ABCs of Network Design

ICCM 1998

Bill Jack

What this session will NOT cover

• Detailed Discussion about Netware

• Anything about Unix / Linux

• Windows95/98/NT internals

• Details about the fine art of TCP/IP

• Lantastic, Arcnet, Baseband, Pathway, etc…..

What this session will cover

• How to layout an efficient network

• Ethernet and network Protocols

• Hubs / Switches / Routers

• Wiring configurations

• Principles of adding Internet to your local network

• Acknowledge Token-ring exists

Elements of an Effective Network

• Media - wiring

• Hardware Configuration

• Topology

• Operating System

• Protocol

Media

• Thickwire (AUI cable)

• Thin Coax (10Base-2)– Bus - 30 node limit - 185m max

• Twisted Pair (100Base-T / 10Base-T)– Cat5 cable - Star - 100m max

• Fiber Optic (100Base-FL / 10Base-FL)

Topology

• Ethernet (10 mbps)– EtherTalk (Apple)

• Fast Ethernet (100 mbps)

• Token-Ring

• Future– GigaEthernet (1000 mbps)– DSL, Fiber Channel, ISO Ethernet

Network Equipment

• Network Interface Card (NIC)

• Hubs & Repeaters– Unmanaged hubs– Managed hubs– Limit of four hubs between any two nodes– General broadcast to all nodes

Network Equipment

• Switches– Filters and forwards Ethernet packets

based on their source and destination addresses.

– Provides bandwidth matching between 100Base-T and 10Base-T equipment

• Switching Hubs– Bandwidth matching, no filtering

Network Equipment

• Transceivers– Devices to interface different types of

media into a hub or switch

• Routers– Similar to a switch in that they filter and

forward packets to another network segment.

– Protocol specific

A Simple Two Node Network

• 2 Network Interface Cards• Ethernet 10Base-T or Coax• Windows NetBEUI

Multi-node 10Base-T Net

Multi-node Coax Network

Multi-Node / Multi-Hub Net

Switched Backbone

Operating Systems

• Windows for Workgroups

• Windows 95

• Windows 98

• Windows NT

• Novell Netware

Network Protocols

NetBEUI

• Simple – No Brainer Setup– NO maintenance

• Broadcast mode

• Practical limit of 25-30 nodes

• Not Routable

• Do not confuse with NETBIOS

IPX

• Simple– No brainer setup – No maintenance

• Broadcast mode with cache

• Routable but …

• Novell based - HP JetDirect support

TCP/IP

• Scalable protocol of choice

• Integrates with Internet

• Direct Addressing

• Routable

• Skills needed for design, installation and maintenance