Determine a Topology
You must understand the customer's needs and determine the general layout of the new network to properly determine the network topology. You need to discuss these important issues with the customer:
■ Cable and wireless types
■ Scalability
■ Number and location of users
The number of users and the estimated amount of future growth determine the network's initial physical and logical topology. You should create a checklist to record the customer's needs.
You should do an inspection, called a site survey, early in the project. A site survey is a physical inspection of the building that helps determine a basic logical topology, which is the flow of data and protocols. The number of users and the estimated amount of future growth determine the network's initial physical and logical topology. You should consider the following factors:
■ Where the users' end-station computers will be.
■ Where to position network equipment such as switches and routers.
■ Where the servers will be positioned. This may be in the same room as the network equipment, or it could be elsewhere. The decision is often based on available space, power, security, and air conditioning.
A floor plan or blueprint is helpful to determine the physical layout of equipment and cables. Figure 15-1 shows a comparison of network topologies, including bus, ring, star, extended star, hierarchical, and mesh.
Figure 15-1 Types of Topologies
Bus Topology
Ring Topology Star Topology
Extended Star Topology
Topology
Extended Star Topology
Hierarchical
Topology
Mesh Topology
If a floor plan or blueprint is not available, you should make a drawing of where the network devices will be located, including the location of the server room, the printers, the end stations, and cable runs. This drawing can be used for discussions when the customer makes the final layout decisions.
Continue reading here: Determine Protocols and Network Applications
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