Comprehensive Network Infrastructure Design for George & Co. - Report

This report presents a comprehensive network infrastructure design for George & Co. The design utilizes a hybrid topology, incorporating star topology in each of the three main locations (HQ and two branches) connected via MPLS circuits. The report details the network components, including Cisco routers, multilayer switches, DHCP servers, web servers, application servers, and FTP servers. It outlines the IP subnetting and VLAN configurations for workstations, printers, and VoIP phones. The report also addresses network security, scalability, and quality of service, with considerations for confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The author justifies the chosen topologies and configurations based on the company's requirements, emphasizing the benefits of a well-designed network for organizational growth. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and references relevant sources.

Network Infastructure
By George Bradley
George Bradley

Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................2
Task 1:.......................................................................................................................................2
Task 2:.......................................................................................................................................5
Design...............................................................................................................................................5
........................................................................................................................................................................8
Topology and configuration:..........................................................................................................................8
Intermediary Devices......................................................................................................................................9
Network Components.....................................................................................................................9
Network Media...............................................................................................................................................9
Scalability.......................................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................9
References...............................................................................................................................10

Introduction
In this report, I am going to take you through my solution for “George & Co Inc” network
design. There are many benefits of a good network in the growth of an organization. The
company has used old devices, which can be a reason of risks and threats. I am going to
justify the topologies in this design based on the requirements of the firm. I have decided to
use a hybrid topology, which is suitable for advanced configuration. There are many things to
require for implementing a network, such as hardware, transmission media, various
intermediary devices (Cowley, 2012).
Source: Author
Network architecture is the base of a firm. Moreover, there are many things to manage in a
proper manner (Dye, et al., 2007).
Task 1:
There are different types of topologies, which can be used for arranging all the devices in a
proper manner. In addition, basic services can be managed using proper topology as well.
This network is basically used star topology for managing all the processes. In addition, there
are three locations in the company. Moreover, there is a mix-up of two topologies for better
network services, which is good from privacy and security point of view (Fisch & White,
2017).
Besides, the network has used different types of services. Thus, it is necessary to manage
them in a proper manner (Forouzan, 2007).

Source: Author
In the HQ office the following servers are running, the webserver, the DHCP server, the
Application Server and the FTP server. All the servers are connected with each other to
provide various services.
Source: Author

Source: Author
Source: Author

Task 2:
Design
In the specification it stated that there are is a HQ (Head Quarters), as well as two branch
locations, Satellite 1 and Satellite 2. Both of these branch locations are connected to the head
office through the means of “MPLS” circuit which uses Ethernet links between the offices.
The corporate office has deployed all the servers and wireless controllers. The servers
running in the HQ office are: “Webserver”, “DHCP” Server, “Application” server
As well as the FTP server. In the diagram router 0, router 1, and router 2 have “DHCP” as
well as “CME” configured with dial-peer for routing calls. I’ve used a Cisco 2811 Router,
and this allows for connectivity between the branch offices. I’ve also used “RIP”, a routing
protocol that is used for the WAN connectivity. In the router, I have the VOIP service
configured, a CISCO 3504 Wireless Controller, a Cisco Aironet 1800 series access points and
a Cisco IP phone 7960.
IP Subnet used in HQ
VLAN# Subnet Subnet mask Gateway
Servers VLAN 10 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.224 192.168.1.1
Workstations/Printers VLAN 20 192.168.1.128 255.255.255.128 192.168.1.129
VoIP Phones VLAN 30 10.1.1.0 255.255.255.128 10.1.1.1
Satellite 1: Training Centre
VLAN# Subnet Subnet mask Gateway
Workstations/Printers VLAN 20 192.168.2.0 255.255.255.128 192.168.2.1
VoIP Phones VLAN 30 10.1.2.0 255.255.255.128 10.1.2.1
Satellite 2: Distribution Centre
VLAN# Subnet Subnet mask Gateway
Workstations/Printers VLAN 20 192.168.2.0 255.255.255.128 192.168.2.1
VoIP Phones VLAN 30 10.1.2.0 255.255.255.128 10.1.2.1

Configured the HQ office VoIP phones, the below screenshot shows the phone is showing its
own number and ready to dial and receive the call.
Source: Author
The webserver is configured to run the company's internal hosting.
Source: Author

The below screenshot shows the VLAN 20 used for workstations and VLAN 30 used for
VoIP phones
Source: Author
Cisco Wireless controllers 3504 is used in the HQ office to support wi-fi network across the
company

Source: Author
The below screenshot shows the Wi-Fi access point is up and serving the client.
Topology and configuration:
A network is based on its topology and internal connections (Hucaby, 2007). For the
company ‘George & Co’, the main topology I used is a Star Topology in each of the three
main locations. There are a few considerations I took into account when choosing this
particular topology. Firstly, the topology is easy to manage i.e. has centralized management
via the switch. It is good in terms of scalability and it is easy to add new computer systems to
it. If a computer was to go down, it wouldn’t affect other computers in the network like a bus
topology.

Intermediary Devices
In the network I used a multilayer switch (MLS), this essentially acts like a normal switch
would do. I used a multilayer switch for the scalability of the network, which is necessary to
connect multiple systems in the same network. Besides, a multilayer switch has used for
switching as well as other processes. It will be better for the future of the company as well
(Rouse, 2014). However, it comes with additional functionality as it takes criteria from
Layer 3 and 4, normal switches are based at Layer 2 (Hucaby, 2003). The benefits of this are
manifold such as high-performance packet switching as well as higher speeds in terms of
scalability (Hope, 2018).
 Fault tolerance – this design will reduce faults in the network as monitoring will be
easier as well as fault tolerance will be minimum. Besides, mesh topology will
improve the quality of services of the network, which reduces faults form the network
as well. Moreover, faults can be reduced using proper routing and other processes.
 Connectivity – Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) provides a mechanism for
forwarding packets for any network protocol. It will improve data flow and traffic as
well. MPLS has used for connecting all the LANs of the company. moreover, it will
provide a better speed of data as well.
 Router - CISCO2811 is a good router for connecting different LANs and other
network devices. It has included 2 FE, 1NME, 4 HWIC, 2 PVDM slots, 256MB
DRAM, 64MB Flash, which requires managing all the things.
 Multi-layer switch- MLS has used for faster data transfer, as it has provided short
paths for forwarding data. It can reduce traffic from the network as well. It provides
direct paths for data transfer as well as avoiding lookups in a routing table (Rouse,
2014).
Network Components
There are different types of transmission media, which can be used for network
configuration.
Servers
DHCP: Dynamic host configuration protocol has used for providing dynamic IP addresses to
all the connected systems. Moreover, it is helpful in the pooling as well. In this concept, any
device can use dynamic IP addresses for connectivity (ITPRO, 2019). It is not necessary to

take static address always. In addition, it is an enhancement of BOOTP, which allows the
devices to access network services including DNS, NTP, and more (Kerravala, 2018).
Web Server: it has used for managing requests and responses of different users. The main
function of the webserver is transferring different types of data from one source to another,
which are clients in a network. It has used HTTP for storing, processing and delivery of web
pages to different clients.
Application Server: it has provided different types of facilities to the hosts of the company. In
addition, the application server is responsible for managing different applications of a firm.
Besides, Tomcat is an Application server, which has managed different java web applications
of a firm.
FTP Server: file transfer protocol has used for transferring files between different hosts.
Besides, FTP servers have used for accessing archive files from desktops and online software
backups. It is the best way to access large size files with security. It can provide a transfer
facility to a system from the Internet as well.
Quality of service
This network design has used proper configuration to manage all three locations of the
company. in addition, it has used a router and multi-layer switches, which will improve the
quality of services. In addition, MLS has provided higher-bandwidth to all the workstations.
In addition, basic processes can be managed using other protocols, which will increase the
quality of services. Multi-layer switches will manage messages forwarding as well
(Tanenbaum, 2014).
Network Media
For each individual LAN network within the WAN, the chosen transmission media I’ve used
a Cat5e. Cat 5e is a basic twisted pair cable, which provides better services (Kenneth C.
Mansfield & Antonakos, 2009). Moreover, there is a basic difference between wired and
wireless connection, which is fast data access. Cat 6e cable has used for connecting all the
network hardware including routers, switches, and others. Optical fiber cable has used for
managing all the services, which requires a high level of data transfer. CAT 5e is a good
option for this network, as CAT 5e cables are cheaper than CAT 6 cable more than 20 %.
However, CAT 5e cable can support 1 Gigabit ethernet.
Security
Three goals of network security: