IT Network vs OT Network design

[rarino5]

Hi to all, I was in IT admin before and was exposed to different setup and techologies. I transitioned to a different company whereas Im involved in managing OT(operations) networks. The network is running a ring type network which I believed it is very prone to issues which may impact the processes. Im deciding to restructure the setup to a 3 tier architecture which basically has Core, Distri, Access layers.

Since it was my first time to work in OT, do you think this 3 tier network architecture design is applicable and Ok to propose? Looking for your recommendations especially those who alreadY worked in OT (operations).

Thank you

[Seb Rupik]

Hi there,

It really depends on the physical constraints of your environment. Trying to shoehorn a 3 tier design into certain locations can be very difficult and expense when you consider the fibre runs you will require. If your proposed location is a campus or even a single (very large) building then a tiered design could work. If you have buildings spread across a city then it will be an expensive endeavor.

Regarding the number of tiers required, collapsed cores, ie combined core/ distribution with an access layer is very common and sufficient for all but the largest deployments.

Tell us about your physical location and we can advise further.

cheers,

Seb.

[Joseph W. Doherty]

Insufficient information to comment whether your network would be better served by a star (tier) topology rather than an existing ring topology.

In general, ring topologies provide a redundant path that a (pure) star topology does not.

Depending on your network's traffic patterns, either might be more "efficient".

If you do believe your network would be better served by a star topology, in modern networks, unless your network is really huge, you might be fine with just a two tier collapsed network, or, possibly, your network might even be served via one device.  (Years ago, I supported a network having 6513s with 11 96 port cards in them, later, in the same network, we had Nexus with FEXs [and possibly also a 6x00 IAs too].  [I.e. these are some examples of how "large" you can logically go, with ports, on just one device].)