404AZ Infrastructure Architecture and Design Concepts CW2 Assignment Brief | CU

404AZ  Assignment Task

Scenario:

TrekGear Innovations, a prominent UK-based outdoor equipment retailer specializing in high-performance climbing gear, has experienced significant growth due to its successful foray into the e-commerce sector. With their online presence attracting a larger audience, TrekGear is encountering challenges in managing their increased digital operations effectively. 
Their current setup includes hosting the online store on a dedicated server at their headquarters, supported by an infrastructure comprising SQL servers for transaction processing and customer data, an Active Directory Domain Controller, a Group File Server, and a Plesk Webserver running the e-commerce site. The rise in online traffic and transactions has led to bandwidth constraints and server overloads.

Given the limitations of their existing IT infrastructure, TrekGear is interested in exploring elastic Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solutions to adapt dynamically to fluctuating traffic and avoid the pitfalls of traditional server scaling.

Active Directory Requirements

Users will need to be placed into appropriate Active Directory Organizational Units and Groups they currently have the following:

• Admin Group: This group would have administrators who need limited access to Active Directory to enforce and monitor group policy at the domain level.
• File Server Admin Group: This group would have users who need access to manage and maintain the File Servers.
• General Staff Group: This group would contain all other users and would have restricted access based on their roles.

Infrastructure Requirements

• Deploy a managed database service to replace their existing SQL Server databases for their website and staff records.
• Implement directory services in the cloud. This should replace their existing onsite Active Directory Domain Controllers being mindful of the above requirements and ensuring enhanced reliability.
• Replace the Group File Server. Your solution should be scalable, durable, and available.
• Implement DNS, load balancing and autoscaling for their website (DNS can be local to your network you do not need to purchase a public domain).
• Deploy a VPC and subnets for different components such as the web servers, database servers, Active Directory servers, and file servers, taking advantage of availability zones.
• Ensure NAT is used for private resources to be able to access the internet if needed.
• Evidence configuration of Windows and Linux Servers

Your Task

Infrastructure and Presentation (75 Marks Available)

• Create your prototype infrastructure addressing the above requirements
• During your presentation showcase your designs and demonstrate your prototype infrastructure showing all functional components, and explain the cloud, network and active directory design principles underpinning your implementation
• Engage in a technical discussion with presentation attendees (Your tutors) surrounding and how you have met the infrastructure requirements, enhancing security, availability, and reliability.

Reflective Report (25 Marks)

• Write a 1500-word report discussing and reflecting on the developed architecture and appropriate usage of design techniques and industry-leading technologies used to complete the given scenario. You should reflect on the different opportunities that usage of a cloud-based infrastructure solution may have over traditional methods and what impact this may have on infrastructure requirements, enhancing security, availability, and reliability.

404AZ Learning Outcomes

The Learning Outcomes for this module align to the marking criteria which can be found at the end of this brief. Ensure you understand the marking criteria to ensure successful achievement of the assessment task. The following module learning outcomes are assessed in this task:

1. Apply knowledge of hardware involved in infrastructure design.
2. Demonstrate and comprehend the usage and principles of cloud infrastructure within a wider business environment.
3. Design solutions to infrastructure requirements, enhancing security, availability and reliability.
4. Demonstrate how infrastructure should be designed, developed, tested and maintained.
5. Reflect on the different opportunities that usage of a cloud-based infrastructure solution may have over traditional methods.