Network Design Methods for Assessment 4: Pros, Cons, and Choice

This discussion board post explores various network design methods, including hierarchical and modular approaches, to address the requirements of Assessment 4. The post begins by defining key networking elements such as message, sender, receiver, path, and protocol, emphasizing the importance of protocols in enabling communication through IP addressing, switching, and routing. It then delves into two primary network design methods: the hierarchical network design method, which divides the network into core, distribution, and access layers, and the Cisco Enterprise Architectures network design method, which uses a modular approach. The author provides a detailed comparison of these methods, highlighting the pros and cons of each, such as scalability, modularity, and resiliency for hierarchical design versus performance limitations for modular design. Ultimately, the post justifies the selection of the hierarchical network design method for its scalability and ability to accommodate network growth without disrupting services. References to relevant literature are also provided.

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Task 4
Networking can be defined as the interconnection of computing network interfaces for the purpose
communication. Before a communication is established, there ought to be elements which must be
available. These include the message to be communicated, the sender of the message, the recipient of
the message, the path through which the message goes through and finally the protocol with which
governs the message delivery process (Browning, Tafa, Gheorghe, & Barinic, 2017).
The protocol element is very important as it enable communication by IP addressing, switching and
routing. IP addressing can be defined as the assignment of an IP address to the network interface of a
computing device. IP addressing is necessary as it identifies the computing devices uniquely on the
internet (Comer, 2018).
On the other hand, the routing process is required to redirect the network packets from the source to
the destination.
In networking, there exists a number of network design methods. These methods include hierarchical
network design method and cisco enterprise architecture. In hierarchical network design method, the
network to be designed is logically divided into three layers. Namely; distribution, core and access
layers. This is the most used technique in networking industry (Elkhodr, 2018).
For Cisco Enterprise Architectures network design method, the entire network is broken down into
modules. In modular network design technique, the design method separates the network in different
functional network modules. Each of the modules targets a particular purpose in a network. the modular
design method has the below pros
- The introduction of new services, network upgrades and network changes can be done in staged
manner.
- A failure which may take place within a single module is easier to isolate to be handled at
individual level.
The main cons for this network design method is that the modular network design method is not
optimized for performance.
In our network design, we would prefer the use of hierarchical network design method. This is because,
this method allows the scalability of the network. The scalability aspect permits the growth and shifting
of the network without disruption of the networking services (Lammle, 2016).

The pros of dividing the network into smaller blocks is that the local traffic remains local. The traffic
which is destined for the other network is the only one which is moved to the other Zone layer. Other
pros include
- modularity – by the segregation of various functions which exists on a network into modules,
this simplifies the design process.
- Hierarchy – the hierarchical approach breaks the complex problem of the network design into
smaller areas which are easily manageable.
- Resiliency – the hierarchical network design method gives the option to modify the portions of
the network, increase the capacity without interfering with the available services and add new
services
The primary con for this network design method is that the communication between different
departments seems to be ineffective as compared to flat network design method.

References
Browning, P. W., Tafa, F., Gheorghe, D., & Barinic, D. (2017). Cisco CCNA Simplified: Your Complete Guide
to Passing the Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching Exam (4th ed.). Indianapolis: Cisco Press.
Comer, D. (2018). Everything You Need to Know about Computer Networking and How the Internet
Works (6th ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Elkhodr, M. (2018). Enabling Technologies and Architectures for Next-Generation Networking. Hershey:
IGI Global.
Lammle, T. (2016). CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide (4th ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley &
Sons.