 feet between buildings and regular networking technology will not work due to distance limitations. As well as the corporate computers are not on a network at all and if they need to share information they are doing so via dial up connections as well.

By implementing a high speed-network that is capable of having multiple VPNs and the consolidation of equipment the client will be more productive and more secure as they will have the ability to monitor and maintain a constant connection to the stores security, retail, and time clock systems around the clock and they will be able to automate many of the tasks that currently require multiple employees to do and save time and money, which is the measure of success for this implementation.

Project Objectives

The project objective as a whole is to implement a network solution that is both saleable and secure with an uptime of no less than 90%. The budget for the project is $1,000,000.00 and it needs to be completed within 6 months. But in order to do so this project has to be broken into several different manageable tasks which are;

1. Corporate Implementation

* Coordinate with local ISP for data installation and multiple static IP addresses

* Purchase Equipment

(a) WS-C6504-E (Core)

(b) Catalyst 4503 (Distribution)

(c) Catalyst 3560G (Access)

(d) ASA 5505 (for stores)

* Overcome the distance constraints between buildings

* Wire Corporate Office

* Implement equipment and set routing tables and VPN's

* Corporate office's IP Schema will be three separate VLAN segments they will be:

a) Access Layer: 10.251.251.1 to 10.251.251.255

b) Distribution Layer: 10.251.254.1 to 10.251.254.255

c) Core Layer: 192.168.254.1 to 192.168.254.255

2. Store Implementation

* Coordinate with ISP for data installation with static IP addresses

* Send preconfigured equipment to stores

* Coordinate contractors to wire stores and install Cisco Equipment

* Store internal IP Schema is based upon the store number for example

a) A single or a two digit stores IP will look like this 10.0.1.1 to 10.0.1.255

b) A three digit stores IP will look like this 10.1.95.1 to 10.1.95.255

Mission and Goals of Project

The mission and the goals of this project are to complete the project within the constraints provided by Acme Apparel. The guidelines listed below outline the scope of work and what is expected to happen when that scope of work is completed.

Corporate Implementation

This portion of the project is possibly the most complex and time consuming the reason is the constraints and challenges that have to be overcome during the phase of the project. The corporate offices are spread out over an industrial complex and distance is an issue. Regular Cat5 or Cat 6 cable will not work because the distance is well over 255 feet and they don't want to pay for a separate internet connection for each building in the complex and wireless is not a viable option either. Also the CSO wants to use Cisco Equipment for the entire project for uniformity security and scalability reasons. Also at the corporate site the CSO wants the bottle neck of the network to be the connection between the workstation and the switch.

Store Implementation

This portion of the project is just as vital as the corporate implementation but not as complex. The stores need to be wired with Cat 5 from the registers to the ASA located in the backroom the, ISP should have already been at the location by the time this portion of the project is being implemented and once the ASA is connected the rest of the configuration can be done from the main location by the corporate network engineers.

Project Approach

Acme Apparel has a vision and knows exactly what they need to accomplish it in order to obtain that vision. Having a solid methodology to follow throughout this process is important as they know that project success does not depend mainly on the team, but more so, on the methodology that is set in place. "A methodology provides a game plan for planning and managing the IT project and recommends the phases, steps, tools, and techniques to be followed and used throughout the project life cycle" (Marchewka, 2009, p.34). Acme Apparel will hold their project team and most notably their project manager to a strict timeline in order to finish these upgrades by the deadline and in a successful manner. Acme Apparel will use all Cisco equipment to interconnect each location. On the main campus, the buildings will be connected via fiber cables and once inside the offices, CAT5e will connect all workstations to the LAN.

In order to achieve ultimate success, Acme Apparel will use Microsoft Project® to list the timeline in which the project will get done and also state the personnel and their objectives that must be completed. Throughout