large networks

[carl_townshend]

Hi all, Can anyone tell me how I would setup my switches say for a building for 1000 users, these users would be split say for 200 per floor, would I have a core switch on each floor then each core connected twice to the next floor ?

[sourabhagarwal]

Hi,

you will core layer on one floor only and distribution switches at each floor will connect to core.

200 users will connect to access switches which are in turn connected to distribution switches at each floor.

[abhishek_nandavat]

Hi,

Your core switch would be only on one floor. The access switches on each floor then can connect to the core switch. Now you can connect each of your access switch at each floor to connect to the core switch or you can also choose to make a stack of access switches at each floor and then connect that to the core switch. Also suggested is making the core switch as a VTP server and your access switches as VTP client. Then you can configure a VLAN for each floor on the core switch and manage all your VLANS from the core switch itself.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

AbhisheK

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[carl_townshend]

Is the best method to have a distribtion switch on each floor, connect each access switch to this, and then connect each floors distribution switch to each other, and also a connection to the core ? may main thing is, would each floor have a switch which all switches connect to ?

[sourabhagarwal]

there is no need to connect distribution switches at each floor to each other.

distribution switch at each floor will have a layer 3 connectivity to core switch. Distribution switches at each floor will connect to other floor distribution switches via core block.

you can have access switch to which end users are connected at each floor which can connect to core switch or you can have distribution switch at each floor connect to core.

in both cases inter floor communication will happen via core switches and there is no need to connect access/distribution switches at each floor to connect to the one installed in other floors.

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[leighharrison]

Hey Carl,

Your design will depend on what else you want to do with the network. I have designed networks for sites with many users that only need to speak to a WAN link for citrix access and the designs of those kind of networks is very simple. I did them with banks of 3750's All be it routed, but without a real core, as there was no need for one.

If you need to speak to a main comms room with servers or with high throughput servers, etc., then the need to a large capacity core is there.

Could you provide a few more details?

LH

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[abhishek_nandavat]

Hi,

The best method would be according to me, what I have suggested along with two core switches for redundancy and in each stack(of the access switches) on each floor, the uppermost switch connecting to one core switch and the lower most switch connecting to the other core switch.

NO each floor wouldnt need to have a switch which connects to each floor. All the connections of access switch stacks will terminate at the core switch and the core switch will manage the routing of traffic between the access switches.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

AbhisheK

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[carl_townshend]

so would I say have 4 switches on each floor, uplinked to each other, then the top switch in the stack going to the first core, and the bottom switch to the backup core ?

[abhishek_nandavat]

Hi,

You got that absolutely right! Also the link to the backup core would be in blocking mode through STP so as to avoid creation of a loop. Also these links would be trunk links to the core switch. Moreover you can configure your switches with GLBP or HSRP depending upon your needs which would make your network redundant as well.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

AbhisheK

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[leighharrison]

Hi there Carl,

Check out this link for Cisco's routed access solution: http://www.cisco.com/go/resilientservices/

Building a LAN routed is better in many ways than building one switched, as (among many reasons) your throughput is doubled (as there is no spanning tree) using the same kit, security is enhanced, troubleshooting is eased, etc., etc.

Also, think about the type of traffic and the services this network will be running, as this will influence the design.

Hope that helps,

LH

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[carl_townshend]

just to add, would each connection to the core be layer 3, ie in a layer 3 port mode or just in on a certain vlan, and would the core provide the vlan routing ?

[leighharrison]

Hey Carl,

If you went for a routed access solution, then the links back to the core would be layer 3. The vlans would be routed locally. You would need a switch capable of layer 3 routing, such as a 3560, 3750, etc.

LH

[abhishek_nandavat]

Hi,

Well according to what I have proposed the links to core would be trunked and allowing the VLANs what you desire to. And yes the core switch would provide the inter-vlan routing.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

AbhisheK

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[carl_townshend]

so I would set up ip routing on the core, and trunks to the distribtion switches, then trunks between the distribution and access switches ? would I not have ip routing on the distribtion and set the vlans up on there rather than the core ?