Chapter 1

Introduction to Computer
Network Design
This chapter covers
Overview of Network and Protocols
Basics of Network Design
Network Design Phases
Approaches, goals, types, scopes,
tools and difficulties

Network design refers to the planning and

structuring of a telecommunications network,
including the layout of its components,
configuration, and the strategies for connecting
and managing the network to meet specific
requirements. Wogayehu A..
 Overview of computer network
interconnected computing devices that can exchange
data and share resources with each other.

Examples:
What type of media link you may use in your network design
project?
How do u choose UTP Ethernet cables as your best media links for
your project (Cat3, 5, 5e, 6, 6a, 7,8)? (cost, no.of twist, data rate,
BWD…)
“It is a confusing task to select the appropriate media link for your
network design unless you are an expert.”
Why cat5e reduced potential crosstalk than cat5? (cat5=3-twists per
inch, cat5e=2twists per cm, what does this mean?) (1 inch=2.54cm)
Factors to choose cables, when designing your network? Cost, data-
rate, interference and crosstalk, bandwidth, expansion capabilities,
travel distance.
How do they communicate? When do we use fiber cables, Ethernet
 Network infrastructure
devices/products
Network designer must know network products
Layer 2 switches
Layer 3 switches Layer Switch
3
Router
Routers
Firewalls
IDS/IPS
APs Access Controller
ACs
Repeaters Wireless Router
Bridges
Gateways
Cables Gateways Firewalls
Servers, Hubs, Network antennas, security
camera's..
Network device
identifications/products
Fixed Switch: A fixed switch has a
predefined number of ports and
features. It is not designed to be
upgraded or expanded with
additional hardware.
When your network requirements
are predictable and stable.
Modular Switch: A modular switch
offers flexibility by allowing the
addition of different modules to
the switch chassis. You can
upgrade or expand the switch by
adding new cards/modules, such
as more ports, advanced routing
features, or additional power
supplies, without replacing the
entire switch. When your network
is growing, evolving, or requires
redundancy and flexibility.
Suitable for large-scale
deployments with dynamic needs.
Network device
identifications/products
A fixed router is similar to a fixed switch
in that it has a predefined set of ports,
features, and capabilities, with no
option to expand or modify the
hardware. It typically comes with built-in
interfaces (e.g., Ethernet, fiber) and is
designed for small to medium-sized
networks.
A modular router is designed for
scalability and flexibility. It comes with a
chassis that allows you to add or swap
various modules, including interfaces
(WAN, LAN), power supplies, and other
network services, based on network
needs.
A cluster router refers to a configuration
where multiple routers are connected
and work together as a single logical
unit. Cluster routers are typically
deployed in large-scale environments
where high availability, redundancy,
and massive scalability are required.
 Protocols in your network
design
A protocol is a set of rules that govern all aspects of
information communication.
A network protocol is a set of established rules that
dedicate how to format, transmit and receive data so
that computer network devices can communicate with
each other.
These rules are human-made!
Key elements of a protocol:
– Syntax----format, fields, order, structure
– Semantics----meaning of things
– Timing------exactly sending at the right time needed
both sides
Who makes protocols?
Why different protocols exist?
Examples of those different protocols?
 Different protocols exist to accomplish different
purposes in a variety of categories.
Examples of protocols necessary for designing a network:
LAN and WAN protocols specify how communication is
accomplished across varies media types.
-------Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, FDDI, Token Ring, MAC,
LLC, ARP, RARP, X.25, Frame relay, ATM, DSL, ISDN,
SONET.
Routed protocols specify the data’s format and how it is
carried throughout a network.
------IP, IPX, AppleTalk
Routing protocols specify how routers communicate with
one another and to indicate the best paths through the
network.
Routers use routing protocols to exchange routing
information.
------RIPv1,2, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, IS_IS, IGRP
How routers learn another connected routers network
status?
 Function's of Generic Protocols
Network protocols are fundamental for ensuring
communication between devices in a network. They
define rules and conventions for data exchange, ensuring
that devices from different manufacturers or running
different software can communicate effectively.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol)
Functions
Connection-Oriented Communication: TCP provides
reliable, connection-oriented communication between
devices. It ensures that data packets are delivered in the
correct order and without errors.
Routing and Addressing: IP handles the routing of
packets across networks and provides logical addressing
for devices. Each device on a network is assigned an IP
address.
Segmentation and Reassembly: TCP segments large
messages into smaller packets for transmission and
reassembles them at the destination.
 Function's of Generic Protocols
Error Detection and Recovery: TCP ensures error
detection through checksums and retransmits lost or
corrupted packets.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
Functions
Connectionless Communication: UDP provides
connectionless communication, which means it does not
establish a connection before sending data. It’s useful for
applications where speed is crucial and occasional packet
loss is acceptable.
Low-Latency Transmission: UDP is used for real-time
applications (e.g., video streaming, VoIP) where low
latency is essential.
No Error Recovery: Unlike TCP, UDP does not provide
error recovery or retransmission of lost packets.
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)
Functions---Secure Communication: HTTPS is an extension
of HTTP that includes SSL/TLS encryption to secure the
data transmitted between the client and server.
 Function's of Generic Protocols
Used to maintain basic communication protocol
issues/elements
Error control: Detecting or identifying and re-transmitting
data frames that might be lost or corrupted during
transmission. L2, L4
Flow control: Manages the rate of data transmission between sender
and receiver to prevent overwhelming the receiver/sender. L2 and L4
Resource allocation: the process of assigning and managing
network resources (Buffer, BW, processors, printers, scanners, servers
etc.) L2
Fragmentation/segmentation and reassembly: divides the
message into multiple segments, and each segment is assigned with a
sequence number that uniquely identifies each segment. L4
Multiplexing: combining several higher layer sessions. LLC
MAC protocol:-Manages access to the shared network medium (e.g.,
CSMA/CD in Ethernet or CSMA/CA in Wi-Fi).
Addressing/naming: managing identifiers. L2, L3 and L4
Encryption: provide data security. L5
Service-port-addressing: transmit the message to the correct
process.L4
 Communication key
issues/elements
Message content (application layer)
------Data content
------Command content
Message delivery
----Addressing (data link, network and transport
layers)
----Across a single link(data link)
----Host-to-host (network)
----Process-to-process (transport)
----Order preservation (transport)
Message transmission
---Coordination (datalink & physical)-- error detection,
clock snch.
---Channel organization (datalink & physical)—
channel sharing
 Basics of Network Design
What is network design?
•Network design is the practice of planning and
designing a communication network.
•Network design is the process of planning and
creating a computer network to meet the needs of an
organization or environment.
•It involves determining the structure, components,
protocols, and technologies needed to build a network
that can efficiently support communication, data
exchange, and resource sharing among devices.
•Network design starts with identifying business and
technical requirements and continues until just before
the network implementation stage (when you actually
do the work to deploy and configure what was
designed).
Network design includes things like network analysis,
IP addressing, hardware selection, and implementation
planning.
 Basics of Network Design
What is network design?
•Network design refers to the planning and structuring
of a telecommunications network, including the layout
of its components, configuration, and the strategies for
connecting and managing the network to meet specific
requirements.
•It is a critical part of network engineering and
involves various steps, such as:
• Requirements Analysis: Understanding the needs of
the organization or users, including bandwidth,
security, scalability, and reliability requirements.
• Topology Selection: Choosing the most suitable
network topology (e.g., star, mesh, ring, hybrid) based
on the organization's needs and constraints.
• Hardware and Software Selection: Identifying and
selecting the appropriate hardware (routers, switches,
firewalls, servers) and software (network management
tools, security software) to build the network.
 Basics of Network Design
What is network design?
• Addressing and Naming: Designing an IP addressing
scheme, including subnetting and addressing policies, and
determining naming conventions for devices and services
within the network.
• Redundancy and Failover Planning: Ensuring the network
has redundancy (e.g., multiple paths for data) and failover
mechanisms to maintain uptime during failures.
• Security Planning: Implementing security measures, such
as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption, to
protect data and network resources.
• Capacity Planning: Estimating current and future network
traffic and ensuring the network can handle the expected
load.
• Documentation: Creating detailed documentation of the
network design, including diagrams, IP schemes,
configuration settings, and protocols used.
• Testing and Validation: Testing the network design in a
controlled environment to ensure it meets the specified
requirements before full deployment.
 Basics of Network Design
What is network design?
• Deployment and Maintenance: Implementing the
network design and ensuring it is maintained, updated,
and optimized as needed.
•Network design is crucial for ensuring that an
organization's network is efficient, secure, scalable, and
capable of supporting its operations and growth.
 The Technical View of a
Network
A “Network” really can be thought of as three
parts and they all need to be considered when
working on a network design project:
 Connections
 Communications
 Services
Connections
 Provided by Hardware that ties things together.
NIC
Wire/Fibber Transport Mechanisms
Routers
Switches/Hubs
Computers
 The Technical
Communications/Protocols
View
 Provided by Software
 A common language for 2 systems to communicate with each
other.
 Examples of Interoperability protocols
 TCP/IP (Linux/Windows)
 IPX / SPX (Novell Netware 4)
 AppleTalk (Macintosh)------ discontinued proprietary protocols
 Other Network OS

Services
 The Heart of Network Design
 Cooperation between 2 or more systems to perform some
function - Applications
 telnet, ssh
 FTP
 HTTP
 SMTP
 E-mail
 UDP
 Voice over IP
 File sharing
 Instant messaging
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Design Goals

Good designs should meet this goals:

 Deliver services requested by users
 Deliver acceptable throughput and response
times
 Be within budget and maximise cost
efficiencies
 Be reliable
 Be expandable without major redesign
 Be manageable by maintenance and support
staff
 Be well documented
Things to be considered in designing a network
Connectivity and security--Balancing Connectivity needs
while maintaining security is a challenge that needs to
be addressed in the design phase of any network.
Redundancy and Backing up-- having backup devices in
place for any mission-critical components in the network. Two
identical servers, for example, can be configured with fail-
safes so that one will take over if the other fails or requires
maintenance.
Standardization of Hardware and Software-licensed
Disaster recovery plan-- A detailed disaster recovery plan
should be a part of any network design. This includes for back-up
power and what procedures should be followed if the network or
server crashes. It should also include when data is backed up (daily,
weekly, annually), how it is backed up and where copies of the data
are stored. A comprehensive disaster recovery plan includes office
disasters, building disasters, and metropolitan-wide disasters.
Future growth of the organization--- some allowances for
future growth must be built into the network design.
Network design should factor in at least 20 percent growth
per year, including everything from switch ports to data
 Network Design Phases
• Designing a network is typically
broken into three sections/phases:
1. Determine needs/requirements/
What the network would be used for?
How many users are there and is
there any possibility of future growth?
What is the budget for this project?
Do the users need to be
interconnected or there are only
separate links?
What kind of connections to the
external network/Internet are
available?
2. Define the overall architecture
3. Choose technology and specific
devices
1st Step in Network Design:

Network Requirements
Analysis

21
Network requirements analysis (KYC
needs)
entails learning what users needs, identifying,
gathering, and understanding network
requirements and their characteristics
It is also about understanding network behavior
under various situations.
The purpose of network analysis is twofold: 1st,
to listen to users and understand their needs;
and 2nd, to understandNetwork
the network.
upgrades or enhances existing net
•Limitations of Existing Network to be
In analyzing a network upgraded
we examine:
•Technology used in Existing Network
state of the existing network- -- of Existing network
•Physical Design
•Logical diagram of the current topology
•current level of performance (the network
capacity, delay, traffic speed, security )
•A list of design constraints, such as the need
to use existing cabling or devices
 In analyzing a network we examine…
•
Requirement for all types of• needs-
User Requirement-needs & expectations of
n/w end users.
Network Requirement
• Applications Requirement
• Device Requirement

Put Sources of data • Other Requirement

Problems it may be having

develop sets of problem statements and
objectives that describe what our target
network will be addressing.
Develop requirements and traffic flows, as well
as mappings of users, applications, and devices,
in support of our problem statements and
• Distance between buildings
objectives. • How many floors are their in each building
Site survey is required
• How many rooms…
here
• is the geography to
suitable get
for WIFI a for
networks, clear
putting
picture of your plan. • servers, routers, switch's..
is it suitable to drag UTP cables over the floor
Network analysis----1st step in network
design
2nd Step in Network Design:
Network Architecture or
Logical Network Design

It involves creating a conceptual model of

how data flows through the network and
how various network components interact.

25
 Architecture—2nd step in
network design
The Logical Design describes what the network must do,
and how it must perform, to meet the requirements.
A Logical Design specifies how data flows through a
network, not where particular network elements are
physically located.
Determine the relationships among the functions of the
network (addressing/routing, network management,
performance, VLAN, and security)
Determine how to optimize the architecture across these
relationships.
Generally this step covers
Logical Topology for New Enhanced Network
Designing Network Layer Addressing, Naming and Switching
Selecting switching and routing protocols
IP Address Assignment ,VLAN, Security-ACL and VOIP
communication
Developing network security strategies
Developing network management strategies
Initial Investigation into which service providers can meet WAN
Architecture—2nd step in
network design
3 step in Network Design:
Selecting Network
Technologies and Devices
or
Physical Network Design
--Physical network design is a critical
phase in network design that involves the
actual implementation and layout of the
network's hardware and infrastructure.
---Unlike logical network design, which
focuses on abstract and conceptual aspects,
physical network design deals with the
tangible aspects of deploying and installing
28
Selecting Technologies-3rd step in network
design
The Physical Design shows how to make
the logical design work in the real world.
In this phase, the network designer creates
a detailed specification of the hardware,
software, links, services, and cabling
necessary to implement the Logical Design.

During this phase of the top-down network

design process approach will be selected,
Choices are made regarding to Cabling,
physical and data link layer protocols, and
internetworking devices (such as switches,
routers, and wireless access points).
Selecting Technologies-3rd step in network design
Selecting the following remote-access technologies, WAN
technologies and network devices is the key responsibility
of this step:
The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
Cable modems
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
Leased lines –rented for private voice, data exchange use
SONET
Frame Relay
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
Selecting switches, servers, routers for network design
Selecting a WAN service provider(cost, services &
technology, geography covered by the provider, security,
stay in business)
Selecting Cabling infrastructure
Selecting Technologies-3rd step in network
design

It is important to design and implement

the cabling infrastructure carefully, keeping
in mind availability and scalability goals,
and the expected lifetime of the design.
In many cases, your network design must
adapt to existing cabling.
Selecting Technologies-3rd step in network
design
Criteria of selecting internetworking devices
Number of ports
Processing speed
Amount of memory
Amount of latency
Throughput in packets per second
Ingress/egress queuing and buffering
techniques
LAN and WAN technologies supported
Autosensing of speed (for example, 10 or 100
Mbps)
Ease of configuration
Cost
Mean time between failure (MTBF) and mean
 Network Design
Methodology
A methodology is a documented, systematic
and scientific way of doing something.
Consists of details about the steps to proceed
in designing the network.
Large network design projects are normally
divided into three distinct steps/methods:
Step 1. Identify the network requirements.
Step 2. Characterize the existing network and
sites.
Step 3. Design the network topology and
solutions
Network Development Life
Cycle
Analysis

Management Design

Simulation/
Prototyping
Monitoring

Implementation

35
 Cisco PPDIOO Network Life
Cycle
Prepare: (optional)
creating high level conceptual architecture
this phase may include requirements
documentation and current state surveys.
Plan:
 Network requirements are identified in this phase
 Analysis of areas where the network will be installed
 Identification of users who will require network
services
Design:
 This is where the work gets done to configure and
deploy the network infrastructure. There is often
testing to validate the design in this phase. (design
model, validate, test, deploy)
 Accomplish the logical and physical design, according
to requirements gathered during the Plan phase
Implement:
 Network is built according to the Design36
specifications
 PPDIOO Network Life
Cycle
Operate:
 Operation is the final test of the effectiveness of the design
 The network is monitored during this phase for
performance problems and any faults, to provide input into
the Optimize phase
Optimize:
 Based on proactive network management which identifies
and resolves problems before network disruptions arise
 The optimize phase may lead to a network redesign
 if too many problems arise due to design errors, or
 as network performance degrades over time as actual use
and capabilities diverge
 Redesign may also be required when requirements change
significantly
Retire:
When the network, or a part of the network, is out-of-date, it
may be taken out of production
Although Retire is not incorporated into the name
37 of the life
cycle (PDIOO), it is nonetheless an important phase
 Approaches to network
design
Designing large-scale networks to meet
today’s dynamic business and IT needs is a
complex assignment, whether it is an
enterprise or service provider type of
network.
There are two common approaches to
analyze and design networks:
 Traditional design approach/Bottom-up design
 Building block approach / Top-down design

Knowing where you begin the design process

is the critical issue for your success.
Traditional Network Design
Based on developing and applying a set of rules
for the network design from personal
experience as well as from general rules.

Starts lower in the OSI model, worrying about

specific technologies, protocols, network media,
routers, switches.

Problem with this approach:

 It skips the steps of analyzing a customer's
requirements, selecting devices and media based
on those requirements
 High probability of failure
39
Traditional …….
The traditional/bottom-up approach: this
approach focuses on selecting network
technologies and design models first.

It is easier to implement as a quick fix.

It starts by purchasing new higher
bandwidth, new routers, switches, firewalls
so on.
When a customer expects a quick response to
a network design request
 A bottom-up network design approach can be
used, if the customer’s applications and goals
are well known.
What are the cons of this app?
 Traditional Network Design
Based on a set of general rules
 “80/20”
 “Bridge when you can, route when you must”
 Can’t deal with scalability & complexity
these rules are ancient from the perspective of
networking history, but they still apply today.
Focused on capacity planning
 Throw more bandwidth at the problem
 No consideration to delay optimization
 No guarantee of service quality
 Less importance given to network RMA
(Reliability, Maintainability, and Availability)
compared to throughput
 Traditional Network Design
What is “80/20” ?
 80% of the traffic on a given network segment
should be local, and not more than 20% of the
network traffic should need to move across a
backbone.
Backbone congestion can indicate that traffic
patterns are not meeting the 80/20 rule.

“bridge when you can, route when you must”

(bridging being simpler, easier, and cheaper at the time).

We also need to consider how delay through the

network, as well as network reliability, maintainability,
and availability (RMA), can be optimized.
In today’s evolving networks, delay and reliability can
be more important than capacity.
 Traditional Network Design

In this case, rather than adding switches or upgrading hubs, it

may be easier to improve network performance by doing one of
the following:
 Move resources to contain traffic locally within a
workgroup.
 Move users (logically, if not physically) so that the
workgroups more closely reflect the actual traffic patterns
 Add servers so that users can access them locally
without having to cross the backbone.

After you have ensured proper network design and

resource location, the next step is to determine the
optimal technology to meet your growing needs.
 Top-Down Network Design
Process
Begins at the upper layers of the OSI reference
model before moving to the lower layers
 Focuses on applications, sessions, and data
transport before the selection of routers, switches,
and media that operate at the lower layers
Start with the requirements of the organization,
the technology that is needed, and application
layer is the starting point.
Applications and services are analyzed for their
specific requirement first.
Provides big picture to the customer & designer.
Explores divisional structures to find the people:
 For whom the network will provide services, and
 From whom to get valuable information to make
44
the design succeed
 Top-Down Network Design
Process
It is an iterative process:
 It is important to first get an overall view of a
customer's requirements
 More detail can be gathered later on protocol
behavior, scalability requirements, technology
preferences, etc.
Recognizes that the logical model and the physical
design may change as more information is gathered

A top-down approach lets a network designer get

“the big picture” first and then spiral downward
into detailed technical requirements and
specifications
What cons of top-down app?
45
Types and scopes of Network
Types
Design
New network design
Re-engineering a network design
Network expansion design

Scopes
Network size
Number of sites
Distance between sites

46
1. New network design
Actually starting from scratch
No legacy networks to accommodate
Major driver is the budget, no compatibility
issues to worry
Getting harder to find these situations
2. Re-engineering a network design
Modifications to an existing network to
compensate for original design problems.
Sometimes required when network users change
existing applications or functionality
More of the type of problems seen today
3. Network expansion
Network designs that expand network capacity
Technology upgrades 47
 Network Design Tools
Networks are a complicated mix of applications, protocols,
device and link technologies, traffic flows, and routing
algorithms.

Network design tools analyzes (visually, mathematically,

or by simulation) what is happening in the network and
predict future behavior.

It specify the attributes of each device, link, or

application bit rate, traffic load, device throughput (in
bits or packets per second),transaction rate, routing
protocol, and so on.

Nearly every tool can identify and summarize network

congestion, load, lost packets, failure
48
and error
In this example, the border gateway protocol
(BGP) generates slightly less routing traffic
than the open-shortest-path-first (OSPF)
protocol, and both generate far less routing
traffic than the routing information protocol
 Who Uses Network Design Tools?
Depending on the situation, concepts of the ideal
network, design tool can vary greatly :
Network managers and engineers
 To operate the networks, troubleshoot and solve
performance problems
Network designers
 To build new networks or modernize existing ones &try
to reduce design time and improve design accuracy
Researchers
 To reduce development costs and risks, to test the
effects of new or modified protocols, devices,
architectures, component designs, and traffic models in
the lab

50
 What General-Purpose Tools Do?
Model LAN, frame relay, IP, and asynchronous transfer
mode (ATM) segments and traffic using stock library
models;

Predict link and device throughput and utilization;

Show which links and devices are over- and underused;

Show how (un)balanced loads affect links and devices;

Show the effects of link or device failures;

Show how changes in topology, device upgrades, or

expansion will affect performance;

Identify the applications or protocols contributing

most to network congestion and delay; 51
 What general tools do?....
Confirm that service-level agreements can or
cannot be met;
Predict the response times of applications
before deploying them;
Predict where bottlenecks and application
response time delays will appear first;
Predict how many users an application can
handle; and
Present results via animated utilization bars,
online graphical statistics and counters,
diagrams, reports, charts, and graphs.
 Difficulties to network design
Ambiguous Requirements
 The network will only transport IP
 The application requires Novell IPX

Conflicting Requirements
 Keep costs down
 High performance costs money

Lack of Design Tools

Lack of Management Tools
Lack of Vendor Interoperability
Lack of Documentation about Existing
network, How things should be done (e.g.,
wiring) and Vendor information

53
 Summary
Good design
 Is an iterative process of continuous refinement

 Is logical and consistent

 Should deliver acceptable performance and cost metrics

(trade-off)
 Is more than choosing the technology!

 If you are asked to design a network for Haramaya

university ICT what kind of questions you will ask

for hu users? Assume there is an existing network
there.
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End of Ch-1
Thank You