The Case Study

Company Name: Anzac Airport

Anzac Airport is a small private airport which provides passenger and freight services for local clients and businesses. Anzac Airport must be compliant with all commonwealth and state laws and regulations regarding airport facilities and operations. The organizational structure of Anzac Airport consists of three departments which support five areas of operational activity: Administration, Information and Technology, Security, Finance, and Airport Operations.

The Information Technology team is under the Information and Technology department. They currently spend 80% to 90% of their time dealing with a constant stream of desktop support issues.

20XX IT Budget

Staff salaries and professional development $230,000

Hardware purchases $140,000

Software Purchases $140,000

There is some flexibility in this budget but the overall budget of $510,000 for the year must be met.

Responsibilities of the Information Technology department

• Internet access

• Wi-Fi

• Voice over IP

• Local Area Networks

• Desktop computers in administration offices

• Video conference facilities

• Corporate information systems: Payroll, Email, Personnel, Records management

• Security – physical and systems

Current Configuration:

• There are no servers, only peer-to-peer networks

• Wired LAN is 10/100 Ethernet with an ad-hoc topology

• The storage of files on staff computers is unstable and unreliable

• The desktop computers in the admin areas have several different operating systems installed

• The company pays an Internet service provider to host web services

• Staff members use email rarely; all mailboxes are at internet sites such as Gmail

• The internet works for admin staff only. Wi-Fi is used by IT staff only

• One member of the IT team has been experimenting with VOIP but no implementation yet

Business Needs:

• The CEO is concerned that the old technology is costing them money and has decided that it is time to upgrade

• The IT Manager has stated that the company wants to introduce a Microsoft LAN for administration staff and customers

• Full wireless integration

• On-site web and email services

• Web services and network administration to run on a Intel/Linux server

• Directory services and email to run on an Intel/Microsoft server

• An additional $20,000 has been allocated for network improvements

• The IT team has been asked to devise a strategic plan for growth of the IT infrastructure

• The new IT infrastructure must be based on clearly defined business requirements

Technical Requirements:

• The clients are currently using a peer-to-peer network design which needs to be replaced by an up-todate Ethernet client/server network

• Many staff members complain that the peer-to-peer network is too slow, the network needs to be more reliable

• The CEO has stated that she wants ‘State-of-the-art’ technology on every desk

• The company has purchased a new software package for running accounts receivable and accounts payable which needs to be made available to members of the Administration and Finance departments

• Error messages on desktop workstations suggest that memory and disk upgrades are needed

• All Microsoft operating systems on both servers and workstations need to be upgraded to current versions

• The proposed server & network must be agile and redundant (easily recoverable – think server clustering)

• Linux servers are to be introduced into the network and fully integrated so that Microsoft and Linux systems can share disk resources

• Single-sign on authentication must be configured so that anyone logging on to the network will be able to access both Microsoft and Linux resources.

Company Policies:

1. Anzac Airport’s commitment to professionalism, ethical practices, equity and social accountability implies a duty of care in relation to the use of information resources. Finite resources are applied to information facilities, and their use for business purposes must not be diminished by use for other purposes. Anzac Airport also values its reputation, including that which is conveyed on information networks. Therefore we are committed to procedures which:

a. monitor the quality of information on computer networks

b. make users aware of company policy on the use of information resources

c. lead to action arising from such monitoring through as appropriate. Misuse is dealt with through performance management and/or staff misconduct processes, depending on the nature of the breach in question.

d. routinely logs network activity and may use this information to investigate faults, security breaches and unlawful activity

2. Members of the Information Technology team are responsible for:

a. data quality - accuracy, integrity, cleanliness, correctness, completeness, consistency and timeliness;

b. data security - control of access to data sets to known individuals, and monitoring of the data's subsequent exposure as it flows through corporate systems and records;

c. data standards - ensuring compliance with relevant laws, government and regulatory standards and any policies and standards imposed internally;

d. data management - definition of the authoritative source of data and of the data to be provided from that source, and ensuring that duplication of data is kept to a minimum.

3. Members of the Information Technology team are to monitor and evaluate business processes to ensure that these are consistent with best practice principles for data management, and are responsible for approval of the 'rules' which are used to determine user access to information resources and services (though this approval can be delegated to another officer in the business area).

4. The company will endeavour to align IT operations with specific business goals and objectives, company vision, and long term strategies.

5. The company will apply standards in their use of technology to assure ease of support and the effective application of hardware and software to core systems.

6. The procurement of technology will be based on a comprehensive assessment of vendor offerings. All purchases in excess of $2000 must have at least 3 separate vendor quotes.

Assessment 1 task 6 – Troubleshooting and site related issues

Task 6 is the final stage of the server deployment. This is essentially an extension of task 5 (testing), and is intended to familiarize you with the process of testing and troubleshooting followed by more testing and troubleshooting until all tests consistently produce the expected results without anomalies. Task 6 also addresses site related issues such as WHS, consultation, and site access.

In preparation for task 6 you will need to:

• Refer to action plan from task 2 to confirm that your test plan addresses the original business requirements

• Refer to the test plan from task 5 to make sure that all necessary tests are done until all problems have been resolved.

For task 6 you are required to complete the following activities:

1.Apply troubleshooting tools and techniques including network diagnostic utilities, and problem solving methods:

a. Examine the evidence

b. Use a process of elimination

c. Use known good components

d. Consider the usual suspects

e. Beware of problems with multiple causes

2.Test each component multiple times under different conditions to identify hidden anomalies. For example:

a. Does your DHCP service deploy dynamic address to hosts and static addresses to the Servers?

b. Are file resources accessible to allowed users but inaccessible to disallowed users?

c. Does your firewall scan email attachments as well as files in the file system?

d. Does Active Directory have user objects for all users and groups, and computer objects for computers?

e. Is there a secondary DNS service running for redundancy?

f. Have you tested it?

g. Have you assumed the role of a hacker when testing security settings?

h. Update the test plan to reflect configuration changes and additional tests that have been made.

i. Formalize the test plan into a report that shows:

a. server configuration

b. operational changes

c. current server status

3.Address site conditions and consultation requirements.

4.Draft an email to key stakeholders requesting feedback on requirements for the server and requesting signoff to proceed with server installation.

5.Compose a risk assessment focusing on WHS considerations

a. Electricity hazards

b. Lifting hazards

c. Cabling and furniture hazards

6.Draft an email which addresses the following issues

a. to assure access to the site

b. to notify key stakeholders of the downtime

c. to ensure the task is coordinated effectively with others involved at the worksite

d. clean-up and restoration of worksite to client’s satisfaction

7.Prepare an agenda and conduct a meeting to address the following issues (each of these items must be on your agenda). Notify your teacher or tutor when the meeting begins as they will attend. Each of you must participate in the meeting discussion to demonstrate an understanding of the subject matter. You will be expect to participate in the discussion by listening, observing, and questioning to clarify and revise your understanding. You should be able to communicate clearly using appropriate technical language.

i. business problems and opportunities

ii. scope, objectives and budget

iii. confirming details with appropriate person

iv. how the project should be managed i.e. formal project management software etc.

v. assessment of project risks

vi. ergonomic and WHS assessment with risk assessment

This is predominately a practical activity therefore you will be expected to submit screenshots of your various testing activities. The completed work must be observed by your teacher or tutor to show that all testing and troubleshooting tasks are completed.

a.Apply troubleshooting tools and techniques including network diagnostic utilities, and problem solving methods

b.Test each component multiple times under different conditions to identify hidden anomalies

c. Update the test plan to reflect configuration changes and additional tests that have been made.

d.Complete final documentation of system for handover (use the template provided).

To successfully submit your work you must:

Copy the following electronic documents into your Connect dropbox

e. The further various screenshots of testing performed

f. WHS risk assessment performed

g. Draft email to stakeholders re servers and signoff

h. Draft email re access, downtime, etc

i. Meeting agenda and outcomes

j. Updated test plan

k. Final documentation (template) including Exec Sum, all sections, Sign-off of implemented servers, network, security, DR and final costings.