A Range of Approaches for Network Designing in Assessment 4

This article examines three possible approaches to network design in Assessment 4, including Netsim, Agent.gui, and Cisco packet tracer. Each approach is discussed in detail, highlighting their advantages and limitations. The preferred approach for the project is also identified.

Running head: NETWORK DESIGN RESEARCH 1
A range of Approaches that can be used for Network Designing in Assessment 4
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NETWORK DESIGN RESEARCH 2
A range of Approaches that can be used for Network Designing in Assessment 4
This article sets out three possible approaches to network design in assessment 4.
Assessment four consist of a network design project which constitutes two PCs, two routers, and
servers among other network devices. The routers will have multiple interfaces such that PC
client has one router interface and PC server another router interface. The three approaches that
will be examined in this document include Netsim, Agent.gui, and Cisco packet tracer. Both of
the stated approaches allow for the modeling of the predefined network, however, one approach
will be selected for the project on basis of the network requirements.
Netsim
Netsim refers to a single event process discreet event simulator used for investigating
various aspects of a local area network LAN. The distinct feature of the approach that makes it
different from other approaches is that Netsim uses a technology known as a virtual packet that
helps in creating packets for routing within the simulated network (Siraj, Gupta, & Badgujar,
2012).
One significance of this approach is that its virtual packet feature allows for building a
virtual routing table for the network protocol thus enhancing flexibility to Cisco Certified
Network Association CCNA compared to the standard simulator fare. A limiting factor for this
approach, however, is that it is costly since the simulator falls a bit short of the real thing.
Cisco packet tracer
This is one of the powerful approach that can help in building a complex network
topology which can be experimented to learn about the abstract concept of DHCP, WEB server,
DNS and client CPs (Janitor, Jakab, & Kniewald, 2010). In this method, the Dynamic Host

NETWORK DESIGN RESEARCH 3
Configuration DHCP is configured by creating an IP address pool for the addresses that will be
used, the DNS for clients’ name, and default router are then specified. After the DHCP is
configured on the router and used to view commands to see what is taking place.
Cisco packet tracer is of great significance in network modeling due to the reason that it
is well made, reliable and can function for a long time compared to other interfaces, also, the
packet tracer support almost all standard protocols. One major limitation of this method is that
monitoring and troubleshooting Cisco DHCP servers are difficult compared to other servers like
windows DHCP.
Agent.GUI
This is an approach which helps in the use of the multi-agent system based simulation for
end users of multiple domains (Derksen, Branki, & Unland, 2011). In this approach, DHCP is
configured and the IP address pool is selected, then set a maximum lease time and then specify
the DNS server IP address. Agent.GUI offers a predefined Graphical User Interface just as the
ending suffix of its name indicates. The interface can be extended by developers for addressing
the needs of users from various fields.
The main advantage of this approach is that the graphic user interface GUI allows for
easy access to NCL interpreter directly and display the results on a screen. The major drawback
of this method, however, is that its chances of failure are high compared to other interfaces.
My preferred approach for this project, however, is the Cisco packet tracer approach.
Running DHCP servers in this approach does not require any hardware like other servers i.e.
windows servers do (Javid, 2014). Also, this approach can save the cost of DHCP servers and it
also provides DHCP locally at each site whether WAN is operational or not.

NETWORK DESIGN RESEARCH 4
References
Derksen, C., Branki, C., & Unland, R. (2011, September). Agent. gui: A multi-agent based
simulation framework. In Computer Science and Information Systems (FedCSIS), 2011
Federated Conference on (pp. 623-630). IEEE.
Janitor, J., Jakab, F., & Kniewald, K. (2010, March). Visual learning tools for teaching/learning
computer networks: Cisco networking academy and packet tracer. In 2010 Sixth
International Conference on Networking and Services (pp. 351-355). IEEE.
Javid, S. R. (2014). Role of packet tracer in learning computer networks. International Journal
of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, 3(5), 6508-6511.
Siraj, S., Gupta, A., & Badgujar, R. (2012). Network simulation tools survey. International
Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, 1(4), 199-
206.