Which Cisco Switch/Router and VLAN Planning...

[kevin.crookes]

Hi,

I'm in the process of looking to purchase three new 48 port 10/100/1000 switches. These will be connected via GBIC's in a hub and spoke configuration (ideally), all located in the same cabinet.

Switch1 - Being the hub and having all 8 servers connected to it along with Printers and our WatchGuard firewall and the other two switches. All 8 servers are HP Proliant servers with dual nics in them which I'd like to team and configure as needed.

Switch2 and 3 will have PC's, laptops, XDAs connected.

Above is how I'd like the hardware to be connected and my personal thought is that we now have got to a point where we need VLANS because of the size of the network.

The problem I have got is I really don't know which Cisco products would best suit my needs and which would be the best way to configure the VLANS.

Network Information.

Our network consists of 8 Windows Servers running multiple apps which all users within our company need access too. 99.9% of our users have PC's but there are a few floating users with laptops. We also have a large amount of network HP printers which again all users need access too.

Our WatchGuard firewall controls everything in and out of the company network.

It would be much appreicated if someone could give me some advice on how they would setup the VLANS, which Cisco products would be the best for my needs (I have a 3k budget), and finally which would be the best way connect each of the switches together.

Thanks

[burleyman]

If everything will be in the same area and based on your budget I would recomend stacking Catalyst 2960's you can find them for less than $1000 each. I would go with the stcking rather than hub and spoke so you can take advantage of Etherchanneling your servers to provide redundancy.

Check this for info on the switches....  http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6406/index.html

As for the VLAN's we do it this way because it helps us narrow down issues to troubleshoot issues quicker.

Here is what we do.

10.xxx.xxx.xxx

2nd octet = Office or Building

3rd octet = Type of equipment ( and possible physical location see below)

4th octet = Just the actual device either staticly assigned or DHCP

So Lets say the main building we will call 1 and lets say there are 3 floors in that building.

IP address as follows

10.1.xxx.xxx - so this means when you see this you know where it is located, Building 1

Now lets say we use this for the users PC's

10.1.101.xxx - this would be for users on the 1st floor of Building 1 and in VLAN 101

10.1.102.xxx - this would be for users on the 2nd floor of Building 1 and in VLAN 102

10.1.103.xxx - this would be for users on the 3rd floor of Building 1 and in VLAN 103

Now lets say you have VoIP also you could do this

10.1.201.xxx - this would be for IP Phones on the 1st floor of Building 1 and in VLAN 201

10.1.202.xxx - this would be for IP Phones on the 1st floor of Building 1 and In VLAN 202

10.1.203.xxx - this would be for IP Phones on the 1st floo of Building 1 and in VLAN 203

Now for network gear we do this. The 3rd octet is always 1 and 4th octet designates the floor.

10.1.1.103 - this would be a switch on the 3rd floor in Building 1

Now printers we do not designate by floor and we do this

10.1.5.XXX - this would be a printer in building 1

We have gone this way and it helps greatly in troubleshooting as we know exactly where the issue is and the type of equipment.

Mike

[kevin.crookes]

Thanks for the information Mike.

Just to clarify a couple more questions.

For my situation because we only have one building with 2 floors the examples would be:

User on the 1st FloorBuilding 1 - 10.1.101.xxx     (VLAN101)

User on the 2nd Floor, Building 1 - 10.1.102.xxx     (VLAN102)

Printing on the 2nd Floor, Building 1 - 10.1.5.xxx     (VLAN101)

How would each VLAN be setup in terms of G/W, subnet, DHCP. Would each have to have it's own IP subnet??

Would I need to purchase or setup my WatchGuard firewall to route the traffic between the VLANs or would the flexstack elimate this??

Also, how would you setup a VLAN for the servers??

Thanks again