Monday, 19 March 2018

Week Seventeen - Bug Fixes and Final Review


Bug Fixes and Final Review


When I returned to visit the company on the 18th March, they all seamed very happy with the system that they now had. They found that the shared area that all the staff could access was very accessible for all, the system was easy to use and they were all happy with having their own desks, own computers and fully working wireless network.

Some of the problems I had to resolved on my return, They were unsure on how to change the ink cartridge in the printer. Carol wanted to have all programs she used, including website shortcuts adding to her desktop. Carol also said that the mouse didn't always do what it was told, after giving Carol a mouse pad, the issue was resolved. Mrs. Carter asked if that Penny and Shirley could be given access to the Client Data folder in the shard Google Drive area, this is now been completed. Windows updated sometimes takes a while and slows down the machine while performing downloads, I have altered the settings to only download new updates once and week instead of once a day.


Feedback from the staff -
"I love the new system, everything is so fast and I am able to crack on with my job as soon as I arrive in the morning."

"Having my own PC has made working more efficiant for myself and other members of the team."

"Thank you for all your help, once I have learnt to use the computer i'll be having plenty of fun."

From Mrs. Carter
"Marcus has done an absolute smashing job, during the planning, ordering and implementation of the system, Marcus has been consistent with the interaction and clarity of his work and the tasks he is carrying out. All members of the team and myself are extremely happy with the final outcome of the system, it has improved our working methods and increased our daily functionality. We are proud to have worked with Marcus and will gladly have him back to work with us anytime.

Tuesday, 13 March 2018

Week Sixteen.Four - Testing of System and Applications


Testing of System and Applications


Hardware testing.





Software Testing.




Security.



The testing stage has now been completed, all systems are live and working without any issues. I will continue to monitor over the next week and plan to come back to fix any bugs in the system.

Monday, 12 March 2018

Week Sixteen.Three - Configuration of Software and System Applications


Configuration of Software and System Applications


Creation of Accounts

All the accounts for the system have now been created along with there designated permissions, this is to prevent the standard users from altering any security, windows features or application settings.  


Configuration of Google Drive

The settings I have set up for the shared Google drive, will enable the staff to access the resources within the three folders. This will be providing that the user as the appropriate access rights, now although this is not as secure as managing accounts and permission setting in Active Directory, this method is ideal for a small team and they prefer not to have a complicated system. 



Configuration of Anti-Virus & Firewall Settings

Windows 10 have its own built in Anti-virus and firewall security system, this is called Windows Defender. As you can see above, I have configured the settings for the best level of protection for a business of this size. The firewall is enable to monitor all in-coming and out-going traffic and the Anti-virus to protect the machines from becoming infected with a virus.

Configuration of Windows Update

Windows update has been scheduled to work what best for the staff, downloads of updates and installs have been set for lunch time everyday and restarts have been enabled for the end of the day if required. Windows updates are ran to updated any old drives, check for security patches and fixes. 

Sunday, 11 March 2018

Week Sixteen.Two - Installation of Software


Installation of Software


For this task I will be installing the operating system Windows 10 onto the three machines the company has, the licenses have already been purchased and the Windows 10 64-bit CD’s have arrived. The first step will be inserting the CD and booting to the Disc.




For this task I will be installing Microsoft Office Professional 2016 onto the three machines the company has, the licenses have already been purchased and the Microsoft Office digital download has been sent to myself. The next step will be installing the software.




For this task I will be installing all the free, open source software that Mrs. Carter has requested. That software is: Java Plug-in, Google Chrome, GIMP, Shockwave and Adobe Reader. The final install required was a Printer driver install.




For this task I will be installing the Printer Driver and related software. 





Saturday, 10 March 2018

Week Sixteen - Installation of Hardware


Installation of Hardware


For this task I will be installing all the hardware, this will include the three Stone machines the company has, the three Iiyama monitors, keyboards and mice, HP printer, cabling and Wifi adapters. To start, I will be working with the layout document I made along with preparing all the hardware. Then I checked over the room again for safety, making sure nothing was left switched and no objects were in the way that could cause a hazard, I did this by carrying out a risk assessment. Noting all the dangers and numbering the dangers from 0-4, 4 being the most hazards, fortunately, in the space i was working in, all risks were reported as a 0. This gave me the go ahead to proceed with the installation of the hardware.




Implementation of all hardware went ahead as planned, I have no issues with the hardware not working. It was important for me to ensure the safety of all the employees by making sure all cables and power leads where safely hidden out of the way, this reduced any risk of the staff tripping over the leads. 

I was very satisfied with the final installation of the hardware, linking back to the layout and design I had in mind for this room, it all came together and the staff were very happy with the final result. 


Thursday, 8 March 2018

Week Fifteen - Last Checks Before Network Implementation


Last Checks Before Network Implementation


The pre-checks that I will be carrying out before the network implementation are:
- Check with Mrs. Carter to make sure I am clear to go ahead with the install
- Final check to make sure all hardware equipment has arrived and working
- Final check to make sure all software has arrived
- Prep the room for install (will be checked on the day)
- Making sure the environment is safe to work in (Health and Safety checks)
- Make sure all hardware has been PAT tested
- Final prep for all equipment for the day of install



email sent from by myself -> 9/3/18



email sent from from R. Carter -> 9/3/18


All of the checks above, excluding the Prep the room for install task have now all been completed. Myself and the team at the Piano company are now ready for the date of implementation (10.3.2018), they have agreed on the project timeline and are aware of the computer downtime they will endure during the implementation. 

Any last considerations and concerns have been addressed to myself and Mrs. Carter including:
- Will I lose any of my current data? As the company use a shared Google Drive account for storing files and documents, No data will be lost.
- How long will the install take? I plan to take three days to complete the install of hardware, software and testing.
- Is there any support? I will be coming back a week later to fix any errors or bugs in the system, after that I wont be supporting the system.
- Will the new system be faster? Your current computer is a has a duel-core processor with 4GB of RAM, the new computers have an i3 Processor with 8GB of RAM so yes, you will see an improvement in computer speed.

Week Eighteen - Conclusion

Conclusion I think its pretty fair to say that over the last few months, my project of first finding a business that required a small off...