CCNA3 Exploration Chapter 1. Study questions.

Answers

1.1
What are the three layers of the hierarchical network design Access, distribution and core. What are the ad"antages of designing #ANs using the hierarchical odel! odel!

The hierarchical model separates out different functions of a network, giving a modular design. This should make the network easier to manage and troubleshoot. It should be easier to expand the network (scalability), and it should be easier to maximise performance. What is the purpose of the access layer! It allows end devices to connect to the network and controls which devices may connect. What sort of de"ices are found at the access layer! nd devices, such as !"s, printers, and I! phones. #etwork devices such as routers, switches, bridges, hubs, and wireless access points. What is the purpose of the distri$ution layer! It controls the flow of network traffic. In particular, it controls traffic between different broadcast domains (subnetworks, $%A#s). It aggregates traffic from the access layer that needs to be passed to the core layer for longer distance transmission. What sort of de"ices are found at the distri$ution layer! &igh'performance switches. They should have high availability and redundancy to ensure reliability What is the purpose of the core layer! It is the high speed backbone of the network. Its main task is to forward large amounts of data (uickly. What is a collapsed core odel and where ight it $e used!

The distribution layer and the core layer are combined. It is used for smaller networks.

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What is a wiring closet! A room designed to hold network devices such as switches and routers. It is a central point where network cabling comes together. Why is it not easy to see the logical hierarchical design of a network when looking at the network layout in a $uilding! The devices operating at different layers may not be physically separated. )or example, switches operating at different layers may be kept in the same cabinet. Why is redundancy i portant in a network! It gives better availability and reliability. If one switch or link goes down then an alternative path can be used. Which layers nor ally ha"e redundancy $uilt in! "ore and distribution layers. ,ow can the hierarchical design help to gi"e high perfor ance! Traffic (and particularly long distance traffic) is forwarded through distribution layer and core layer switches that are designed to work at high speeds, and not through a series of lower'speed access layer switches. ,ow can switches at the different layers contri$ute to network security! Access layer switches can restrict the devices that are permitted to connect to their ports. *istribution layer devices can be configured with access control policies that restrict traffic according to I! addresses or application layer protocols. (The core layer is optimised for speed. +ecurity measures are not appropriate at this layer because they slow things down.) ,ow does a hierarchical design help to ake a network anagea$le!

+witches at a given layer have similar functions and therefore are likely to have similar configurations. This makes it easier to check configurations and to configure new switches. Should the sa e type of switch $e used at each layer of the hierarchical design! #o. The distribution and core layers need very fast switches. The access layer can use less expensive switches.

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What is -network dia eter. in hierarchical network design! #etwork diameter is the number of devices that a packet has to cross before it reaches its destination. What is network de"ice latency! #etwork device latency is the time spent by a device as it processes a packet or frame. What sort of processing does a switch ha"e to do on each packet! The switch has to look in the frame header and find the destination ,A" address. It then looks this address up in its ,A" address table and finds the matching exit port. It then forwards the frame out of the port. ,ow can $andwidth aggregation $e i ple ented! +witches can be linked by more than one physical link. These physical links can be combined into one logical link that makes use of the combined bandwidth. Why is redundancy not nor ally pro"ided at the access layer! It would be too expensive. The advantage of improved reliability would not -ustify the extra cost. When designing a new network/ at which layer would you start! At the access layer. ,ake sure that all end devices will be able to connect to the network. What is a con"erged network! A network that carries voice, video and data. What factors ha"e slowed the o"e towards con"erged networks!

"onverged networks need special switching e(uipment that was originally affordable only by big companies. "onverged networks need .uality of +ervice management to give voice and video traffic priority over data. "onverged networks need people with expertise to set them up and manage them. /here firms have existing separate networks that work well, the firms may be reluctant to make a change.

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What are the $enefits of a con"erged network! In a new build, there is only one set of cabling to install instead of two or three. There is only one network to manage instead of two or three. This may mean having one set of people to run the network instead of several sets of people, so the company may employ fewer staff. /hen changes are needed, there is only one network to change. #ew communications options are possible. A !" can be used to make phone calls or for videoconferencing by adding appropriate software and peripherals. There is no need for a separate I! phone or videoconferencing e(uipment. Why was "ideoconferencing equip ent originally kept on a separate network fro data or phones/ and what ade it possi$le to co $ine "ideoconferencing with other networks! $ideoconferencing re(uires large amounts of bandwidth and is sensitive to delays. It was kept separate to avoid conflict with data traffic. *evelopments in network design, using the hierarchical model and (uality of service policies, have allowed videoconferencing to share a network with voice and data without significant reduction of (uality.

1.2
What is traffic flow analysis/ and why ight you want to do it! Traffic flow analysis is the measurement of bandwidth usage. It can show what demands different sources of traffic are making on the network. 0ou might do it to get the information you need to improve network performance, plan network changes, decide if you need to upgrade, and decide what type of new e(uipment is needed. ,ow can easure ents $e ade in order to carry out a traffic flow analysis!

It can be done manually by monitoring switch ports, but this is time consuming and not feasible for large networks. There are software analysis tools that take the measurements and perform the analysis, giving a visual display ,ow can a 0ser Co unities Analysis help with network design!

1sers are normally grouped by -ob function because they have similar re(uirements for bandwidth, applications, access to servers etc. The 1ser "ommunities Analysis shows what demands the different groups of users make on the network. +ome design implications are2 The number of switch ports needed for each group of users, including possible growth. The location of servers that the users access. The bandwidth re(uirements of the users.

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Which two types of traffic need to $e considered when planning data storage facilities! "lient'server traffic and server'server traffic. ,ow can ser"er2ser"er traffic $e opti ised! +ervers and data stores should be kept physically close to each other and should be connected by high performance switches. 3usinesses often keep their servers and data stores in a secure data centre. ,ow ight you deal with a $ottleneck where there is insufficient $andwidth!

1se link aggregation (multiple links between switches) or install higher performance switches. Why is it i portant to produce a topology diagra design process! as part of the network

It is difficult to produce a topology diagram later by examining the network itself, and the diagram is necessary for the efficient management of the network. It shows all the switches and how they are connected, including aggregated links and redundant links, and the ports used. It shows how servers, storage devices and end user devices such as workstations are connected. ,ow is the thickness of a switch 3top to $otto 4 In rack units (1). What is the difference $etween a fixed configuration switch and a switch! odular easured!

A fixed configuration switch has a fixed number of ports and these cannot be changed. A modular switch has a chassis that can take line cards. The line cards contain the ports. A modular switch can therefore have different numbers or types of ports, depending on the choice of line cards. What are stacka$le switches! +tackable switches are designed to be connected together and act as a single switch. The connection between the switches is through a special high speed port and not through the normal switch ports. What is the port density of a switch! The number of available access ports.

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5f *( outlets need to $e connected to a switch/ why is a single large odular switch likely to $e a $etter choice than four fixed configuration switches with %1 ports each! The four switches each need their own power supply, and they use ports to connect to each other. They may need several ports for each link if aggregation is needed. The single large switch needs a single power supply. #o ports are needed for internal links, and the switch4s internal backplane provides a higher speed connection than links between switches. What is wire speed/ and what is forwarding rate! /ire speed is the data rate that a switch port can attain. A port may be designed to operate at 566 ,b7s )ast thernet or 5666 ,b7s 8igabit thernet. The forwarding rate is the amount of data that the switch can process per second. If the forwarding rate is less than the total wire speed of all the ports then it is not possible for all the ports to operate simultaneously at their wire speed. What is Etherchannel! A system that uses link aggregation to provide high bandwidth between switches. 1p to 9 ports can be bound together so that they act as a single link. What is 6oE and what are its ad"antage and disad"antage! !ower over thernet is a feature that lets a switch provide a power supply to a device such as an I! phone or a wireless access point. The power is supplied over the thernet cable. The advantage is that the devices do not need a separate power supply, so it may be possible to position them more flexibly. The disadvantage is that the feature makes the switch much more expensive. At which 7S5 layer to typical traditional switches operate! %ayer :. What is a ultilayer switch!

A switch that operates at layer ; as well as at layer :. )or example, it can forward packets based on I! addressing, not -ust on ,A" addressing. What features are required for access layer switches! !ort security, $%A#s, )ast thernet78igabit thernet, !o , and link aggregation. .uality of +ervice is needed for converged networks.

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What features are required for distri$ution layer switches! &igh forwarding rate to allow all ports to operate to their full bandwidth &igh bandwidth links (possibly 568bps) and link aggregation <edundancy to ensure reliability and availability ,ultiple, hot'swappable power supplies .uality of service to maintain priority for video and voice traffic Inter'$%A# routing (layer ; function) Access control lists for security (layer ; function) What features are required for core layer switches! $ery high forwarding rates as this is the high speed backbone of the network. &igh bandwidth ports, preferably 568bps. +upport for link aggregation. <edundancy to give reliability and availability. <edundant power supplies. fficient cooling. &ot'swappable hardware components to avoid downtime for maintenance. +upport for (uality of service. (!articularly important where there are links to lower bandwidth /A#s.) %ayer ; features. Which Cisco Catalyst switch does not pro"ide a co "atalyst xpress =66 Which Catalyst switch is suita$le for access le"el use in s all organisations/ pro"ides up to 1* ports/ $ut does not pro"ide 6oE! "atalyst :>?6 What does the Catalyst 3+8(E switch pro"ide that the 3+8( switch does not! 56 8bps connectivity. Which catalyst switch has forwarding rates up to '%( 9$ps! "atalyst ?=66 Which type of catalyst switch can $e stacked so that up to ) switches can operate as a single logical switch! "atalyst ;@=6 What is special a$out the Catalyst 1)(( series switches! They are designed for use in data centres for linking servers and data stores. and line interface!

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