Making a new private network.

[ttkmm]

I want to build a network - private network. I have 80-90 sites with up to 14 hosts on each site. The hosts comunicate with a server. Not much trafic. Can I use a couple of 2924-XL-EN to connect the sites together? And from the switches a connection to another 2924 where I have the server?

[globalnettech · Accepted solution]

Hello Kenneth,

on the LAN side(s), you can certainly use the 2924-XL-EN switches. What is the physical location of the sites, that is, are they geographically dispersed, and if, are WAN connections required ? Basically, the 2924 switches are layer 2 switches only, if you need to connect different networks, you will need a layer 3 device.

Regards,

GNT

[desai.jaideep]

Hi

(1)What is the distance between all the nodes?

(2)What is the max. distance?

(3)What is the transmission speed you are looking at?

Regards

JD

[sean]

Instead of using a complete layer2 network design, I would start looking at Layer3 segmentation and fault isolation. If all 90 sites were connected with nothing but layer2 switches, you would have issues with STP convergance, broadcast storms, etc. Essentially, a single user with a bad nic or virus could take down the entire network. Depending on your requirements, you could do a hub-and-spoke design and have each site connect to a layer3 router at the hub of your design. From this you can provision subinterfaces per site and allow vlans per site. This would shrink the broadcast domain per site, and reduce the risk of a single site taking out the entire network. The layer3 device at the hub could provide inter-vlan routing to provide communication with all the sites. Or if distance is a factor, you could provision a lower end router per site (1710 or something) and have this router connect to a slightly higher end layer3 device (2800 or something depending on your traffic requirements). This would be a more scalable design and allow you to provide more services in the future. If you wanted to go all out with it, you could provision some kind of 2800 per site with a 3800 at the hub. Then you could run MPLS VPNs. Each site would have a router capable of label imposition and your at your hub, your router could function as a P router. You could also place your server into a central services VRF and do selective import and export of the VPN routes. This gives you the ablility to further segment your network (possibly start selling Internet access or service access to various customers) and still keep everything private.

Hope this helps.

[ttkmm]

Thank you Sean!

Now the network is a mess!

I have a lot of broadcasts and the whole network stopped because of a broken modem.

I would really like to reduce the broadcast and the arp-requests and get it all more "nice".

I have a 2600-router with 2 ethernet interfaces I could use. Could I connect one switch (with the servers) to one, and the sites (up to 100 (with up to 14 hosts - in the future...)) (4 switches)to the other ethernet interface. Then make VLANS on each of the switch-ports?

How would the config look like in the switches and router?

[sean]

What kind of switches are you working with? Also, what kind of Internet connection do you have coming in? Is there a seperate connection to each of your sites, or is it centralized? Please let me know.

Thanks.

[ttkmm]

The switches are catalyst 2924-XL-EN. No internet connection. The switch is in the senter. On each of the fastethernet ports I have modems connected. No direct connection between sites. The only way to get to the server, is through the switch. At the moment I have 4 switches. Switch1 is the senter. Port22 is connected to switch2, port23 to switch3 and port 24 to switch4. Port1 is connected to another switch where the server is connected.