Design For A New School Building Attached To Three Pre-

Design Abnfor A New School Buildingattached Are Three Prel

Question 1: Design a network blueprint (BN) for a new school building. Attached are three preliminary school blueprints. Each room will only have an instructor computer except for four labeled computer labs with 30 computers each. Create LANs to group the classrooms (determine how many per LAN by distance and location in the building) for all the teachers' computers in the lecture halls/rooms. Each floor should have an MDF (Main Distribution Frame). The first floor should have one room being used as a server room. Specify the devices you would use, the cabling, topologies, and other networks connected to the building. Provide drawings, pictures, explanations, etc., in a Word document.

Include:

- LAN design for 4 computer labs per floor (10 pts)

- MDF closet per floor (5 pts)

- Server room on the first floor (5 pts)

- Connections to other networks (5 pts)

- Type of cabling used (5 pts)

- Network topology (5 pts)

- Explanation of decisions in typed answers (15 pts)

Note: Draw cable flows and place representative devices like routers, switches, servers, firewalls, etc. The example provided is a guide; precise accuracy isn’t required—it's to demonstrate typical network planning. Think about cabling routing, device placement, and connectivity to external networks.

Question 2: What are the advantages and disadvantages of a VLAN? Explain your choices in more than one sentence. Comment on another person's post showing an understanding of VLAN benefits/drawbacks. (Total: 20 pts for advantages/disadvantages, 15 pts for explanation, 15 pts for comment.)

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

Designing a robust and efficient network for a new school building requires careful planning of infrastructure, device placement, cabling, and network segmentation. The primary goal is to ensure reliable connectivity for staff, students, and administrative purposes while maintaining security, scalability, and ease of management. This paper details the planning process, device selection, topological considerations, and connectivity strategies to establish a comprehensive Local Area Network (LAN) tailored for educational institutions.

Network Design Overview

The school comprises multiple floors with classrooms, computer labs, lecture halls, and administrative offices, each requiring dedicated and segmented LANs. Each floor is equipped with an MDF (Main Distribution Frame) to centralize network distribution and management. The first floor features a server room housing core network components, with connectivity to external networks through firewalls and routers. The network design emphasizes scalability, security, and cost-efficiency, utilizing appropriate cabling, devices, and topology choices.

Device Selection and Topology

Core network devices include switches for LAN segmentation and interconnecting devices, routers for external connectivity, and firewalls for security. In the server room, enterprise-grade servers, switches, and firewall devices are installed, including a core router connecting to the Institution's ISP connection. The topology primarily follows a star configuration, with switches as central nodes radiating to individual classrooms and labs, providing high reliability and straightforward management. Redundant links may be considered to enhance fault tolerance.

Cabling and Connectivity

Cabling employs Category 6 (Cat6) Ethernet cables for high-speed, high-bandwidth connections within and between floors. Each classroom and lab features structured cabling, with cables routed through conduit or cable trays along walls and ceilings, terminating at switches in the MDF or server room. The server room contains high-capacity switches connected via fiber-optic cables to external networks and other building segments, ensuring fast, reliable communication, especially for the large computer labs.

LAN Segmentation and Grouping

The network design groups classrooms based on their location and proximity, assigning each group to a dedicated LAN segment to reduce congestion and enhance security. For each school floor, a separate LAN serves the classrooms, with fiber-optic links connecting the MDF to switches in each area. The computer labs, with 30 computers each, are interconnected via dedicated switches within the labs, linked back to the MDF through trunk links. These LANs are logically segmented to facilitate management and troubleshooting.

Network Devices in the Server Room

The server room houses several key components: high-performance servers managing school data and applications, enterprise switches providing multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports, firewalls for network security, and a core router linking the internal network with external internet access. Redundant power supplies and cooling systems are employed to ensure continuous operation. The devices are interconnected through high-speed fiber-optic and Ethernet cabling, supporting future growth.

External Network Connections

The building connects to the internet via a main firewall and router, which filters external traffic and prevents unauthorized access. The network also interfaces with district or higher education networks for data sharing and resource access. Additionally, connections to external storage and cloud services are considered for data backup and collaboration.

Conclusion

The network design emphasizes modularity, scalability, and security. Strategic device placement, appropriate cabling, and topology choices optimize network performance while accommodating current needs and future growth. The segmentation of LANs using VLANs (though not part of this initial design) can further enhance security and management. Implementing a structured network foundation now ensures reliable, efficient, and secure connectivity for all school stakeholders.

References

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