Information Systems IT Infrastructure Project: Designing LAN Networks Assignment

 

IT Infrastructure Project: Designing LAN Networks Designing LAN Networks

 

All labs must be submitted using the version of Packet Tracer in the online course/learning management system. Please do NOT use other versions of Packet Tracer to ensure licensing compliance and proper assessment/credit. In addition, please do NOT add users or passwords to any device, leave all credentials blank for assessment purposes. No compressed or zipped files will be received for credit, please submit each file individually.

 

Project Background

In this project you will study scholarly research on modern IT infrastructure design. You will apply the knowledge learned from your studies by designing and configuring a modern LAN network in Cisco Packet Tracer.

Reference the incomplete and faulty network architecture in Figure 1. Note, this design should not be copied in any form. Submitting a copied Figure 1 design will result in zero credit.

Friendly Care Hospital is one of the biggest hospitals in the U.S. It operates its own private cloud and does not use any third-party vendors for any of its networking or services. It owns all of its hardware in on-site on campus data centers and must continue to do so in the future. You have recently bought the hospital, naming it [Your Firstname Lastname] Hospital. For example, Jane Doe Hospital.

The hospital has recently expanded to another continent, Australia. The U.S. LAN and Australia LAN are connected. The LANs were connected using ISPs, VPNs, and WANs. However, the department staff sometimes faces long application delays during busy hours. For example, users experience regular delays in Internet connectivity, web services, and email services. You are tasked with the job of a complete computer network re-design that resolves these problems.

The 100% original and new design must support an enterprise network for over 2,000 devices that connects two corporate sites located in the U.S. and Australia. The new network design and associated Packet Tracer configurations must be supported by modern scholarly journal articles and relevant research.

Please read the instructions that follow and reference the grading rubric for guidance on successful completion.

Figure 1. Original but Flawed Friendly Care Hospital Network Design (Do NOT copy)

Figure 2. Compliant / Proper Screenshot

Instructions

 

Network Topology 1

*Note, this is an example for reference and NOT a proper solution. Do not copy this framework. A unique design is necessary by the student to meet the requirements.

 

Figure 3. Cisco Hierarchical Design Layers (Bruno & Jordan, 2021)

 

 

Network Topology 2

*Note, this is an example for reference and NOT a proper solution. Do not copy this framework. A unique design is necessary by the student to meet the requirements.

 

Figure 4. Multi Building Design Example (Bruno & Jordan, 2021)

 

 

1) Please review the grading rubric to ensure requirements are met.

2) Figure 1 represents the two campus LANs within the introduction that require improvement.

3) A successful project will identify and apply modern designs to a new network topology with improved performance, fault tolerance, and high availability beyond the Cisco Hierarchical Design in figures 3 and 4. Research is necessary to accomplish this.

4) Using proper research and industry best practices, design and configure a new and improved fault tolerant and highly available local area network (LAN) topology that connects two large campuses with over 2,000 nodes.

5) Packet Tracer should include labeling with modern APA in-text citations of the supported frameworks, standards, and/or research results that validate the design, topology, and configurations. At least two (2) supporting design frameworks should be published within the last 5 years.

6) Minimally design and properly configure:

a) two (2) scalable local area networks (LANs) on two unique campuses in close proximity connected over fault tolerant routers

b) three (3) VLANs that operate across highly available LANs

c) for testing, add two (2) laptops on two (2) unique VLANs per switch minimum

d) two (2) fault tolerant internet service providers (ISPs)

e) minimum of one (1) fault tolerant, highly available, and scalable data center accessible over the Internet from both country sites

f) ensure the new data center design supports primary/example services such as DHCP servers, internal and external DNS services, email services, and web services

7) Design a new IP address table for all devices using any IP address in the 172.16.0.0/12 prefix range or 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255. All addresses can be IPv4 or IPv6 for simplicity. Ensure subnets are efficient but also include sufficient IP designs for the number of future devices needed.

8) Add the necessary hardware using your first name and last name as a prefix. For example, if your name is “Amy Smith”, router one will be named: “R1_Amy_Smith”. Router 2 will be named “R2_Amy_Smith” and so on.

9) At the access or similar layer of the network topology, create three (3) or more VLANs. At the distribution or similar layer, ensure VLAN trunks and inter-VLAN routing is configured. Name the VLANs with your first name and last name and a department like human resources (HR) and sales. For example, if your name is “Amy Smith” they should be:

a) F0/1 is the native trunk for VLAN 99.

b) F0/7 – F0/18 as access ports in VLAN amysmith_HR.

c) F0/19 – F0/24 as access ports in VLAN amysmith_Sales.

10) At the proper layers of the new network design, configure OSPF, EIGRP, or a better protocol as the LAN protocol. The LAN protocol should be configured using current industry best practices to manage all LAN IP subnets.

11) Configure proper static routes to ISP devices.

12) In Packet Tracer, label with detail and add in-text citations. For example, label the network architecture layers, IP subnets, VLANs, and OSPF areas.

Validating Completion

1) Please review the grading rubric to ensure requirements are met.

2) Submit screenshots in the same Microsoft Word document as part 1.

3) Multiple routers/switches must be shown side by side to minimize the number of screenshots.

4) Show screenshots of the major protocols and connections functioning properly. All devices should be able to communicate.

5) Show troubleshooting steps that validate the proper operation of configurations such as VLANs and OSPF.

6) Validate and explain how you know your configurations are correct and working. Use compliant screenshots of each troubleshooting step used to validate. For example, how do you know OSPF neighbors are sending proper LSAs?