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 office network, then creating a proposed project plan and presenting it to the owner. Ordering or hardware and software equipment for the office, then implementing, testing and fixing any errors has been a huge success. Every goal that I had set my self was achieved, I'd found a company that needed my help and enjoyed working with them as this task tested my knowledge and ability of implementing a network, long with the planning which was new and unknown territory for myself.

So the problems I faced during this project, was first finding a company. Without Mrs. Carter coming to me and wanting a network implementing into her office then I would have struggled and may not of been able to even do a project like this. The next problem I faced didn't actually arrive until I was installing the hardware into the office space, I have made a slight miscalculation on the amount of space we had to work with and I had to alter the room layout slightly. A couple of the staff did not have a lot of experience working on computers, so where a tad unsure when I had made computing part of there everyday working life, with some help and support from myself, they felt much more confident working with the new system. The last issue I faced wasn't much of a issue at all, a few times after I had left and finished the project, the team were still getting in contact with me with a minor problems they faced with the printer not always talking to the WiFi. All issues were resolved by using team viewer and remoting into there computer and fixes the problems.

If it was to start at the beginning and completely take on this take again, I would build this network on a domain. The reason I would do this is because it would make managing and creating users more efficient, working with shared folders and user permissions extremely easy as I would have installed a Windows Server and from here Mrs. Carter could've managed all resources and user access writes all on the server and in Active Directory. The reason I didn't go down this option was because of Mrs. Carters IT background, when I mentioned this suggested option to her, she didn't like the idea of servers and felt she would be to confused using the system. Another change I would make would of been to order all of the hardware equipment from one supplier, although all the hardware equipment arrived on time, it would've been much easier to track all hardware if it was to come from the same supplier. Once last thing I would've added and could still be added would be instruction guides on how to user Microsoft office, how to print and any other small technical problems that the staff users are having with the system, just as a guide and to help them with their working day.

So after the work I have done, from the evidence I have provided, it is clear that I have achieved my goal and this project is a major achievement not only for myself but for the staff of Mrs. Carters Piano School. The key for me and the way I judged myself on the success of this task was all to do with the happiness of Mrs. Carter and her staff, from the feedback of the staff and Mrs. Carter, was enough for me to know that I had done a great job and I have made there working day life a little easier.

I'd like to finish by concluding this project with a with a thought that I would love to do a similar task this this again, the experience I have gained in project planning and working along side people from a totally different working industry to myself was a real joy. I had brought a problem solving fix to a company who asked for help, and would happily to it again.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 Fourteen - Software Check & Testing

Software Check and Testing


Windows 10
The Operating system wont be able to be checked until the OS has been installed onto the desktop PC's, this will happen during the installation stage. I can confirm that Windows 10 is compatible and will run on the desktop PC's we have purchased.

Microsoft Office 2016
The Microsoft Office suit wont be able to be checked until it has been installed onto the desktop PC's, this will happen during the installation stage. I can confirm that Windows Microsoft Office 2016 Professional is compatible and will run on the desktop PC's we have purchased.

Open Source Software
All the open source software (Adobe Reader, Java, GIMP, Shockwave, Chrome) wont be able to be checked until it has been installed onto the desktop PC's, this will happen during the installation stage. I can confirm that all of the open source software is compatible and will run on the desktop PC's we have purchased.

Week Thirteen - Purchase of all Software

Purchase of all Software


This weeks mission is purchasing all the software from the suppliers. Once purchased and delivered or downloaded, all software will be tested over to make sure the licenses are working and the software run without any errors.

The three Windows 10 64-bit Professional licenses along with the CD with the operating system on have now been ordered, The estimated delivery time is 2-3 working days.

The three Microsoft Office 2016 Professional licenses have now been ordered, I have also download the software and copied the files onto a CD.

The other software requested by Rosie Carter is all open source, meaning that it is free to download, no ordered required for software (Adobe Reader, GIMP, Shockwave, Chrome & Java).

Week Twelve - Hardware Check & Testing

Hardware Check and Testing


This week all the hardware equipment arrived on-time, the plan is to now go through all the devices and make sure that they are working. If anything is not working or faulty, it is to be sent back to the company the item came from.

After completing all the testing on the hardware equipment, the results shown that all equipment worked without any faults. This means nothing needs to be sent back to the supplier, we are now clear to proceed with the ordering of the software.   

Week Eleven - Purchase of all Hardware

Purchase of all Hardware


This weeks mission is purchasing all the hardware from the suppliers. Once purchased and delivered, all hardware items will be checked over to make sure the equipment is working.

So the order has now been placed for the Stone desktop computers from Cavalier Computer Services in Leicestershire, estimated delivery time is within 3-5 working days.



Order has been placed for the HP DeskJet from Curry's PC World, estimated delivery time is within 2-5 working days.

The final online order of three Wireless USB adaptors have been ordered from Amazon.co.uk, the order is scheduled to be here for the 7th of Feb. 


The last remaining hardware items I purchased using the company debit card, all purchases are listed below:

4 way extension lead x2 - Curry's - £5.99 x2 = £11.98
500 Velcro cable tidies - Argos - £12.99