IST 220 Group 2 Networking and Website Project

IST 220: Group 2 Networking and Website Project for State College Borough Water Authority

Outline Introduction n Where we Started n 1 st Meeting with SCBWA n Networking Layout n Website Goals & Design n How we Accomplished It n View our SCBWA website n

Group Members & Jobs Jenn – Group Leader n Mike Conners – HTML Design n Mike Rubin – HTML Design n Huy – Assistant to M. Rubin n Varun – Assistant to M. Conners n Jim – Collected Meeting Information n

Where we started Jenn coordinated the group and found out from her former project manager at RBA Professional Data Systems, Bob Hirsch, that their customer, State College Borough Water Authority, needed a Website n Jenn set up the meeting with the three executives, Max, Dave, & Marsha to find out exactly what they needed n

State College Borough Water Authority

Step 1: st 1 Meeting at SCBWA -Introduced group to Max, Dave, & Marsha who are executives at SCBWA - Collaborated ideas of a website with them - Toured SCWA building & networking room

Current Network Layout - LAN (Local Area Network) - Servers: Novell & Unix – uses Informix - Shared File Servers, Printers, and Ethernet Lines - One main Database for billing, customer information, & meter reading info - Network is maintained by RBA Professional Data Systems

Network Servers

Network Servers n File Server: Novell – file & printer sharing capability n Database Server: Unix w/ Informix n Application Server: Unix

Network Hardware & Software n LAN Workstation Software: n Windows-98 Application Software – Utility billing on Unix Machine n n LAN System Software – Novell

Office Software Unix Machine runs utility billing software n Individual Workstations use office software n Executives use Word. Perfect, Microsoft Publisher, Real. World Accounting & Payroll programs n Meter Shop Workstations use special software for to support wireless meter readers, which dumps information into Unix (billing software program) n

Network Topology n n n Ethernet Topology 100 Base-T (100 Mbps baseband medium w/ twisted pair wires as medium) 2 switches Full Duplex: (24 ports) – gives multiple access to multiple servers from workstations Collision access and detection, if two packets are sent at the same time, collision is detected and retransmitted

Topology n n Current Networking Typology is almost overkill for traffic over network because there are not many users (15 or less) Benefits: Network is efficient and effective for their day-to-day needs Security – use firewall which is built into the Internet modem (56 k shared access) – low problems because dial-up & hang up is automatic Intranet only between Executives

Why use LAN? n LAN is used because no remote sites & no data is being transferred n Example: Remote well fields have staff that maintain them, but don’t use PC’s on site, therefore they do not use any electronic form of data transfer

Applications Implemented n Netscape Brower – Instant Internet n Express. It! Email only – Executives Use n Front Office & Meter Office is not permitted to have email access

Proposed Additions for Network from Paper n n Add a Webserver to host new website. Hosting currently provided by RBA Professional Data Systems Change from dial-up to Wireless or DSL for faster Internet speed & allow front office Internet access Could connect all well fields back to central office – must use wireless connection though Enhance their backup planning for remote site back up storage

SCBWA Website

Goals for Website n Inform and Announce to SCBWA customers about the following information regarding their water service n Updates of current water conditions or problems in local areas

Target Audiences n Local Centre County Community, includes communities & townships such as: n State College - Borough Lemont - Benner Pine Grove Mills - Ferguson Boalsburg - Harris Shingletown – Harris College Township n n n

User Considerations n Users will be interested in a very basic web design that is easy to: Download n Access n Read n Navigate n

What the Site Provides to Users will be able to view any information about the SCBWA n How to read their water bill n Rates n Annual Water Quality Report n Posted Board Meetings n Conservation Tips n Frequently Asked Questions n

User Profiles n 80 – 90% of customers use Netscape 4. 0 or higher version n No specific age group, age varies from 18 – 65+ n Most customers in this area have 56 k modems and average technology skills n Reference: www. census. gov

User Pros & Cons Pros of Site: n Easy to read, simple layout, easy navigation n Cons of Site: n Water Quality Reports may take a while to load depending on their modem capabilities n Search options have not been provided n

Steps of project n Collected Data for Website n Created two test Websites n Got final approval from SCBWA n Revised & Finalizing Site

Website Design Ideas n n n n Create an image map with various links to informative pages SCBWA graphics – building, water tanks Advertising water services Address and phone number of SCBWA building Easy to read characters and fonts on all pages Links that are easily found to navigate through pages Color Schemes – white background with blue headers, nothing too flashy, per their request

Step 2: Collecting Data for Website n We collected information that Dave and Marsha had ready for us to scan: (Meeting 2) Water Quality Reports n Board Meeting Updates n Pictures of their building, water tanks & well houses n

Step 3: Beginning of the Website n After the SCBWA information was scanned and then emailed to group members, Mike Rubin and Mike Conners began to do web layouts n Varun and Huy provided assistance to them when needed (graphics, related links)

Step 4: Fulfilling Requests from SCBWA n Max, Dave, & Marsha requested that we create two front pages so that they could have a variety of layouts to choose from n On our 3 rd meeting we showed them the sites and they critiqued each front page n They liked the combination of Mike Conner’s logo and links & Mike Rubin’s frames and pictures

Choices Between Website Styles

Step 5: Putting the Two Sites Together n Both sites were pieced together and more information (provided by Dave & Max) was added to the site: n History of SCBWA Water Bill Rates FAQ Related Links Water Conservation Tips n n n

Step 6: Final SCBWA Meeting n We presented our “in progress” Website to Max, Dave, & Marsha for their approval n Executives were very happy with what they saw and had a few additional requests to add a few more pages to the site

Physical Design of Site n n n HTML & Java. Script Macromedia Flash was initially used, but then taken out because of browser plug-in requirements Most customers would not have been able to access the image map logo with all of the available links to pages for two reasons: 1) user would not have wanted to deal with or know how to download plug-in 2) user may not go back to site if image map would not open because of plug-ins SCBWA dismissed idea of using Flash

Requests vs. Desires n n n The design of this website was requested to be very simple because it is a government page and needed to remain in a specific type of framework Based on this, our group did not use frames, animated graphics, scrolling messages, rolling banners, etc. . If we were not requested to do this, we would have added all of those extra interfaces in the page, but we respected the decisions of the SCBWA – this is how the “real world” works!

Implementation & Testing of Site Tested website using www. personal. psu. edu Web server n Final site will be published on www. scbwa. org Web server for “live” site to be readily accessible for SCBWA users n Additional changes (if needed) & maintenance will be made to Website by the staff at SCBWA with assistance from RBA beginning in May n

Step 7: Revise & Finalize Site n Currently, the group is adding the final additions to the page & putting the finishing touches on the site for Friday’s deadline n What we have so far: http: //www. scbwa. org

Networking or Website Questions or Comments? ? ?