Network Planning

The topology of a network can be categorized in a number of ways, including geographically, physically, and logically. Local-area networks (LAN), wide-area networks (WAN), and personal-area networks (PAN) are all examples of geography, which relates to "how geographically separated the network components are." Northeast Orthodontics will use a Local Area Network (LAN) and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to access the internet and cloud services (ISP).

The physical topology describes how a network's components are physically connected, whereas the logical topology describes how traffic flows across that physical structure. Star topology is preferred for LANs because it has devices with independent connections to a central switch, and while this means additional cabling and a longer installation time, the advantages outweigh these drawbacks (Tessinari, 2018). Star topology only the linked device will be harmed if a cable breaks, making troubleshooting considerably simpler. On the second floor of their building, Northeast Orthodontics is putting in place a star topology.

With a fiber optic network connecting the internet to the ISP, each floor will have its own router. Using the Hot Standby Router Protocol, only one router will be in use, with the other acting as a backup (HSRP). When using HSRP, one or more routers are placed in "hot-standby," and all of them are seen as a single virtual router with a single MAC address and IP address as part of the backup process (Graydon, 2020 ). When one of the routers fails, HSRP automatically switches to the backup router, ensuring maximum network availability. Two wireless access points (WAPs) and two VoIP switches will be connected to each router, as will all workstations, printers, and servers on each level. The WAP will be used by all wireless devices, including laptops, tablets, and scanners. The VoIP switch on each floor will be used to link all phones and fax machines.

Virtual LAN networks, which exist within an organization as subnetworks, are required for every network, but they are especially important for big corporate networks. This is a strategy that makes managing and expanding the company network simple in the future. Each department will have its own virtual LAN, as previously envisioned. The DHCP server will assign each department a different network address as a result of this strategy. To make things even better, each department will have its own network router to manage and route data between its own private network subnet and the wider network. The five departments that have been predicted will not be located on the same floors of the building, for obvious reasons. Because of this, it will be simpler to map the entire network from the ground up (Bouleanu, 2020).

When planning a network, I advise using hardware goods like a desktop computer or workstation. Whatever your computing needs, make sure you're working with a reliable provider whether using custom desktop PCs or multiuser workstations. You'll require long-lasting materials and hardware with low maintenance requirements. Hire a company that can create a computer system tailored to your organization's unique requirements.

An external hard drive can assist keep your network's computers organized by storing specific types of information that they need. Businesses who don't want to save information in the cloud or on their PCs' hard drives may find it prudent to invest in an external hard drive. In the event of an accident, such as a fire, external hard drives can protect critical and sensitive corporate data. You can utilize these as data backup devices and even invest in a system with built-in locks and additional security layers to prevent theft from these backup devices.

Solution for the network server. You'll need a network server if your company's database, email applications, or other files are going to be connected to a network in any way. Depending on your storage needs, security requirements, and backup preferences, you have a variety of server solutions to select from. Consult an expert to make sure you're getting the proper package for your present and future needs.

Router with wireless connectivity. Using a wireless router, you can keep your office or workspace linked to the Internet wirelessly. High-speed connectivity to all linked PCs and mobile devices is ensured by a powerful wireless connection (Pimple, 2020). Working wirelessly will free up space in a tiny workplace by eliminating the need for extra cables to be run throughout the room.

Now that we have a live DHCP server, adding new hosts to the various network segments is a lot simpler. As a result, we're ready to set up the network's numerous servers. Since each server will have a certain job in the network, the next step is to set up the servers. Employees can log on to the network using their company accounts, which are provided by the cooperative network. An authentication server is in charge of handling this data. This is a precautionary measure to keep the network safe from unwanted users. In addition, the network access is restricted for the users. To put it another way, they don't have network administrator privileges (Klinkowski, 2019). As a result, they are unable to get unauthorized access to certain types of information stored on corporate servers. After the servers are set up, we may add users to the network by creating accounts for them, assigning them passwords, and providing them with company email addresses as needed. When everything is finished, the internal network will be connected to the internet. This will be accomplished through the use of a personal Internet service provider (ISP). In order to filter network traffic, a DSL modem is connected to the main company router, which is then connected to a firewall. Configuration of the firewall is required in order to establish policies and protocols that are allowed to pass through.

Dial-up internet access will be provided by the modem. It'll be up to you to configure routing tables on the routers, however. Flexible routing tables would be ideal. In order to do this, each router will have to keep its routing table up to date in relation to the prior router. When using the internet, you'll have to use loopback addresses.

References

Tessinari, R. S., Paiva, M. H., Monteiro, M. E., Segatto, M. E., Garcia, A. S., Kanellos, G. T., ... & Simeonidou, D. (2018, December). On the impact of the physical topology on the optical network performance. In 2018 IEEE British and Irish Conference on Optics and Photonics (BICOP) (pp. 1-4). IEEE.

Graydon, M., & Parks, L. (2020). ‘Connecting the unconnected’: a critical assessment of US satellite Internet services. Media, Culture & Society, 42(2), 260-276.

Bouleanu, I., Bechet, P., & Sârbu, A. (2020). A Survey on Network Planning and Traffic Engineering for Deployable Networks. In International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION (Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 43-48).

Klinkowski, M., & Walkowiak, K. (2019). An efficient optimization framework for solving RSSA problems in spectrally and spatially flexible optical networks. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, 27(4), 1474-1486.

Pimple, N., Salunke, T., Pawar, U., & Sangoi, J. (2020, March). Wireless security—an approach towards secured wi-fi connectivity. In 2020 6th international conference on advanced computing and communication systems (ICACCS) (pp. 872-876). IEEE.