PC Log

Server PC
PC ID:
Serial Number: 8B98W2J
Server Name: btecit_wonderland

Hardware:
Component Details Installed/Present
Processor Intel 3.40 GHz 64 Bit
RAM 2 GB

Hard Drive 80 GB

Drive CD/DVD-ROM Drive

Computer with keyboard and N/A

mouse
Ethernet cable N/A

Monitor N/A

Software:
Type of Software Type Installed/Present
Operating System Ubuntu 14.04 LTS x64

Comments:
 All hardware in the computer is present/connected
 Input/output devices connected
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 A command line version of the Ubuntu operating system was installed
o LTS version was installed with no graphical user interface (GUI) packages
o Graphical user interface needed to be downloaded GUI downloaded later in the
practical
 Ethernet cable was not corrected properly at the start of the practical  cable later connected
o Ethernet connection and internet connection working; using Ethernet port 38
o Internet address: inet 10.12.88.183
 Used ping to check internet connection
 Packages not installed on operating system due to no internet connection
o Packages downloaded after internet connected
 nano/etc/apt/sources.list
 Used packages to download Unity GUI for the Ubuntu operating system
 Unity GUI installed successfully
  Server operating system failed to load session once Unity GUI installed

Client PC
PC ID:
Serial Number: 8B98W2J
Computer Name: sparks-OptiPlex-745

Hardware:
Component Details Installed/Present
Processor Intel 3.40 GHz 64 Bit
RAM 2 GB

Hard Drive 80 GB

Drive CD/DVD-ROM Drive

Computer with keyboard and N/A

mouse
Ethernet cable N/A

Monitor N/A

Software:
Type of Software Type Installed/Present
Operating System Ubuntu 14.04 LTS x32

Comments:
 All hardware in the computer is present/connected
 Input/output devices connected
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 Client PC was running a corrupted version of Windows 7 that was then replaced by the Ubuntu
desktop operating system
 Ubuntu 14.04 LTS x32 operating system was installed onto the client PC successfully
 The operating system was set up successfully
 Virtualbox was downloaded onto the computer and used to set up a virtual network
o Network could not be configured as the server was not set up successfully
 4 standard accounts were set up with for the clients with usernames and passwords
o Username: Client(number)
 E.g. Client1
o Password:Cli3nt(number)p4ssw0rd
 E.g. Cli3nt1p4ssw0rd
Network Configuration
Overall Network Configuration
The network we created was for a pharmaceuticals company with offices across England, Wales,
Scotland and Ireland, with the main office being in England. Our network was designed for a main
building with 5 floors and 3 satellite buildings.
The network that we designed was a client-server network arranged into a star topology. Each floor in
the main building had a bus topology with multiple small star topologies branching off (tree topology).
Each bus topology was connected directly to the server in a star topology.
The 3 satellite buildings each has their own small server that was connected to the main server via a
VPN (virtual private network) connection. The virtual private networks extend the private network
used over the internet so that the satellite servers can communicate with the main server. Like the
main building, each satellite building has a bus topology connecting all the smaller star topologies in
the building.
This is the network configuration diagram of the devices used in the network:

Cat 5 Cable
VPN Connection

In this diagram it shows the main server in the center of the network. On the left of the diagram it
shows the 3 satellite server connected via a VPN connection. Connected to each server is an 8-port
switch that connects the 16-port switch and the desktop PC’s to the server. On the right of the server
it shows the 5 8-port switched that are used on each floor to connect the 16-port switched and desktop
PC’s to the server.

Assets on the Network

This network has many assets which are configured to meet the needs of the users of the network. The
network uses naming conventions to identify each asset in the network; making identifying assets and
searching for accounts easier. The assets in the network include:
 Main Server
 Sat1 Server
 Sat2 Server
 Sat3 Server
 16 Switch Hub
 8 Switch Hub
  Desktop PC’s
The main server in the network is the central asset in the network and connects the Sat servers, Switch
hubs and the desktops. The main server is used to centralise the network, connecting all assets in the
network. The Sat servers control the data passed out to clients in the Satellite buildings and
communicate with the main server via the VPN when necessary. The 16 and 8 switch hubs are used to
filter data packets and connect all the desktop PC’s to the network.

Network Configuration of the Assets used in the practical

In the routine maintenance practical, we built a small section of the network. We built part of the
Satellite 1 building - the Sat1 server and one of the smaller star topologies (4 computers) that branch
off the main bus of the Satellite 1 building.
Satellite 1 Floor Layout
This is the part of the network we built.

Main
Server
Server

In the practical Virtualbox was used to create a virtual platform where each client can use a host
operating system to communicate with the centralised server PC; this meant all the client accounts
were could be connected to the server PC over a virtual network without the need to be connected via
cable.

Client PC Client PC

Server
PC

Client PC Client PC
Issues with the installation process
Server Issues
While installing the server operating system we encountered several problems:
 Command-line Ubuntu operating system was installed
 No internet connection prior to operating system installation
 No packages were installed when the operating system was downloaded
 Wrong Ethernet cable connected to the PC
 Without packages we could not download a GUI to use
 Unable to log onto the administrator account once the GUI was installed
Our first issue was that a command-line version of Ubuntu was installed. This meant we had to
manually enter commands to load and run the graphical user interface version of Ubuntu. Whilst trying
to load the Ubuntu GUI, we found that we had forgotten to connect the Ethernet cable and set up the
internet connection prior to following the set-up wizard. After successfully entering the commands to
connect to the internet, we found that we had not installed the packages that load the GUI. Without
the necessary packages, we could not enter the commands into the operating system that would revert
the operating system back to a graphical user interface. We entered the address
‘gb.archive.ubuntu.com’ so that we could download the packages we needed. Again, there was the
problem that we had connected the wrong Ethernet cable resulting in the group having to reconfigure
the internet connection with the new cable. Once the server was connected to the internet, we could
download all the packages we need and load the Unity GUI.
After the GUI was installed, the login screen came up. When we tried to log onto the administrator we
found we had forgotten the password and could not log on the administrator account ‘abbey’.

Client Issues
Whilst there were a few issues installing the client operating system, there were not as many issues
that the server had. These issues were:
 Windows 7 had been previously installed on the PC but had become corrupted
 Ethernet cable was connected to the wrong Ethernet port at the start of the practical
The PC that we were using to set up our clients had previously been using the Windows 7 operating
system, at the beginning of the practical we encountered a few problems when trying to replace this
operation system with Ubuntu on a USB. Sometime during its last rebooting sequence, the Windows 7
operating system had become corrupted. We followed the each option that the computer suggested -
such as running Windows in safe mode – but the operating system failed to load. Due to this problem
the computer had some problems recognising and loading the Ubuntu operating system which we
wanted to use. When we eventually were able to get the operating system working, we found that we
had connected the Ethernet cable we were using to a port that had no Ethernet connection.

How issues were rectified and if not why

Server
Firstly, to resolve the issue of installing a command-line version of Ubuntu, we researched the
commands we would need to enter to bring up the GUI. Whilst trying to enter the commands we found
that we had installed the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS operating system which does not come with a graphical
user interface. This means we had to download a GUI package from the Ubuntu archive. But, this issue
could not be rectified straight away as we needed an internet connection to access the Ubuntu archive.
To connect to the internet we plugged the Ethernet cable into the server PC and connected it to the
correct Ethernet port. We then entered the necessary commands to connect to the internet using the
‘eth’ command and connected to the internet. To ensure that we were properly connected to the
internet we used the ‘ping’ command to ensure the TCP/IP is working. Once the internet had been
connected, we were able to download the necessary packages from the Ubuntu archive -
gb.archive.ubuntu.com. After the packages were installed we were able to locate the Unity GUI and
run it.
To rectify the logon problem, we brought up the recovery mode settings and selected the ‘root’ option
to reset the password. We then reset the password and restarted the computer. We were still unable
to log in. we brought up the recovery screen again and entered ‘sudo passwd’ which brought up a
screen showing us what options we had that would allow us to modify the password, we then reset the
password again. In the end, we found there was a problem with the version of the operating system we
were using and we reinstalled a different version of the operating system.

Client
To resolve the issues we faced, we firstly decided to change what secondary storage device we were
using to install the new operating system – we used a CD-ROM instead of a USB. Using the CD-ROM to
install the operating system proved more successfully as the computer could read this easier and in the
boot-up menu it allowed us to load the operating system. We then followed the setup wizard and
successfully installed the new Ubuntu operating system. During the setup wizard, it displayed a
message saying that Ubuntu would load faster if it was connected to the internet which was how we
found that we had not correctly connected to the internet. We then located the source of the problem
and changed what Ethernet port we were using.

Software/Hardware needed to be complete

To complete this practical, a new operating system for the server to use needs to be downloaded as
the previous operating system failed to work. Once a new operating system has been installed, then
the Virtualbox software needs to be installed so that the server PC and client PC can be connected
together and configured into a star network topology.