Overview
Each student will create a detailed, organized, unified technical solution given the scenario described below. The submission will be in a written format, with at least one diagram to show the network sites layout with associated AD domain name or names and a table for each site’s server listing. It may include additional diagrams, charts, or tables. The assignment is meant for students to enhance their mastery of the material and to provide a creative and realistic way in which to apply knowledge from this course.
Scenario
Opening Windows, referred to as “OW,” has hired you as an IT consultant for their Windows network services infrastructure. OW is a new advertising firm. They have hired staff, are established in two locations, and have a need to get their internal IT services configured. They have an IT staff, but they do not have the in-house expertise to address their current infrastructure needs.
You are required to supply OW with a solution which addresses the integration and configuration of their Active Directory updates. Cost is not a significant concern – OW wishes to implement the “right” solution to address their acquisition of a new company and its Active Directory Forest which is comprised of a single domain. More specifically, OW is based out of Houston, TX and they have a Windows Server 2016 domain that is operating at the Windows Server 2016 functional level. They recently acquired Media Guru Group which is based out of Richmond, VA, which has a single domain Forest running Windows Server 2012 Domain Controllers (DC) and Windows Server 2012 functional level.
There are several details about OW which will have an impact on your proposal:
• OW has a total of 110 employees in their Houston and Richmond sites. Each department will have individuals at each site.
o Executives (5 in Houston, 4 in Richmond) – manage and run the company
o Accounts and Sales Department (30 employees with 15 in Houston and 15 in Richmond) – perform market research and maintain accounts
o Creative, Media and Production Department (49 in Houston) – advertising
o Human Resources and Finances (12 employees in Houston) – perform HR and financial duties
o IT (5 in Houston and 5 in Richmond) – manage IT for the company
• Networking equipment (routers, switches) is already in place for both sites, which are separate Active Directory Domains.
• Security mechanisms (e.g., firewalls, intrusion detection) will be handled separately, and there is no need to describe them.
• Some departments will want their data to remain private from other departments (e.g., Finances personnel will not want Production staff to see the company’s financial details). You may make assumptions about how data should be shared or kept private.
• Assumptions can be made regarding any information not included here; all assumptions should be identified, however.
Assignment Requirements
There are specific requirements for the assignment: The final submission should contain at least 7 pages worth of text written by the student (not counting title page, images, diagrams, tables, or quotations), but may not to exceed 10 pages worth of student-supplied text. With the required diagram, table, and other images, title page, etc., the final submission may end up being more than 10 pages in length. It must be double-spaced, have 1-inch margins, and use 12-point Times New Roman or 10-point Arial/Helvetica font. A title page is required.
• On the bottom of cover page, state the number of AD domains used in the design and their domain name or names. Below is an example.
Number of AD Domains used: _ Domain Name or Names: __
• At least one diagram must be included (not counted towards the minimum length described above) to show the network sites layout with associated AD domain names. You can optionally add more diagram for describing AD components, DHCP/DNS design, or anything else that is worth displaying graphically to enhance the reader’s understanding of the proposal.
• Table for listing of servers on each site is required. You must provide the server name with their roles, FQDN, Physical/Virtual. You can add more columns if you need to:
Below is just an example, you need to come out with your own table contents.
Site Server Name FQDN Server Roles P/V
Houston DC1 DC1.OW.com Domain Controller Physical Server
Houston FS1 FS1.OW.com File/Print Server Physical Server
Richmond DC1 DC1.MGG.com DC/DNS/DHCP Virtual Server
….. ….
• The submission must cover all of the major topics outlined in the “Topics to Cover” section. Each choice should be explained with technical and business reasoning. The solution should be reasonably detailed. Additional topics may be covered as desired.
• The structure of the final submission is somehow flexible; however, it should be organized logically and represent a single, unified solution. It is required that the format to include separate sections with its own title for each of the topics required, as well as a summary section in the end.
• At least three non-textbook, non-LabSim, non-Wikipedia reference is required; preferably, this would be a “best practice” guide or content from Microsoft or an experienced provider of Microsoft solutions.
• The submitted paper needs to be in the MS Word or Adobe PDF format and with naming convention “LastName_FirstName Windows Paper” as the file name. Please keep all contents with diagrams and tables in one single file for submission.
• Be sure to properly quote or cite any sources used. APA format is required for in-text citations and the list of works cited at the end. It is expected that you are already familiar with UMGC’s “Policy on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism.” It is available in the Academic Policies section of the Syllabus. In its simplest form, if you are using text from a source, you must cite and/or quote it. Do not just Cut/Paste. If plagiarism is found, then there will be a penalty to the grade or the paper will not be accepted.
• The paper must be submitted to LEO Assignment by the due date. LEO is now integrated with TurnItIn. The student does not need to submit to TurnItIn.com.
• Please check the Rubric for paper grading criteria.
Topics to Cover
Your document should cover the content presented in the course. The outline below contains recommended points to cover. You are free to add other related information. Describe the technical and business reasons for each choice, citing other resources as appropriate. The Windows Server 2016 should be used for all aspects of the solution.
The topics include:
(1) Active Directory Infrastructure
• Describe features of Windows Server 2016 that will allow OW to integrate the newly acquired company’s domain into their existing forest. Do not include the features that will not be used in the design.
• How will Forest Functional Levels be implemented?
• How will cross-forest trusts be implemented?
• How will Active Directory replication be handled?
(2) Active Directory Core Design:
• What Forest/Domain model should OW implement? How many domains will be used in the design? What is the domain name or names?
• Where the Domain Controllers should be placed? Should RODC be part of the consideration?
• FSMO Roles placement
• Plan for AD backup and recovery
(3) Active Directory Certificate Services
• Will AD Certificate Services used in both sites?
(4) Active Directory Rights Management Services
• What use of AD Rights Management Services can be implemented?
(5) Active Directory Federation Services
• How AD Federation Services will be implemented?
(6) Group Policy:
• Is Group Policy needed?
• What settings might be considered via Group Policy?
(7) Secure Data Access:
• What mechanism is used to protect the data access between departments?