Network Configuration at MKS Instruments

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In this paper we will examine the network configuration used at MKS Instruments. The areas covered will range from the network infrastructure, how it is implemented and how it is used. This paper will also include the technology, hardware involved and a small scale network diagram example.

There are many classes of IP addresses ranging from A all the way to E. Most large scale companies and offices use a Class A IP address schema while smaller locations use Class C. The MKS office in San Jose uses a Class B IP schema. Class B is used for medium-sized networks. A good example is a large college campus. IP addresses with a first octet from 128 to 191 are part of this class. Class B addresses also include the second octet as part of the Net identifier. The other two octets are used to identify each host. This means that there are 16,384 (214) Class B networks each with 65,534 (216 -2) possible hosts for a total of 1,073,741,824 (230) unique IP addresses.

The main location, which is a much larger office, uses a Class A IP address schema. This class is for very large networks. IP addresses with a first octet from 1 to 126 are part of this class. The other three octets are used to identify each host. This means that there are 126 Class A networks each with 16,777,214 (224 -2) possible hosts for a total of 2,147,483,648 (231) unique IP addresses.

The networks are split into two groups. There is a Production network and a Development network. Each of these networks resides on their own separate sub network. The reason for splitting the networks into two is to prevent network overload and slowdowns that would otherwise affect other departments within MKS such as Customer Service or Accounting. The production network involves non-development tasks such as the customer service database, email, the order entry and accounting systems. The development network involves all areas relating to product development. This network covers the server that stores base code, the development system, development tools, software libraries and software builds.

The networks are controlled through use of a router. This router is the only device that sees every message sent by any computer on either of the company's two networks. The router ensures that information doesn't go where it is not needed. This is crucial for keeping large volumes of data from clogging the connections of other departments at MKS.

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