IT/Eng

Programme: HND Computing

Student Name
Assignments Titles 9.1: County Colleges Network
Andrew Parfitt
Assessor Internal Verifier M Tawafig

Unit Grade Awarded

Unit Title Grade Awarded
D M P R
Communication Technology

Common Skills Assessed Grade

1 Manage own roles and responsibilities
2 Manage own time in achieving objectives
3 Undertake personal and career development
4 Transfer skills to new and changing situations
5 Treat other peoples values and beliefs with respect
6 Relate to and interact effectively with individuals and groups
7 Work effectively as a member of a team
8 Receive and respond to a variety of information
9 Present information in a variety of visual forms 
10 Communicate in writing 
11 Participate in verbal and non-verbal communication
12 Use information sources 
13 Deal with a combination of routine and non-routine tasks
14 Identify and solve routine and non-routine problems
15 Apply numerical skills and techniques
16 Use a range of technological equipment and systems
17 Apply a range of skills & techniques to develop a variety of ideas in the creation of
new/modified products, services or situations
18 Use a range of thought processes 

Assessor Comments

IV Signature (if sampled) Date IV

Comments
 Assessment Briefing Sheet
Unit Title: Communication Technology Assessor Andrew Parfitt

Assignment Title: County Colleges Network Assignment Ref. 9.1

Submission Date 02/04/04 Date Received
M Tawafig
IV Signature Date IV 25/02/04

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria to be covered:

Outcomes Assessment criteria
1. Evaluate the • determine the acceptable quality of a video or speech link over
performance of communication channel of a given bandwidth
communication systems • specify acceptable and desirable network performance for a
range of different users and applications and the means by
which it is measured
• calculate and justify the cost of the trade-off between
acceptable and desirable network performance specified above
• distinguish between user’s perceived and actual business needs
• specify systems for improving performance.
2. Analyse the impact of • describe the factors affecting the introduction of
communication communication network
technology • prepare SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threat)
analysis of a proposed communications network for a specified
organisation or no-IT literate management.
3. Describe and evaluate • evaluate the cost network implementation
the cost and security of • calculate the probaple impact, in terms of costs, time to recover
communication systems and loss confidence, following failure of a network
• describe the major threats to a network and measures to protect
against them.
Grading Criteria:
Distinction
The criteria for merit must be met. All aspects of strategy completed with excellent explanations
and evaluations showing insight and thorough understanding, and with well-written documentation
in clear concise English
Merit
The criteria for a pass must be met. Show range of research into current communication and
strategies Producing well-documented, designed working programme.
Pass
you should specify technically competent and dependable communication strategies for the given
scenario. A range of reading/research materials should be used and specified
Common Skills Assessed
Skill No. 9 10 12 18
Student Comments
 Unit 9: Communication Technology
Assignment 9.1: County Colleges Network
Scenario
There are five colleges in a county area interested to be connected into a WAN. This will
enable them to:
•Communicate with each other using videoconferencing, email etc
•Specify access to each others Web site to enable the sharing of teaching materials using
Powerpoint, multimedia, video/audio etc.
Students should be unaware of whether they are connected to their local or another college.
They should be able to access the WAN from home as well as at the college.
One college is to implement a LAN to:
• Connect all staff machines which are currently standalone in 15 different staff rooms spread
across 3 buildings which are no more than 100 metres apart.
• Connect four different student resource rooms: 2 are 10Mbps Ethernet, one is 100Mbps
Ethernet and one is not networked.
• Provide an intranet for students and staff to use.
• Give students access to the Internet using a local HE provider's JANET system.
• Develop a Web site to advertise courses, provide enrolment and teaching materials, for
assessment and to gather feedback.
The aim is to produce a communications strategy and specification for the WAN and LAN outlined
above.
Task 1:
College managers have had experience of video conferencing and want to implement it between the
five colleges for regular meetings. These are primarily discussions but may include viewing charts
such as individual timetables.
Video Conferencing, of course, requires the transmission of both moving images and voice signals.
a) By using the requirements of a standard telephone call and those of conventional moving
images displayed on a television screen in terms of the bandwidth required, calculate the
apparent requirement of a near perfect video conference link.
b) Given that video conferencing was designed to operate over basic rate ISDN links, it is clear
that some clever technologies had to be implemented to reduce the amount of data but retain a
certain quality. These might be categorised into;
• Raw binary compression techniques with the help of mathematicians and their ways of
compression
• Manipulation of the source sound and image data with the help of biologists and how they
understand the response of our senses so that unnecessary data van be removed
• Clever assumptions about the actual data in terms of what needs to be transmitted often and
what can be transmitted less frequently
• The quality of the result that the users need and think that they need in a college
environment
For each of these categories explain the techniques applied in order to reduce the bandwidth
requirement.
c) If all the above were applied to an absolute minimum standard, estimate the bandwidth required.
d) If improvements on the minimum really had to be made, choose the areas to improve and
estimate a realistic bandwidth.
In each case quantified estimates are required.
e) With a fast Internet connection between the colleges a separate BRI ISDN link may not be
necessary. Research current methods of implementing both Voice over IP (VoIP) Multimedia
over IP (MoIP) and videoconferencing equivalent facilities over a TCP/IP connection under the
following headings:
 • Bandwidth required
• Companies offering the facility
• Type of service offered in terms of quality and additional services such as data Cost
Task 2
• Show how the 5 colleges may be linked together and with the Internet.
• Show how the following could be arranged:
o a LAN configuration of a typical floor
o how the floors are connected
o connection to the Internet
All the above will require money! By breaking the entire network into components parts, find a
cost for the complete enterprise.
• evaluate the cost network implementation
Task 3
Before work begins and money is spent the college will need to prepare a SWOT (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. Take on the role of the college manager in charge
of the network project and produce such analysis. In preparing this analysis you need to note the
following:
• the factors affecting the introduction of communication network
• The cost of a major breakdown in the network lasting, say, three days
• A college wants to allow students to access the network from home and possibly to allow them
ISP facilities. List the hardware and software that would be needed to make this possible in
terms of servers and security.
• The college has an idea that such a network could be used to produce an income for the college.
List various ways in which this could be possible along with rough estimates on the sort of
revenue that might accrue.
• describe the major threats to a network and measures to protect against them.