Actual Network In The Houston Office example essay topic

The Network. More or less. Presented By: Nate Gil Date: October 14, 2003 The invention of the network in an office greatly increases the efficiency of the workers. Downtime due to a lapse in communication is (for the most part) no longer an issue. The majority of all businesses have telephones, as well as they are set up with Internet access and email. Businesses have the ability to communicate worldwide in seconds for what use to take months.

And as we progress forward in technology, media transfer will become nanoseconds instead of minutes. The telecommunications and networking abilities or any company must remain active and not fail for the business to remain successful. The Houston office I work out of, and the other offices, are all linked together through the central server in Dallas. We can communicate via Internet, email, or phone; depending on the situation at hand. Unfortunately, like any single server network, if the server crashes then the offices are cut off (in a manner of speaking). The daily reports (operations), accounting reports (Excel), and the ability of email (Microsoft Outlook) are only available if the server is up.

Being the only Houston service office, it is critical that the server be in proper working order, for when it crashes the office is at a serious roadblock. The actual network in the Houston office is set up in this manner: There are three computers and one printer (really high tech). The main computer (mine) act as a mini-server (for the purpose of printing only), that has to be logged into the main server (in Dallas). If the main computer is not logged on to the Dallas server, then the Houston office cannot print any reports, move tickets, emails, or anything else for that matter. If the other two computers are able to connect to the Dallas server, then the office is a little more operational than no computers, but still at a severe roadblock.

Although it is nothing that we are not able to work around, just makes life a little more difficult. As for applications, that is a short story, especially in the sense of networking. The only programs that we actually have to have the network for are the database (which is only accessible through the server) and Excel. Although if absolutely necessary, one can use the excel that is on the main desktop; although that is strictly against company policy. Email is used to communicate details that are necessary (specifics about a particular move, new policies, or updates) or for the purpose of sending a formal communication that needs documentation. And once again, if the server is not operational, then the email is useless.

Improvements, at this point this dissertation is going to sound a little repetitive and boring. The best solution I can provide is to have a network set up in this fashion: Each of the five offices connect to their own individual servers that then connect to the main server in Dallas. This manner would allow the offices to run independently of the main server. That way when the main server crashes, the offices lose no productivity.

At the end of each day, all information is on an auto upload program with Dallas server. A basic diagram is as such (headquarters at the top, each office below with an individual server, and their respective workstations): Improvements, upgrades, and the like are all up to the powers that be. In my office, we can merely make suggestions; sometimes they are seen with approval and sometimes with disgust. Upgrades are always vital in the sense of staying one stead ahead of the game. In the case of technology, for the most part, it is a waste of breath to make suggestions for improvements to the corporate office. Maybe by the year 2010 this company will catch up to the technology of 1995.