XYZ Network Design and Presentation

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Course Name

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 Introduction

XYZ is a company based in Sydney which has branch offices in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Recently, the company has shown the wish to configure a computer network on which the entire

company will be able to run on – sharing data, applications and various other resources – most

likely in a bid to ensure the continued reliability of the services it offers. The network is to be made

up of four sub-networks for ease of setting up and ensuring a clear independence of the various

elements that will run on each network.

Design and Description of Local Area Network

Subnet A will consist of all the hosts running within the main offices in Sydney and will

consist of 63 hosts (60 PCs, 2 servers and a router). Subnet B is the office in Melbourne and will be

configured to host the IP addresses of 53 hosts (50 PCs, 2 servers and a router). Subnet C is

supposed to be configured to host 43 hosts with 40 IP addresses being assigned to PCs and 2

assigned to servers. The remaining IP address will be used for the control device used within the

network. Subnet D will be a minute subnet intended to only run the two main controlling routers of

the network.

Using standard procedure for most network setups, the first router will be located in the

main offices of the company in Sydney, while the second one will be located in either the

Melbourne or Adelaide offices to cater for easy interfacing of the smaller branch offices’ networks

to the rest of the company and the internet. From the setting up and configuration of these two

routers, they will function as the backbone of the network for the whole set up of Company’s XYZ’s

both onsite network at the Sydney office and the remote networks at Adelaide and Melbourne

offices so as to have a common network which serves all the data, communication and daily

activities of the company.

The network diagram for the set up is depicted in the following figure:
Local Area Network Topologies

A networks topology refers to how the computers and other devices within it are arranged

physically and logically. This arrangement determines how the network runs in terms of handling of

packets, failure prevention and resolution measures, expansion capabilities, among many other

features.
 The best network topology for the XYZ Company would be a star topography. In this

arrangement, the devices are individually connected to the controlling devices, in this case a switch

and routers, using network media, shielded twisted pair cables for the company’s implementation,

ensuring each device is directly capable of receiving and transmitting data. A star topography is best

because there is no limit to how many devices can be connected to the network as long as the switch

still has ports and it allows a chaining of switches that leads to more efficient communication

without the need for all other devices to be active on the network. Considering the cost already

incurred laying the Wide Area Network for the company, a star topography works well ensuring an

inexpensive but fully functional layout of every office’s network. The larger network (the WAN)

will also look like a star-of-stars topography with the central hub (Point of Presence) laying at the

main headquarters (Azhar Qureshi 2010).

LAN Design Connections

Routers and switched will act as the main hubs for network traffic within the network

allowing interfacing between PCs and servers (which will allow access to shared data) as well as

between various sub-networks which will make it easier for various offices to share information and

other material rather than relying on cumbersome methods such as sending files or emails and

faxes. Secondly, all network devices, computers and hosts will be connected to each other using the

most suitable communication links such as twisted pair network cables to ensure that there is

effective communication between devices. Moreover, points of access will be set at some areas in

the offices to allow for wireless internet access and connections.

IP Addresses

The company wishes to have all its networks subnetted in order to maximize the space

available to it on the IP space. Subnetting creates virtual networks (rather than actual networks)

which allow only devices on the same virtual space to communicate with each other directly which

not only improves usage of the IP space available within a network to the company but also acts as

a layer of security since any ‘talk’ between host on different subnets has to first make it through
filters, firewalls and all other security measure implemented as on the network to treat traffic from

the ‘outside’ world.

The IP addresses are allocated for all the subnets as shown in the table below:

Subnet Address Mask Host Range Broadcast Address

Subnet A 192.168.0.126 255.255.255.128/25 126 192.168.0.127
Subnet B 192.168.1.64 255.255.255.192/26 62 192.168.1.127
Subnet C 192.168.2.64 255.255.255.192/26 62 192.168.2.127
Subnet D 192.168.3.2 255.255.255.252/30 2 192.168.3.127

Hardware

The company’s network spans the area of several cities and towns meaning it has to be

designed taking into account that it is a Wide Area Network. While all the hosts and clients within

any given office building can be connected using Twisted Pair cables, the media to connect the

various offices should be fiber optic cables.

The Twisted Pair cables are justifiable due to the fact that they can handle speeds of up to 10

gigabits per second with a bandwidth of up to 4700 megahertz. At this speed, communication over

the network within the same building is not only very efficient, regardless of the number of hosts

connected to the network, but the cost is significantly low compared to other similar media (a metre

of shielded twisted pair goes for $1.11). On the other hand, a metre of single-mode 12-core fiber

optic cable costs about $1.48 without costs involved in laying the cable (the costs of laying the

cable usually bring the total cost to around $2.97 per metre of cable). This cost, however, is offset

by the comparative advantages the cable comes with when layed for such a large area network

(there are less chances of electromagnetic or other mechanical interference messing signals in the

cable and the speeds offered mean the network will suffer no lag or loss during signal transmission).

Switches are network devices used to mesh together all the devices within a network that is

within the same small geographical area. Such and area could be a building (such as the company’s

various offices) or a campus-sized area. The switch is often referred to as the controller of a small

network, allowing the control of all network traffic between devices (Cisco 2018). The company
will use a layer 3 switch as the controlling device within subnet C since it will act as a cheaper yet

perfect replacement for a router within this subnet. The switch is capable of inspecting the traffic at

tremendous speeds and performing some routing decisions based on the addresses within any given

packet. This switch has 24 Ethernet ports and is programmable by a network administrator in order

to improve its performance and working within the network.

A router, on the other hand, is the glue to bind together various separated networks either to

each other or even to the internet and other networks outside the local area network of the

organization. Routers “intelligently” analyze network traffic, changing and repackaging it where

necessary and are usually the first line of security in any network (Cisco 2018). XYZ’s choice of a

router is therefore of great import to how efficient the traffic in various subnets (A, B and D) is

routed to its destination and how well the company’s connectivity to the internet is achieved. The

ISP router will be situated within the main offices at the Sydney office and will making it the main

gateway for all traffic within the network destined for the internet. The firewall and other major

security features for protection against internet threats will be situated here too.

Conclusion

XYZ’s decision to implement a new and vastly superior network is clearly well premeditated

and will likely be a crucial point in the company’s growth. As time goes on, businesses are moving

further and further away from their standard use of paper and hard copy documents, opting for the

ease of resource sharing that accompanies using digital networks. Furthermore, the planning of the

company’s network keeps in mind their projections for expansions which means the network has to

be equipped to handle either a sudden explosion of growth or a slower and more gradual growth

(Cisco 2017). The network design looked at in this report meets all the criteria the company has set

for themselves while still adhering stringently to the common and expected principles when

building a network.

Bibliography
Cisco, 2018, What You Need To Know About Routing and Switching, Cisco, viewed 23 January 2020,

<https://www.cisco.com/c/en_my/solutions/small-business/products/routers-switches/routing-

switching-primer.html>.

Azhar Qureshi 2010, Network Topology – Star, Bus, Mesh, Ring Topologies, Networks and Communications

Blog, viewed 23 January 2020, <http://network-communications.blogspot.com/2011/06/network-

topology-star-bus-mesh-ring.html>.

Cisco, 10th August 2016, IP Addressing and Subnetting for New Users, Cisco, viewed 23 January 2020,

<https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/routing-information-protocol-rip/13788-3.html>.