Top-Down Network Design

Chapter Ten
Selecting Technologies and Devices for Campus Networks

Copyright 2010 Cisco Press & Priscilla Oppenheimer

 Selecting Technologies and
Devices
• We now know what the network will look like.
• We also know what capabilities the network
will need.
• We are now ready to start picking out
technologies and devices.
• Chapter 10 has guidelines for campus
networks.
 Campus Network Design Steps
• Develop a cabling plant
design
• Select the types of cabling
• Select the data-link-layer
technologies
• Select internetworking
devices
– Meet with vendors
 Cabling Plant Design
Considerations
• Campus and building cabling topologies
• The types and lengths of cables between buildings
• Within buildings
– The location of telecommunications closets and cross-connect
rooms
– The types and lengths of cables for vertical cabling between floors
– The types and lengths of cables for horizontal cabling within
floors
– The types and lengths of cables for work-area cabling going from
telecommunications closets to workstations
 Centralized Versus Distributed
Cabling Topologies
• A centralized cabling scheme terminates
most or all of the cable runs in one area of
the design environment. A star topology is
an example of a centralized system.
• A distributed cabling scheme terminates
cable runs throughout the design
environment. Ring, bus, and tree topologies
are examples of distributed systems.
 Centralized Campus Cabling
Building B Building C Building D

Cable Bundle

Building A
 Distributed Campus Cabling
Building B Building C Building D

Building A
Types of Media Used in Campus
Networks
• Copper media
• Optical media
• Wireless media
 Copper Media Advantages

• Conducts electric current well

• Does not rust
• Can be drawn into thin wires
• Easy to shape
• Hard to break
 Copper Media

Coaxial Twisted-Pair

Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP)

 Coaxial Cable
• Solid copper conductor, surrounded by:
– Flexible plastic insulation
– Braided copper shielding
– Outer jacket
• Can be run without as many boosts from
repeaters, for longer distances between
network nodes, than either STP or UTP
cable
– Nonetheless, it’s no longer widely used
 Twisted-Pair Cabling
• A “twisted pair” consists of two copper
conductors twisted together
• Each conductor has plastic insulation
• Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
– Has metal foil or braided-mesh covering that encases
each pair
• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
– No metal foil or braided-mesh covering around pairs,
so it’s less expensive
 UTP Categories
• Category 1. Used for voice communication
• Category 2. Used for voice and data, up to 4 Mbps
• Category 3. Used for data, up to 10 Mbps
– Required to have at least 3 twists per foot
– Standard cable for most telephone systems
– Also used in 10-Mbps Ethernet (10Base-T Ethernet)
• Category 4. Used for data, up to 16 Mbps
– Must also have at least 3 twists per foot as well as other features
• Category 5. Used for data, up to 100 Mbps
– Must have 3 twists per inch!
• Category 5e. Used in Gigabit Ethernet
• Category 6. Used in Gigabit Ethernet and future technologies
 Optical Media

Multimode Fiber (MMF) Single-mode Fiber (SMF)

 Copper Vs Fiber-Optic Cabling
• Twisted-pair and coax cable transmit network signals in the
form of current
• Fiber-optic cable transmits network signals in the form of
light
• Fiber-optic cable is made of glass
– Not susceptible to electromagnetic or radio frequency interference
– Not as susceptible to attenuation, which means longer cables are
possible
– Supports very high bandwidth (10 Gbps or greater)
– For long distances, fiber costs less than copper
 Multimode Single-mode
• Larger core diameter • Smaller core diameter
• Beams of light bounce • Less bouncing around;
off cladding in multiple single, focused beam of
ways light
• Usually uses LED • Usually uses LASER
source source
• Less expensive • More expensive
• Shorter distances • Very long distances
 Wireless Media

• IEEE 802.11a, b, g, n
• Laser
• Microwave
• Cellular
• Satellite
 Cabling Guidelines
• At the access layer use
– Copper UTP rated for Category 5 or 5e, unless there is a
good reason not to
– To future proof the network
• Use 5e instead of 5
• Install UTP Category 6 rated cable and terminate the cable with
Cat 5 or 5e connectors
• Then only the connectors need to be changed to move up in speed
– In special cases
• Use MMF for bandwidth intensive applications
• Or install fiber along with the copper
 Cabling Guidelines
• At the distribution layer use
– MMF if distance allows
– SMF otherwise
– Unless unusual circumstances occur and cable
cannot be run, then use a wireless method
– To future proof the network
• Run both MMF and SMF
 LAN Technologies
• Half-duplex Ethernet (becoming obsolete)
• Full-duplex Ethernet
• 10-Mbps Ethernet (becoming obsolete)
• 100-Mbps Ethernet
• 1000-Mbps (1-Gbps or Gigabit) Ethernet
• 10-Gbps Ethernet
• Metro Ethernet
• Long Range Ethernet (LRE)
• Cisco’s EtherChannel
 IEEE 802.3 10-Mbps Ethernet
10 Mbps Ethernet

10Base5 10BaseT 10BaseF

Thick coax cable 2 pairs 2 multimode

Category-3 or optical fibers
500 meters
better UTP
10Base2 100 meters 10Broad36

Thin coax cable 3 channels of a

185 meters private CATV system
3600 meters
 IEEE 802.3 100-Mbps Ethernet
100BaseT

100BaseX
100BaseT4 100BaseT2

4 pairs 2 pairs
Category-3 or Category-3 or
better UTP better UTP
100 meters 100 meters

100BaseTX 100BaseFX

2 pairs Category-5 or 2 multimode optical fibers

better UTP 2000 meters (full duplex)
100 meters
 IEEE 802.3 Gigabit Ethernet
1000BaseX

1000BaseSX 1000BaseLX 1000BaseCX 1000BaseT

2 multimode optical fibers 2 multimode or single-mode 2 pairs STP 4 pairs Category-5 UTP
using shortwave laser optics optical fibers using longwave 25 meters 100 meters
550 meters laser optics
550 meters multimode, 5000
meters single-mode
 IEEE 802.3 10-Gbps Ethernet
10GBase with Fiber Cabling

10GBaseLX4 10GBaseSR 10GBaseLR 10GBaseER

Multimode or single-mode Multimode optical Single-mode Single-mode

optical fibers fibers optical fibers optical fibers
300 meters multimode, 300 meters 10 km 40 km
10 km single-mode
IEEE 802.3 10-Gbps Ethernet
10GBase with Copper Cabling

10GBaseCX4 SFP+ Direct

Attach 10GBaseT

XAUI 4-lane PCS Twinax UTP or STP

15 meters 10 meters 100 meters
 Metro Ethernet

• Service offered by providers and carriers

that traditionally had only classic WAN
offerings
• The customer can use a standard Ethernet
interface to reach a MAN or WAN
• The customer can add bandwidth as needed
with a simple configuration change
 Long-Reach Ethernet
• Enables the use of Ethernet over existing,
unconditioned, voice-grade copper twisted-pair
cabling
• Used to connect buildings and rooms within buildings
– Rural areas
– Old cities where upgrading cabling is impractical
– Multi-unit structures such as hotels, apartment complexes,
business complexes, and government agencies
Cisco’s EtherChannel
Data Center Switch

800 Mbps EtherChannel

West Fiber Run East Fiber Run

400 Mbps 400 Mbps

Wiring Closet Switch

 Internetworking Devices for
Campus Networks
• Switches
• Routers
• Wireless access points
• Wireless bridges
 Selection Criteria for
Internetworking Devices
• The number of ports
• Processing speed
• The amount of memory
• Latency when device relays data
• Throughput when device relays data
• LAN and WAN technologies supported
• Media supported
 More Selection Criteria for
Internetworking Devices
• Cost
• Ease of configuration and management
• MTBF and MTTR
• Support for hot-swappable components
• Support for redundant power supplies
• Quality of technical support, documentation, and
training
• Etc.
 Summary
• Once the logical design is completed, the physical
design can start
• A major task during physical design is selecting
technologies and devices for campus networks
– Media
– Data-link layer technology
– Internetworking devices
• Also, at this point, the logical topology design can be
developed further by specifying cabling topologies
 Review Questions
• What are three fundamental media types used in
campus networks?
• What selection criteria can you use to select an
Ethernet variety for your design customer?
• What selection criteria can you use when purchasing
internetworking devices for your design customer?
• Some people think Metro Ethernet will replace
traditional WANs. Do you agree or disagree and
why?