Network Architecture and Design - Report Example

?Background and Requirements The primary purpose of a network that is also known as the Campus area network is to effectively deliver and share knowledge between all the users. Likewise, in this information age, where technology is rapidly evolving, there is a demand of powerful systems that can handle the workload of advance and state of the art applications that are the requirements of end users. We have selected a case study that incorporates a college that is offering finance and law education. Likewise, the college has three campuses in London and the other five campuses are outside London. Moreover, there are total 200 users including administration staff, full time students, part time students, academic staff and over 2000 students that are dispersed throughout the U.K. the primary factor that can be examined is the Wide Area Network. Likewise, if the college is communicating with the remote offices concludes that a proper Wide Area Network connectivity is present. However, there are many WAN technologies that can be deployed to cover all the specified requirements. Moreover, cloud computing has also gained a high value and is well recognized in academic institutions in the UK, as researchers share information on a collaborative platform. For instance, University of Portsmouth has already initiated a commercial use of off the shelf cloud service from globally recognized organizations such as Google and Microsoft (Cloud guarantees bright outlook 2012). Equally, cloud computing saves significant cost and the complex Information Technology acquisition procedures and processes (Cloud guarantees bright outlook 2012). The University is synchronized with the other three remote campuses and 5 other campuses that are located outside the city. Likewise, a robust WAN infrastructure is required to fulfill these long distance connectivity and data transfer requirements. As mentioned earlier, the different WAN technologies that can be implemented in this scenario are: Point to Point Connectivity Circuit Switching Packet Switching WAN Virtual Circuits WAN Dial up Services We cannot deploy point to point connectivity, as it provides a dedicated link from the customer premises to the carrier network. As the University is connected to multiple locations, several point to point links are required, resulting in a costly solution. Secondly, circuit switching also resembles with the point to point connectivity technology and it is comparatively slower. One example of this technology is Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN). Thirdly, WAN dial up services are also associated with slow and outdated technology. Moreover, virtual circuits will not be efficient in a crisis situation, as it cannot handle a lot of traffic and if the device stops working, the whole connection is lost. Finally, WAN virtual circuits and Packet switching technology will be considered in this scenario. Packet switching WAN technology shares a single point to point connectivity within network devices to exchange data from source to destination via a carrier network. Moreover, statistical multiplexing techniques are implemented to activate packet switching in network devices. Some of the examples of this technology are Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay etc. Advantages after deploying packet switching technology within the University are demonstrated below: As the data packet breaks into small data chunks, bandwidth capacity utilization is optimal Confidentiality, Integrity and Availibility is addressed, as the confidential data needs adequate security Compatible with devices supporting different transfer rates, as end users or network devices configured at different remote campuses may support different transfer rates. In case of a link failure, signals are re routed by using a different path ensuring high network availability. In case of a declared disaster or a failure of a telephone exchange, end users can still send emails for service interruption notifications and vice versa. Above mentioned advantages concludes that a secure and highly reliable network connectivity will be available to the end users. As this may lead to high accessibility of University’s applications, services and communication platforms. Moreover, researchers at the research facility will be able to communicate efficiently with other research facilities or researchers contributing to a study. Furthermore, an effective communication mechanism will provide quality online education to potential students as well. Network Architecture and Design As shown in Fig 1.1, Multi Protocol Label Switching network is created. As per network dictionary it is defined as “The border gateway protocol/multiprotocol label switching (BGP/MPLS) VPN standards, de?ned by IETF, are to provide Layer 3 VPN solutions using BGP to carry route information over a MPLS core. This Layer 3 MPLS-VPN solution achieves all of the security of the Layer 2 approach, while adding enhanced scalability inherent in the use of Layer 3 routing technology”. The proposed network demonstrates a single point of connectivity in an MPLS VPN network provided by the service provider. Moreover, MPLS supported Cisco 7200 routers are deployed on each remote campus. Network Components The MPLS VPN connectivity media incorporates a digital subscriber line or a T1 connection, as it depends on the type of media available for connecting to the Wide area network. As MPLS VPN utilize characteristics of a layer 2 protocol and at the same time deliver the benefits of Layer 3 protocol of the OSI model, efficient network layer routing takes place within all connected remote campuses. Likewise, as shown in Fig 1.1, MPLS VPN provides scalability options for connecting remote sites that are dispersed geographically. Moreover, technical staff at the University can re engineer the traffic and ensure Quality of Service (QoS). Besides, there are also some pitfalls associated with MPLS VPN. By configuring the Cisco router for MPLS, an additional overhead is created, as the router has to process every data packet, as per MPLS VPN criteria. Moreover, any route for a given data packet or link must have to analyze and understand MPLS. Proposed network devices are all Cisco products. We have proposed Cisco 24 port Catalyst 2950G Ethernet switch, Cisco Router 7200, Cisco PIX 506E and Cisco Air AP341E2C for wireless connectivity. Moreover, we have also proposed servers and databases for the university i.e. Application Server, Email Server and Database. Description of the proposed products is illustrated below: Cisco Router 7200 supports aggregation of broadband up to maximum 16000 Point to Point Protocol (PPP) sessions (, Cisco 7200 Series Routers - Products & Services - Cisco Systems ). Likewise, it also supports MPLS and addresses security issues by incorporating IP security (IPsec) that has a 5000 tunnel limit (, Cisco 7200 Series Routers - Products & Services - Cisco Systems ). Moreover, the Cisco 24 port catalyst 2950G Ethernet switch provides a gigabit Ethernet on the proposed network. For security purpose, Cisco PIX 506E firewall is implemented to restrict unauthorized access and minimize vulnerabilities. Furthermore, an additional Cisco Air access point is deployed, as shown in fig 1.1. University staff can connect their Personal data assistants and laptops as per policy. The main University campus is also connected to the Internet and disconnection issues can be managed by the technical staff. As shown in Fig 1.1, there are three servers located in the main university campus. These servers are connected to a Cisco catalyst 2950G 24 port Ethernet switch that is connected to the router. The router on the basis of label distribution protocol (LDP), the maps in between the network layer routing information right to the paths associated with data link switches. In order to exchange information with remote campuses, each campus equips a Cisco 7200 router that supports MPLS tagging. However, in order to establish connectivity to the MPLS University network, WAN connectivity is required. As the data packet passes via IP tunneling configuration, a protocol named as Open shortest Path First is activated that only emphasize on sending data packets to the destination from the shortest paths. Likewise, in this process, various other metrics are ignored. For implementing security in the proposed network architecture, Cisco Firewall and Ciso router are recommended. Cisco router provides reliability of MPLS network infrastructure, if the computer network comprises of Cisco 7200 router. University traffic will be routed more efficiently to the required remote campuses. Some of the campuses outside London will also get high availability, robustness, security and quality of network services. As the university acquire funds in terms of research, cost effective and low maintenance factors are associated with Cisco 7200 router. Furthermore, university can also establish a virtual leased line that will replace the traditional ATM service operating on layer 2 without negotiating flexibility and scalability factors of the University MPLS network. Critical Analysis and Reflections Universities are keen to save money on maintaining and acquiring complex computer networks. However, many universities are acquiring cloud services for low cost of network troubleshooting and administration ownership. On the other hand, scalability options and cost must also be considered at all times in terms of Wide area network connectivity. The proposed WAN MPLS VPN is the most cost effective and robust network design that will provide a single point for connecting all the university campuses together. Bibliography Bgp/mpls Vpn. 2007. Network Dictionary, , pp. 64-64. Cloud guarantees bright outlook 2012. Guardian Government Computing: Education | guardian.co.uk, . , Cisco 7200 Series Routers - Products & Services - Cisco Systems . Available: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps341/index.html [4/28/2012, 2012]. Read More