Wilke Environmental Group, a large organization that provides environmental services such as water quality monitoring and geological surveys to businesses and government agencies across the nation, seeks your help in designing its corporate WAN. It plans to completely replace its legacy hodgepodge of connections and services. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the firm also has large, regional offices in Seattle, Phoenix, and Boston. These offices need a way to exchange e-mail and large files. About half of the firm's 300 engineers and technical specialists work from home at least part of the time and need fast and reliable connections to their regional offices. The IT manager makes it clear that the environmental services business is booming and so you should not necessarily seek economical solutions. Describe at least two suitable WAN technologies for each of Wilke's two connectivity situations: office-to-office and home-to-office. Which options do you recommend above all and why?

Wilke's IT manager appreciates how clearly you explained each WAN connectivity option. The firm has decided to implement nearly everything you recommended, including T1s and T3s connecting all the regional offices and broadband DSL connections for every employee who works from home. Before the firm solicits bids for equipment and carrier services, the IT director asks you to sketch a simplified network diagram, with each type of WAN link labeled. He also requests that you identify, for each link, the kind of medium it will use and provide examples of the equipment necessary to complete each connection in an office and at an employee's home.

Now that Wilke Environmental Group's WAN upgrade is in full swing, the IT director realizes that not all employees are sufficiently skilled to install their DSL routers at home and connect their workstations so that they can access the company's Web-based applications and storage. Some are complaining about the slow speed of their connections and have asked why, if a fiber-optic cable runs underground right along their street, they can't have a fiber-optic connection to their home. Others are outraged that their telephone service has been iffy since the DSL line was installed. With dozens of questioning, if not angry, employees, the IT director identifies the need for some training. Explains in simple terms how DSL works. It should address employees' questions in a brief list of questions and answers. It should also include a diagram of how DSL service is delivered from a carrier's facility all the way to an employee's computer, with each part of the connection labeled. Finally, it should offer three links to other references that employees might find helpful.

Your employer, XelPharm, is a large manufacturer and distributor of generic, over-the-counter healthcare products. Its main campus consists of three buildings within two blocks of each other. Each building houses approximately 200 employees, including those in the following departments: Administration, Accounting, Research, Legal, Quality Control, Order Fulfillment, and Production. In addition, XelPharm owns a large distribution warehouse approximately 4 miles away from the headquarters. Until now, its networks have relied entirely on wired connections. The company's CIO (chief information officer) decided long ago that he would wait until wireless technology "settled down" before investing in it. What can you tell him about the wireless standards that might convince him that now is the time to adopt wireless technology? Also, what can you tell him to convince him that wireless networking could improve the company's productivity? Which employees could make best use of wireless connections and how? In what type of situations would all employees benefit from wireless networking?

You have persuaded XelPharm's CIO that wireless networking would benefit many of the company's employees. However, he requests that you plan the network carefully and begin with a pilot network before migrating hundreds of clients to use wireless technology. You decide to begin with a pilot network in the distribution facility. The distribution facility is 200 feet long by 120 feet wide. It houses 45 employees during each shift, all on the same floor. What is your first step in planning the pilot network? As part of your later planning, draw the network, including the quantity and optimal placement of access points. What pitfalls, some unique to this environment, are you careful to avoid? What wireless standard do you recommend and why?

The time has come for XelPharm to expand. The board of directors has purchased another warehouse for a second distribution facility. It's located in an industrial area, about 8 miles from the company's headquarters. Unfortunately, fiber-optic cable has not reached this area, and given the numerous obstacles to digging, it would be prohibitively expensive to install. What type of long-distance, high-throughput wireless technology do you recommend to connect the headquarters with the new distribution center? List the benefits and drawbacks of this type of connection compared with a T3 over SONET connection. Also list the type of equipment each location would need to make your wireless solution work. Research the cost of purchasing and installing this equipment and compare it with the cost of leasing a T3 over SONET.