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.