Copyright © 2013-2014 Curt Hill Components and Artifacts Network and Infrastructure

Copyright © 2013-2014 Curt Hill

Components and Artifacts

Network and Infrastructure

Recall the Cube


Introduction• In this EA3 model there are five

levels• Goals and Initiatives• Products and Services• Data and Information• Systems and Applications• Network and Infrastructure• This considers the components and

artifacts of the Network and Infrastructure


What is this about?• Hardware• The main focus is on the operational

computers and networks that the enterprise owns and uses

• Every piece of hardware comes into view

• Three categories:– Computer– Network– Other computer related – such as

manufacturing robots


Networks

• Networks come in several flavors– Data– Telecommunications– Video

• These used to be completely separate, but are now growing together


Data Networks• Communications mechanisms

between computer systems• Main goal is carry data/information

between systems• Data must be digitized• A Local Area Network is usually

confined to a building• Intranets are collections of close

LANs• Wide Area Networks are

geographically dispersedCopyright © 2013-2014 Curt Hill

Telecommunications• Main goal is voice communications• These are telephone networks• Data may be analog or digital• Public Business Exchange (PBX)

serves a business or local enterprise

• Larger networks are usually public carriers– Baby bells– Cell companies


Video

• Specialized network designed to carry video

• Transmit from producing sites to viewing sites

• May be analog or digital• Public carriers

– Broadcast television– Cable/satellite television


The merger• Telephone used to be entirely

analog as did television• In the latter quarter of the twentieth

century telephones went digital• Broadcast television stopped being

analog in June of 2009• These may now be transmitted over

the internet• ND IVN converted from dedicated

video network to transmission over the internet


Your turn

• How many kinds of networks do we have at VCSU?


Network Pieces

• Every network, regardless of type, has certain pieces

• A connection point– Where end users connect

• External interface– Where this network connects to

others, if it does

• Backbone– The transmission facilities and the

associated hardwareCopyright © 2013-2014 Curt Hill

Artifacts• Network Connectivity Diagram• Network Inventory• Capital Equipment Inventory• Building Blueprints• Network Center Diagram• Cable Plant Diagram• Rack Elevation Diagram• Virtually all of these will be

augmented by text documents


Network Connectivity Diagram

• Show physical connections• What we want to see:

– Various systems– Connections between these– Connections to internet or other WAN– Wireless access points

• Consider the pieces of the next slide’s diagram


Example


Network Inventory• The equipment that makes the

network function:– Routers, switches and hubs– Network printers– Servers

• We want to see:– Description– Manufacturer and model– Internal ID– Location


Audience Participation

• As we have seen before, we often have several diagrams, treating one thing– Example: Network Connectivity

Diagram and Network Inventory

• Why do we need this profusion of documents to describe one thing?


Capital Equipment Inventory

• Similar to the network inventory, but things that are not part of the network– Same types of descriptions

• Capital equipment purchases usually take a different process than incidental items– Usually there is a threshold cost point

• Typically heavy equipment intended to last more than a year or two


Your Turn

• What kind of things does VCSU have that might fit into this inventory?


Building Blueprints

• These are used in planning where new space may be obtained for:– Offices– Storage – Production

• Also important for planning placement of computing and network equipment and cabling

• Like all artifacts, we prefer an electronic version


Network Center Diagram

• Floor diagram of how the machine rooms are laid out

• We want to see a floor plan with the locations of:– Equipment racks– Cooling (if it takes floor space)– Desks and workbenches (if present)


Cable Plant Diagram

• The goal of this diagram is to show network cabling in relation to buildings

• We would like to see– The cable types– Network closets– Computer rooms

• This should distinguish between the three types of networks– Data, voice, video


Rack Elevation Diagram

• Shows the racks within a server room, network center or network closet

• Closely related to previous two diagrams

• These change over time, so should be maintained electronically


VCSU Example

• As of 2013 VCSU maintained this in a spread sheet


VCSU Example


Standards

• Standards is a thread that should pervade the EA process

• A number of technical standards exist in networking

• Each of these should be identified• This will assist the planning

process• Acquisition of new equipment will

be easier when the required standards are known


Security

• Networks should be made subject to security reviews

• The artifacts from this are generally text reports

• These should include:– A security plan– Vulnerability test reports– Recovery plan– Continuity of operation plan


Last word on artifacts• In the presentations on the five levels

of the EA Cube we have seen many possible artifacts that document the enterprise

• This is not the only possible set of artifacts

• In any particular EA different documents and diagrams could have been used

• The EA team determines what to use– This may be modified as they create and

collectCopyright © 2013-2014 Curt Hill

Documents

Copyright © 2013-2014 Curt Hill Components and Artifacts Network and Infrastructure