Design/Configuring for Market Data

[yosef_dov]

Greetings... My company owns the following equipment: 2 x 7201 routers each with 2 fiber modules, 2 x 4948 switches, and several HP servers with multiple NIC's.

Attached is JPG of diagram showing proposed net.

They want servers to be on LAN on one NIC (with internet access etc), and have different NIC that receives market data and sends orders. Market data is usually massive broadcast traffic, hence separate network desired.

Here's the idea:

4 different exchanges/ECN's connecting via fiber, 2 per 7201. Each 7201 then has one gigabitE connection to one of the 4948's. Each server then has one NIC connected to each 4948. Second 4948 goes to ASA device, internet, etc. That side's up and running.

I would like advice/ideas on best way to proceed-- how do I have the servers see market data, and send market orders to respective Exchanges/ECN on different routers? Can I "group" both router connections into a VLAN, assign an IP address, and use that address as gateway on the second NIC on each server? Any info is greatly appreciated, thanks.

J

diagram of proposed net

[owillins]

Yes, you can group both router connections into a VLAN, assign an IP address, and use that address as gateway on the second NIC on each server

By the time you are ready to configure routing between VLANs, you will have already defined them through the switches in your network. Issues related to network design and VLAN definition should be addressed during your network design. Refer to the Cisco Internetworking Design Guide and appropriate switch documentation for information on these topics:

Sharing resources between VLANs

Load Balancing

Redundant Links

Addressing

Segmenting Networks with VLANs

Segmenting the network into broadcast groups improves network security. Use router access lists based on station addresses, application types, and protocol types.