Studying CCNA - Need some help with a few questions

[aesop0]

Hey all,

I'm currently studying for a diploma and right now we are doing CCNA, using Packet Tracer. I just have a few questions in which I cannot wrap my head on - and am having trouble looking it up online (maybe I just don't know what are the correct terms to search for it).

I am currently doing an assessment for a network design, and here's some things that I'm having trouble on:

What is the purpose of having 3 cross-over cables connected in between two switches and how do I make sure they are properly configured? (It was specified that there needs to be a 300MB link between these switches if that helps with anything)

Same as number 1, what is then the purpose of 2 cross-over cables connected in between two switches too? (It was also specified that a 2GB link between these switches needs to be made)

The network has 4 VLANs, with each VLAN having hosts and servers and one switch and a 'main' switch in the middle that all the 4 switches connect to. How do I ensure connectivity between all switches? (Side note: the main switch then connects to a router, but I have that part figured out already)

Thanks in advance to those who could help. Cheers

[M02@rt37]

Hello @aesop0,

In networking, link speeds are typically specified as powers of 10 (e.g., 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps) rather than powers of 2 or 3 (e.g., 300 Mbps). If you're working with a requirement of 300 Mbps, it might be unconventional and would typically be rounded up to the nearest standard link speed, which is usually 1 Gbps.

Having three cross-over cables between two switches might suggest setting up a redundant link for improved fault tolerance and higher bandwidth.

To ensure connectivity between switches with VLANs, you need to configure trunk ports on the switches. Trunk ports allow multiple VLAN traffic to pass through a single link. Each VLAN has a unique identifier, and this identifier is preserved as the traffic traverses the trunk link. 

You have to:

-Configure the ports connecting the switches to the "main" switch as trunk ports using the IEEE 802.1Q standard.

-Ensure that both ends of the trunk link have the same VLANs configured and allowed on the trunk.

-Configure the other ports on the switches as "access" ports, each assigned to a specific VLAN.

-Make sure that the VLANs are correctly configured on each switch and that devices within the same VLAN can communicate.

[Jackong]

Hi there

As I know most of the switch now are using 1Gbps link per port which is far better than the required 300MB link. As with the switches,   

Pre-requisites

Main Switch:

• Create 4 Different VLAN and assign desired ports in each VLAN
• assign specific port/s as (switchport mode access  and switch port access VLAN __)
• Assign ports for Trunk Mode and allow specified VLAN on trunk ports
• assign specific port/s as (switchport mode trunk, switchport trunk encapsulation , switchport trunk allowed vlan xx,xx,xx)

Access Switch

• Create VLAN and assign desired ports on VLAN
• assign specific port/s as (switchport mode access  and switch port access VLAN __)
• Assign ports for Trunk Mode and allow specified VLAN on trunk ports
• assign specific port/s as (switchport mode trunk, switchport trunk encapsulation , switchport trunk allowed vlan xx,xx,xx)

Hope this may help contribute a little bit to your CCNA study