Ndas

Preliminary Assignment: NEXT-DAY AIR SERVICES This case study is referenced throughout the recommended course text “Business Data Communications” (Fitzgerald, J. and Dennis, A.; 10ed Wiley International Student Version). It concerns a fictitious firm, Next-Day Air Service (NDAS). The questions posed do not have one unique solution. There are too many options when dealing with LANs, WANs, MANs, BNs and the Internet, so a realistic network design and development problem can have several workable answers. The purpose of the preliminary assignment is to introduce students to the kinds of problems confronting those introducing ecommerce infrastructures in business situations. As with any real-life problem with ambiguities or unresolved considerations, you must make your own assumptions but be sure to provide adequate justification for any recommendations you make. Background: NDAS was founded in1985 to compete in the expanding market for overnight package deliveries. NDAS provides local pickup and delivery of these parcels and other small freight items. The founders initially restricted their efforts to the rapidly growing central Florida region of USA. To support its operation, NDAS purchased a facility near the Tampa International Airport. This facility consisted of a main building and a secondary building for dispatch and fleet maintenance. Because NDAS intended to expand its services throughout the south eastern United States, this facility also served as NDAS’s corporate headquarters. Between 1985 and 1992, NDAS experienced very rapid growth. As business volume increased and the company’s reputation became firmly established, expansion of the facility became imperative. Consequently, NDAS purchased land adjacent to its corporate head quarters so it would have room to relocate both the maintenance shop and the company’s vehicle parking lot. In addition, NDAS tripled the size of its building to accommodate its growing business. Finally, in1994, NDAS completed the