Reference no: EM132363210

Assessment - Case Study Research

Learning Outcomes covered:

1. Identify organisational requirements and plan active directory services to meet requirements.

2. Determine requirements for remote network access infrastructure.

Part I (Research Component)

In this part you are required to describe the working principle and to discuss the concepts of directory services and centralised remote management of a network infrastructure.

Task 1

Active Directory (AD) plays a pivotal role in Microsoft Windows based networks. Describe the architecture and features of Active Directory Services, and discuss the relationship between Active Directory Services and the Domain Name System.

Task 2

With increasing popularity of mobile computing, companies need to provide secure remote access to their office network. Describe the Remote Access feature of Windows Server 2012 R2 and discuss, how a virtual private network (VPN) can secure remote access to the office.

Task 3

A core function of any network server is to serve resources, such as files and folders, home directories and user profiles. Describe the process of sharing data on a network, and discuss the differences between share permissions and file (NTFS) permissions.

Part II (Case Study Component)

The company ‘Creative Imaging and Sound Solutions’ has previously been assisted with the acquisition of hardware. Creative Imaging and Sound Solutions has grown substantially and now operates in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. In order to support the different branches, Senior Management has decided to implement an Active Directory Services based network infrastructure.

Your role is to prepare a plan for the implementation and set up of Microsoft Windows based servers, employing Active Directory Services.

Task 4

Design an Active Directory Services based network infrastructure for this company and create an implementation plan for your network design.

The following requirements need to be met:

1) A forest with the domain name ‘ciss.co.nz’ needs to be created.

2) The following three child domains are required:

a) auckland.ciss.co.nz

b) wellington.ciss.co.nz

c) christchurch.ciss.co.nz

3) DNS servers and DHCP servers are required for all domains.

4) Users should be provided with a managed and centralised data structure (Home folders).

5) Users should be able to receive a unified user experience, when using different desktops.

6) Users should be able to share files between different departments, such as the department for development, implementation, sales, marketing, accounting and the senior management.

7) Users need to receive different desktop settings depending on departmental requirements.

Describe your implementation plan in detail and explain, how the requirements can be met employing Windows Server technologies and Active Directory Services.

Task 5

For testing purposes of your design, you need to create a user manual for your IT technicians that explains the installation and configuration of Windows Server 2012 R2 acting as a domain controller. Detail this process with a step-by-step guideline, describing the installation of the Windows Server operating system with the required roles and features as well as the desired configurations.

The following requirements need to be met:

1) Prepare two disk partitions (volumes) with a storage size of 32 GB each.

2) One volume shall host the operating system, using the drive letter C:.

3) One volume shall host the user data and home directories, using the drive letter D:.

4) Install Active Directory, a DNS server and a DHCP server (only for the forest ‘ciss.co.nz’).

5) Promote this server to a domain controller for the domain ‘ciss.co.nz’.

6) A sample organisational unit (OU) ‘Development’ needs to be created.

7) A sample user ‘Robert Stuart’ needs to be created.

8) A sample group ‘Implementation’ needs to be created.

9) A sample home directory for user ‘Robert Stuart’ needs to be created, using drive letter H:.

10) A sample roaming profile for user ‘Robert Stuart’ needs to be created inside a hidden share.

Create a user manual that details the required management tools and describes the necessary configuration steps for the above ten outlined specifications.

Task 6

Your design was a great success and ‘Creative Imaging and Sound Solutions’ is very happy with your proposal. However, some staff need to access the Active Directory Services based network infrastructure from outside the offices, for instance when they meet with clients at their premises. Senior management has asked you to explore secure remote access options to the company’s network, while staff is working from remote locations.

You decide to use the built-in features of Windows Server 2012 R2 for setting up remote access to the company’s network. You prepare a plan to set up a VPN network and secure it with Active Directory Services based resources.

Describe the configuration process in detail, including a clear guideline regarding the required roles and features of Windows Server 2012 R2, the specific management tools and the necessary configuration steps for setting up a secure VPN connection. In addition, specify the configuration of the staff’s laptops required to use the VPN network.