Network Design Report

Student’s Name

Institution
Introduction

This report is based on the Company XYZ case study. The company is based in Sydney and has

three other offices in Adelaide and Melbourne. This report takes into consideration that I have

been appointed as the network administrator who is tasked with allocating public IP version 4,

noted as IPv4 into three different locations which are the Adelaide and Melbourne remote offices

as well as the main office in Sydney. The network for these office set ups needs four subnets and

there is need for switches and routers to make connections between devices in the network.

Additionally, some there is need for inter-departmental data transfer and all workstations need to

have access to the internet. This is the report I have prepared to the technical manager with

respect to the design and configuration for Company XYZ.

Local Area Network

A local area network (LAN) is described as a computer network interconnecting computers and

other relevant devices within a limited area such as a residence or a company such as the

Company XYZ (Deca, Cherkaoui and Puche, 2004). For this network, the network is to

interconnect all the offices and department in the Sydney main office as well as the remote

offices in Adelaide and Melbourne. In designing and describing Company XYZ’s network, the

following details about the subnets need to be taken into consideration: subnet A, which is

Sydney’s main office will require 63 IP-addresses, subnet B, which is Melbourne will require 53

IP-addresses, subnet C, which is Adelaide will require 53 IP-addresses, and the last subnet D will

exist between two routers and thus will need 2 IP addresses.

Network Topology
The network topology chosen for this network connection is the hybrid topology which mixtures

two topologies which in this case are the mesh topology and the ring topology. This is a type of

topology which will ensure that there is both physical connectivity as well as remote connectivity

(Kim and Feamster, 2013). This network topology also has high fault tolerance which means that

in case there is a problem with the network, the whole network does not shut off but rather, it

allows for the rectification of the problem while the identified issue is being handled. In this

case, this topology is chosen for this network because it offers the following advantages: it is

reliable due to the fact that trouble shooting and error detection is easier than the other

topologies, it is scalable which means that in future the company can increase in size and thus

increase the network and the fact that it is flexible and more effective (Deca, Cherkaoui and

Puche, 2004).

LAN Design Connections

Connections for Subnet A

This is the largest subnet and it will need 63 IP addresses. These IPs will support sixty (60)

personal computers, two windows and Fax servers and one router interface. For this specific

office, the individual network which will be recommended is the star topology. This is a

topology which will connect all the 63 devices in the office and will allow for connection even

between multiple departments. Since every workstation requires internet connectivity, the star

topology will allow for every PC to the server, and traffic will also be directed to every

workstation thus allowing for sharing of files.

The connectivity will be established by setting all the network devices and hosts to the central

router with the aid of twisted pair network cables. The reason as to why the twisted pair network
cables is chosen for the network is because they are cheap yet they also allow for high

bandwidth. These cables will also offer reliable means of connectivity between the devices.

Additionally, to allow for wireless connections, there will be network access points which will

allow for visitors and portable devices to access internet at the Sydney office.

Connections for Subnet B

This is the second largest subnet which is the Melbourne office. It will support 53 IPs whereby it

will be supporting 50 personal computers, it will have two servers which are DNS and Database

servers and it will support one router interface. For the connectivity in this topology, the

recommended network topology is the mesh topology. This is a topology which effectively

supports medium sized networks and allows for secure and effective connectivity to a central

router and to switches to allow for effective sharing of information as well as string internet

connectivity. This is the best topology for a network which will be remote to the Sydney office.

Just like the subnet-A, connectivity will be done using networking cables and point of wireless

access points. Thus in this subnet, the recommended connecting devices are the twisted pair

network cables which will allow for cheap, efficient and reliable connections between the router,

the switches and the rest of the network hosts accordingly.

Connections for Subnet C

This is the third largest subnet which is the Melbourne office. It will support 43 IPs whereby it

will be supporting 40 personal computers, it will have two servers which are Application and

Linux servers and it will support one router interface. The recommended network topology for

the connectivity in this topology is the mesh topology which will allow for secure and effective

connectivity to a central router and to switches to allow for effective sharing of information as
well as string internet connectivity just like in subnet B whereby this topology was chosen for its

suitability for remote office since Adelaide is also remotely connected. The connectivity will be

done using networking cables which are the twisted pair network cables which will allow for

cheap, efficient and reliable connections

Connections for Subnet D

This is the smallest subnet and it is made up of connection between two routers. This routers are

given the importance of being that they support the rest of the network (Kim and Feamster,

2013). It is assumed that one router will be in Sydney, the biggest branch and the second one in

Melbourne, the second largest branch. The type of topology suggested in this case is the bus

topology since it is the connection of two points. The type of cable to connect these two routers

would be coaxial cable which allows for long distance connectivity and which will be affordable

and also will support the bandwidth between the two connections.

IP Addresses

IP Addresses for Subnet A - this network is based on class C, the network addresses for this

subnet will start from 190.200.210.0. It needs a subnet supporting 43 hosts. This means the

allocation of 255.255.255.128 subnet with a possibility of more than 63 hosts. The subnet is thus

190.200.210.0/25 and router is given 190.200.210.1 IP address, first server given 190.200.210.2,

second server given 190.200.210.3 and the rest of the personal computers` given 190.200.210.4

up to 190.200.210.63 IP addresses.

IP Addresses for Subnet B - since this network is based on class C, the network addresses for this

subnet will start from 190.200.211.0. It needs a subnet supporting 43 hosts. This means the

allocation of 255.255.255.192 subnet with a possibility of more than 53 hosts. The subnet is thus
190.200.211.64/26 and router is given 190.200.211.64 IP address, first server given

190.200.211.1, second server given 190.200.211.2 and the rest of the personal computers` given

190.200.211.3 up to 190.200.211.53 IP addresses.

IP Addresses for Subnet C – since this network is based on class C, the network addresses for

this subnet will start from 190.200.211.64. It needs a subnet supporting 43 hosts. This means the

allocation of 255.255.255.192 subnet with a possibility of more than 43 hosts. The subnet is thus

190.200.211.64/26 and router is given 190.200.211.64 IP address, first server given

190.200.211.65, second server given 190.200.211.66 and the rest of the personal computers`

given 190.200.211.67 up to 190.200.211.106 IP addresses.

IP Addresses for Subnet D – this subnet will need only two (2) hosts and when it is taken that it

is running on network 190.200.211.128, the subnet mask will be taken to be 255.255.255.252.

This mask allows for 2 host addresses.

The following is the network diagram:

Hardware
Routers – this is a networking device which forward data packets between network segments. It

will be used in forwarding data packets between the 4 network segments (Kim and Feamster,

2013).

Switches – this is a network device which connects devices in a given network segment by

receiving and forwarding data.

Access Points – these are devices which disseminate wireless network access. They allow for

certain areas to have Wi-Fi.

Conclusion

This network design presents an analysis of and recommendations for the network to be

configured for Company XYZ. The report states that the common topology to be used is a hybrid

one to support diverse needs of the network. After that, the common network connection device

is the twisted pair cable. The report also presents on the sub netting of the network as well as a

description of the relevant networking devices used in the network.

 References

Kim, H. and Feamster, N., 2013. Improving network management with software defined

networking. IEEE Communications Magazine, 51(2), pp.114-119.

Deca, R., Cherkaoui, O. and Puche, D., 2004, May. A validation solution for network

configuration. In Proceedings. Second Annual Conference on Communication Networks

and Services Research, 2004. (pp. 273-275). IEEE.