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

Week Ten - Pre-Purchase Planning & Prep

Pre-Purchase Planning & Prep

During this week and in this current blog, I will be checking the agreed purchases with what Mrs. Carter requested, making sure all system are still available and ready to be dispatched on purchase. 

So the chosen desktop PC's (Stone i3-4130) will be in-stock and ready for delivery as I when I need them, three will be ordered on the hardware purchase date. After talking with Mrs. Carter, we have agreed that it is best that I order the additional Mice and keyboards, as well as the Monitors, it makes more sense to keep the orders down to a minimal, we are also saving money.

After speaking with Curry's, they have a large amount in stock of this item. One will be ordered on the hardware purchase date, again after talking with Mrs. Carter, she has agreed to order an extra Tri-colour and black ink for the printer. Delivery time for this item, looks to be around 1-2 working days.

Three of this item again will be ordered on the purchase buy date from Amazon, using Prime, I expect the item to arrive the next working day.


Additional Items such as Power leads, extension cables, cable ties and mouse mats will be purchased out of petty cash when I go to Curry's.

Week Nine - Purchase Timeline

Purchase Timeline

The purchase timeline is a personal timeline I am going to set myself so I make sure that my hardware and software purchases arrive before the implementation begin date in March. 

1.02.18 - Pre-purchase planning and prep. On this date I will be checking the agreed purchases with what Mrs. Carter requested, making sure all system are still available and ready to be dispatched on purchase. 

5.02.18 - Purchase of all hardware. On the 5th I will be purchasing all hardware for the network.

6.02.18 - Purchase of all software. On the 6th I will be purchasing all software for the network and any additional products necessary.

??.02.18 - Confirm all products have arrived without damage. This day will be a quality control day, as and when the items arrived hence the date not being set. On arrival, Item will be checked for damage or for any missing parts. 

Once I have passed the purchase timeline control, this means I'll be ready for the implementation of the network. I felt adding this timeline is important to show that I have used initial checks throughout the buying process, displaying professional and confidence in my ability to succeed when I begin.

Week Eight - Project Timeline

Project Timeline

So now we know what Floor plan, hardware and software we plan to use in the project, I can now begin to plan out the project timeline. In the planning stage I will include the implementation dates, software installation dates, configuration dates and testing phase. 

5.01.18 - Implementation planning discussion with Mrs. Carter. Now as you can see from today's date, my discussion with Mrs. Carter has already taken place.  We went over again my plan and the duration it would take to complete, I draw up a time line and she picked a date when she was away so the company will be at it's quietest time. We dotted that up as the 10th March 2018, by this time I would have had needed to purchase the software, purchase the hardware and come up with my own game plan of how I was going to achieve building this network. We then decided the time frame of the implementation, between March 10th and the 13th I plan to have all systems up and running and a live network in place and then finish the final day on the 18th with an overall system check, any problems to be resolved and final review from Mrs. Carter.

10.3.18 - Installation of hardware. My plan for the installation of hardware will be to first take a look at the floor plan so I can go over what will be installed where, I'll begin with the setting up of the PC's, monitors, keyboards and mice etc... Then the printer. As this will be new equipment, this first day will be set for un-boxing and making sure all the hardware is working\tested so in case anything needs to be returned to the supplier.

11.3.18 - Installation of software. Day 2 will be installing the Operating system (Windows 10), Windows updates, Office applications, Printer drivers, and any other additional software. 

12.3.18 - Configuration of software and system applications. This day will be spend configuring the email groups, security settings, making sure the printer is set up and working to all PC's, and anything additional that needs considering.

13.3.18 - Testing the system applications. The final day of the week will be used testing all the applications, making sure any errors, not working applications, security settings are all put into place and I am overall happy with the implementation of the network.

18.3.18 - Bug fixes and final review. I will be returning a few days later to answer any questions the team has, fix any problems or errors and to receive a final overview of my work from Mrs. Carter and to make sure she is 100% satisfied with my work.

The project timeline for the implementation of the network is now complete, next week I will be creating my own timeline for the purchasing of equipment and software for the project.

email sent from R. Carter -> 8/1/18

Week Seven - Software Quotations

Software Quotations

My task this week was to find some overall quotations and costings for Mrs. Carter on the software side of things: she has asked for Windows 10, Office suite and anything else that I feel would be necessary. 

Operating System: Windows 10 Professional 64-bit

Office Suit: Microsoft Office Professional 2016

So after finding out the quotes for the software we will need to carry out this project, I sent me results back to Mrs. Carter and then she chose the following...

Operating System: Windows 10 Professional 64-bit - She was happy with the price per unit, I had explained that I like this version of Windows and she was happy with the final cost.

Monitor: Microsoft Office Pro 2016- Mrs. Carter was impressed with the pricing even though it wasn't the most cost effective at the time, she like that it was just one payment of £75 and that was it.

Other software I recommended was open source software that would perhaps help with the day to day running of the business and would be useful to the company.

Free open source software:

email sent from R. Carter -> 13/7/17

So now we have the software and hardware sorted for the project, this is great because now I can sort out my timescale and when we can get the implementation started. Next week I will be creating a project timeline and liaising with Mrs. Carter to see when is best for the hardware to be installed.

Week Six - Hardware Quotations

Hardware Quotations

My goal this week was to find some overall quotations and costings for Mrs. Carter, because she had now hardware whats so ever I had to get costings for three computers, monitors, mice, keyboards, printer and any further accessories, the main focus of this was the costings for hardware.

Computer: Stone Desktop i3-4130 3.40GHZ, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD

Monitor: Iiyama ProLite E2083HSD-81 20" LED DVI Monitor 

Printer: HP DeskJet 2620 All-in-One Wireless Inkjet Printer

Keyboard & Mouse: Advent C112 Keyboard & Mouse Set

Wireless Adapter: TP-Link Archer T1U USB Wireless Adapter AC 450, Single-band

So after finding out the quotes for the hardware we will need to carry out this project, I sent me results back to Mrs. Carter and then she chose the following...

Computer: Stone Desktop i3-4130 3.40GHZ, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD - She was happy with the RAM, Storage and Processor compared to the other two machines I had recommended.

Monitor: Iiyama ProLite E2083HSD-81 20" LED DVI Monitor - Mrs. Carter was impressed with the pricing, she wasn't really interested in the size or output of the display.

Printer: HP DeskJet 2620 All-in-One Wireless Inkjet Printer - After looking at the spec of all three printers, Mrs. Carter was happy that the all in one was ideal, it wasn't really going to be heavily used anyway and was impressed with price and compatibility.

 Keyboard & Mouse: Advent C112 Keyboard & Mouse Set - With the Keyboard and mouse, she told me to source the cheapest and most user friendly devices. I found a cheap set from Currys which I has used before.

Wireless Adapter: TP-Link Archer T1U USB Wireless Adapter AC 450, Single-band - Since we only plan to have a small layout I felt that going down a wireless route was important, I told her my intentions and was happy to proceed, with this item again she told me to recommend one and go with it.

So after a week or so of finding the hardware, sending the details to Mrs. Carter and receiving her feedback. We now have a foundation of hardware I can work with, next week I will be looking into and pricing of software.

email sent from R. Carter -> 23/11/17

Week Five - Floor Plan

Floor Plan

So into week five, Mrs. Carter has forwarded me the floor plan for the implementation of the network.

So from the floor plan above, I can now really start to plan the project. You can see that as I enter the room, to the left of me will be the first desktop PC, straight ahead will be the shared printer and behind that is the desk with the second and third desktop PC's. Its a very basic, small layout which will be workable, I will need to confirm with Mrs. Carter about the power outlets in the room and if extension leads will be required.

This weeks plan now will be to start finding some actual hardware to put in this room, I will be going to numerous suppliers and checking prices, specification and usability. From the information I receive from my sources regarding quotes and findings, I will send them to Mrs. Carter and await her feedback.

email sent from R. Carter -> 9/9/17

Week Four - What the Customer Wants

What the Customer Wants

On Sunday the 29th of October I met with Mrs. Carter (the owner of Rosie's Piano School) to discuss what direction she wants her business network to head in, she had some clear ideas and knew exactly what she was after which made this meeting go very smoothly.

Mrs. Carter was a little tight for time so we got straight to business, I went over the topics to discuss: hardware, software, security, plan, costings and installation time. 

Hardware: Mrs. Carter was very keen on having three brand new computers (not laptops), she was adamant on this as she didn't want to risk damage costs. She also wants a shared printer that her employees can have access too.

Software: Mrs. Carter was just interested in making sure her employees have internet access (as that is how her website and business is managed, it is also key to have the Microsoft Office suit installed. One more point she mentioned was having an shared email address they can all have access too, I mentioned that we could have Office 365 which would take care of the Office software and also email.

Security: Mrs. Carter did not know much about security, she was just keen on having an antivirus software implemented to her system. I went over the idea of having shared folders and and security on who can access certain files and resources, she liked the idea but as all employees need access to the same resources, this was not required.

Plan: We went over which room would suit this installation and how the layout could look, she said on this matter "I will have a think and let you know by next week".

Costings: We then talked about the costings and I made it clear with the cost of hardware that the higher spec the model, the higher the cost. Mrs. Carter said that she was looking at spending around £300 to £400 per PC and £50 for the printer. As for my time, I told her that this was for my degree and was happy to charge nothing for the labour.

Installation Time: We talked about when she was happy that the project and the hardware will be installed, I said that I would take me a little time to source the hardware for the best price and software. We agreed that the installation will take place sometime after Christmas.

So after me meet with Mrs. Carter, I now have a clearer idea of what she wants and what direction we can move in, I will now wait on her plan ideas and from that we can begin to move forward with the project.

Week Three - Finding a Company

Finding a Company

So, now that I have my idea and proceeding with the implementation of a network as my project. My next task is to find a business willing to listen to my ideas, allow me to come into their company and start spending their money.

So Monday I decided to create an advert which I could then advertise on social media and take to local business’s, I’ve never been known for being an artist so I kept my project poster brief and simple by creating it in MS PowerPoint.

I then contacted a local computer repair company (Cavalier Computer Services), and asked if they could post my advert on Facebook and twitter. Fortunately, they were happy to do this for me, I wasn’t until Wednesday that I had a response from a local company wanting to invest in some new IT hardware, they also required an emailing platform and printing. The company was actually a piano teaching business that teacher’s pupils to play the piano, I asked why would a teaching company need a small network setting up? The owner replied with… “We also sell piano’s, music and accessories, we also have a payment system we need setting up online, we are currently paper based but would prefer if we could send invoices via email.” I took some notes down of what the owner was after and arranged to set up a meeting for Sunday morning (29^th October 17), in my next post I will be able to update the blog with exactly what the owner of the piano company is after, we will be able discuss costings and time frames.

email sent from R. Carter -> 28/10/17

I later phoned Mrs. Carter to Confirm the meeting for the 29th.

Week Two - Decided Project Idea

Decided Project Idea


Over the past week I have been thinking about which idea I will be using for my project, the three ideas I originally put forward was the game, the website and finally the network. I have narrowed my project ideas to just two, these being the network and the game.

I have decided to not go ahead with the website as I feel it wont be challenging enough, I have created websites in the past and have found them pretty simple. I feel for my degree project that it requires a more in depth solution and this is not that difficult, so this leaves me with two choices.

The game idea is a great opportunity for me to display my design and coding skills, it will require me to create a storyboard of what the game is going to consist of. Will it be a racing, shooter or football game? these decisions can be a hole problem of there own. I would then elect to create my game in Unreal Engine as I have had experience making games in that engine, in unreal I made a zombie game and found this very enjoyable. The only factor I found difficult in Unreal Engine was the AI, creating the blueprint was a challenge and because of this I may chose to use another piece of software.

The network would be a project that really suits me down to the ground, its something that interests me and will challenge me. It will be a real start to finish plan, finding a company, planning a blueprint, price matching and equipment purchasing, installation and configuration of a network and finally testing and fixing the bugs. Out of the three this will be the most challenging and will require putting in the hours, I know I will come across a lot of issues along the way but for me I feel this would be the best option.



Decided project Idea - Network

After some thought and now it has come towards the end of the week, I have decided to carry out the task of creating a network for a business, I have had experience of this in my past projects and have enjoyed working with a companies employees to complete the project. It will be a tough project to complete which is the reason I have chose to build a network, my first task will be to find a company with this desire and is able to funds my ideas. It will be a fun but challenging project, in the next coming week I will be calling round some business's to enquire about my desires implementing a network.