A systems engineering plan for providing external communications connectivity to a small company

This project addresses the issue of providing external electronic communications capability via the Internet to a small company with an existing Local Area Network in place. A contractor will assist the company in deriving system requirements, evaluating various technologies and design alternatives, creating the network architecture design, and finally implementing and testing the complete system. The systems engineering lifecycle is followed, with the results of the first phases of conceptual, preliminary, and detail design presented within this report. Additional phases of the project, such as implementation, test, and training are beyond the scope of this project and are therefore described and scheduled but not executed. Project management takes place throughout all phases.

The goals and requirements of the AmeriClean corporation lead to a network design which integrates a combination of commercial components into a system which builds upon the existing communications infrastructure. The addition of a dedicated Internet access line, the security of an Internet firewall, and hardware and software which provide access to Internet applications provide enhanced capabilities while retaining the look and feel of the current Windows NT LAN. A balance is achieved between providing ease of use and administration, and providing advanced technological capabilities which improve AmeriClean’s business position in the marketplace.