Ross_Cannon_Networking_And_Support_Project

Dundalk Institute of Technology
Networking and Support (Level 7)
3rd
Year Project
The Design and Implementation of a Network Solution
Written by Ross Cannon.
© Ross Cannon
All rights reserved

Dundalk Institute of Technology Ross Cannon
Bachelor of Science in Computing in Networking and Support Page 2 of 127
Table of Contents
Businesses Background ........................................................................................................................................6
Whitewaters user requirements.......................................................................................................................6
Business Goals................................................................................................................................................7
Increased Profit/ Revenue...............................................................................................................................7
Avoid Business Disruption.............................................................................................................................7
Business Constrains........................................................................................................................................7
Technical Goals ..............................................................................................................................................8
Network Performance.....................................................................................................................................8
Availability.....................................................................................................................................................8
Network Security............................................................................................................................................8
Technical Constraints .....................................................................................................................................8
The Physical Layer ...............................................................................................................................................9
Structured Cabling..........................................................................................................................................9
Twisted Pair Cable..........................................................................................................................................9
Solid Conductor and Stranded Conductor Cable ..........................................................................................10
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)....................................................................................................................10
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) ........................................................................................................................11
Plenum Cable................................................................................................................................................11
Copper Based Cables....................................................................................................................................11
Optical Fibre Cable.......................................................................................................................................15
Multimode Optical Fibre ..............................................................................................................................16
Monomode Optical Fibre..............................................................................................................................16
Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fibre Cables ..............................................................................17
Physical Layer Justification.......................................................................................................................18
Main Floor....................................................................................................................................................18
Administration Floor ....................................................................................................................................19
Accommodation Floor..................................................................................................................................20
Hotels Main Floor.........................................................................................................................................21
Spreadsheet Containing Naming Conventions for The Hotels Main Floor ..................................................22
Administration Floor ....................................................................................................................................23
0Spreadsheet Containing Naming Conventions For The Hotels Administration Floor................................24
Hotel Accommodation Floors.......................................................................................................................25
Spreadsheet Containing Naming Conventions For The Hotels Accommodation Floors..............................26

The Data Link Layer..........................................................................................................................................27
Switches........................................................................................................................................................27
Unmanaged Switch.......................................................................................................................................28
Managed Switch ...........................................................................................................................................28
Switch Hierarchy ..........................................................................................................................................30
VLAN's.........................................................................................................................................................31
Advantages of Using VLAN's ......................................................................................................................31
Statically Configured VLAN's......................................................................................................................32
Dynamically Configured VLAN's ................................................................................................................32
VLAN Design...............................................................................................................................................32
Trunking .......................................................................................................................................................33
VLAN Trunking Protocol.............................................................................................................................33
802.1Q Trunking Protocol............................................................................................................................33
Wireless Access Points.................................................................................................................................34
Wireless Controller.......................................................................................................................................36
Power over Ethernet .....................................................................................................................................37
Obstacles that could affect the radio waves propagation..............................................................................38
Specifying the band for the wireless network...............................................................................................39
Specifying the power for the wireless network.............................................................................................40
Specifying the different channels on the wireless network...........................................................................41
Specifying the signal to noise ratio of the wireless network in dBm............................................................42
Specifying the data rate of the wireless network in Mbps ............................................................................44
The Networking Layer .......................................................................................................................................46
Routers..........................................................................................................................................................46
IP Addressing Scheme..................................................................................................................................47
WAN Connectivity.......................................................................................................................................47
Project Description.............................................................................................................................................48
User Specification.........................................................................................................................................48
Packet Tracer Implementation..........................................................................................................................49
Packet Tracer Description.............................................................................................................................49
Internal Network Design...............................................................................................................................50
The Physical Layer .............................................................................................................................................51
Introduction to Packet Tracers GUI..............................................................................................................51
Design Implementation.................................................................................................................................51
Testing Connectivity.....................................................................................................................................52
Network Overview .......................................................................................................................................54
Overview Description...................................................................................................................................55
Backbone Switch Port Assignment...............................................................................................................55
Edge Switches Port Assignment...................................................................................................................55

The Data Link Layer..........................................................................................................................................58
VLAN Design...............................................................................................................................................58
VLAN Interface Assignment........................................................................................................................60
VLAN Configuration....................................................................................................................................62
Creating A VLAN ........................................................................................................................................62
Configuring Switchport Mode-Access .........................................................................................................63
Establishing Successful Configuration .........................................................................................................63
Trunking .......................................................................................................................................................63
Trunkport Port Assignment ..........................................................................................................................64
Trunking Configuration................................................................................................................................65
Wireless ........................................................................................................................................................69
Wireless Configuration.................................................................................................................................71
The Network Layer ............................................................................................................................................75
Layer Three Design ......................................................................................................................................75
IP Addressing Assignment ...........................................................................................................................76
Router Configuration....................................................................................................................................77
Routing Information Protocol (RIP).............................................................................................................78
RIP Configuration.........................................................................................................................................78
Sub Interfaces ...............................................................................................................................................80
Configuring Sub Interfaces the Dublin Router .............................................................................................80
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)...........................................................................................83
DHCP Scope Assignment.............................................................................................................................84
Configuring DHCP on Dundalk Server ........................................................................................................85
DHCP and IP Helper ....................................................................................................................................87
Configuring DHCP on Dublin Router ..........................................................................................................88
Enabling Routing Functionality on Layer Three Switch ..............................................................................89
Static Route ..................................................................................................................................................89
Static Route Configuration ...........................................................................................................................90
Access Control Lists.....................................................................................................................................91
Access Control Lists Configuration..............................................................................................................92

WAN Configuration ...........................................................................................................................................94
Frame Relay..................................................................................................................................................94
Configuring Frame Relay .............................................................................................................................95
NAT/PAT .....................................................................................................................................................97
Configuring NAT/PAT.................................................................................................................................98
Server Configuration........................................................................................................................................101
Windows Server 2008 R2.................................................................................................................................102
Active Directory Domain Service (ADDS) ................................................................................................102
Active Directory In The Whitewater Hotel ................................................................................................102
Active Directory Structure for the Whitewater Hotel.................................................................................103
Active Directory Environmental Script ......................................................................................................107
Domain Name System (DNS) ....................................................................................................................110
File Service.................................................................................................................................................110
File Service in the Whitewater Hotel..........................................................................................................110
Enabling File Service on Windows Server 2008 R2...................................................................................110
Folder Structure for the Whitewater Hotel .................................................................................................111
File Service Logon Script ...........................................................................................................................114
File Service Test Plan.................................................................................................................................116
Ubuntu Server...................................................................................................................................................117
Joining Ubuntu Machines To Active Directory Domain ............................................................................117
Apache Web Service...................................................................................................................................119
Configuring Apache Web Service ..............................................................................................................119
Testing the Apache Web Service................................................................................................................120
DHCP Configuration ..................................................................................................................................121
Testing connectivity ...................................................................................................................................122

Businesses Background
Whitewaters hotels are a chain of businesscommercial hotels which are situated across Ireland.
Each of Whitewaters hotels are designed with the same blueprints, which indicates that each of Whitewaters
hotels are almost identical.
Each of Whitewaters hotels consist of six floors, four of which are for business and general accommodation.
One administration floor is used to accommodate office space for the staff of Whitewater hotel. The ground
floor consists of the hotels hospitality services such as the hotel's restaurant, bar, ballroom suite and
functionconference room. Whitewaters hotels cater for many events such as, business conferences, weddings,
social gatherings and private functions.
Whitewaters user requirements
A top down methodology was implemented to this project to ensure the customer requirements where properly
analysed. The user requirements for Whitewaters hotels are each outlined below.
 Whitewater hotels aim to meet the technical needs for each of their customers as they wish to offer
complementary wireless Internet access throughout each of their hotels.
 Whitewater hotels specify that a disaster recovery solution is required to avoid business disruption.
 Whitewater hotels require a secure and available network, a 30 minute downtime period will be permitted
each week for network maintenance.
 Whitewater hotels also require their network to have a high bandwidth capacity, this requirement is needed
reduce the risk of jitter in applications such as video conferencing and VOIP.

Business Goals
Increased Profit/ Revenue
Whitewaters hotels wish to deploy wireless access points across each of their hotels to provide each of their
customers, be it for business or general leisure use, with complementary wireless Internet access. This allows
mobile users to access v/mail and emails via portable devices such as laptops, tablets, androids and Iphones.
Wireless internet access is basic necessity for business guests. One of the main advantages of providing this
free service is that it would attract businesses to use the hotel for business conferences and meetings, thus
increasing the hotels revenue.
In addition to the complementary wireless Internet service, Whitewater hotels wish to install a small business
centre located on the ground floor of each of their hotels. This business centre is an alternative solution for
customers travelling without mobile devices as it provides guests with wired internet access and printing
facilities.
Avoid Business Disruption
Whitewaters hotels wish to introduce a backup recovery solution for each of their hotels network. To introduce a
backup recovery solution a SAN must be deployed. The SAN will be interconnected to a tape backup drive. At
the end of each working day a copy of the tape backup should be kept on site and another copy should be
brought to a remote location where it would then be stored. Critical business files such as documents relating
customers information and business suppliers should all be stored on the tape backup unit, whereas long term
unchanged data files and log files and should not be stored on the tape backup unit as it would delay the process
of restoration.
Business Constrains
In regards to the complementary wireless Internet access, each of whitewaters hotels are a new build. All of the
walls on each of the accommodation floors are solid concrete. The solid concrete walls will obstruct the radio
frequency waves and restrict the range of each wireless access point’s signal. As a result of this issue, additional
access points will be required to provide the guests with reliable wireless internet access. Additional access
points lead to additional cost. In result, it will affect the overall budget of this project.
In regards to the introduction of a backup recovery solution the cost will have to be taken into consideration.
Hardware components such as a SAN and a tape backup unit are relatively expensive. Backup software is also
required to perform regular backups. The requirement for a backup recovery system is expensive and will affect
the overall budget of the project.

Technical Goals
Network Performance
Whitewaters hotels require their wireless network to have a high level of performance, as business guests
depend on the network for applications such as video conferencing and VOIP. The wireless network should
have a high bandwidth capacity to minimise the effects of jitter on the network. Quality of Service should also
be implemented on the wireless network to provide real-time traffic with a higher priority than data traffic. In
open the areas of the hotel, the wireless network must be able to withstand the large capacity of users on the
network at a given time.
Availability
Whitewaters hotels also require there wireless network to be 99.70% available, this permits 30 minutes of
downtime per week for network maintenance issues. There wireless network must be fully functional from
Mondays to Fridays, as midweek periods are when businesses would use the hotels facilities for conferences and
meetings. The scheduled down time will take place on Saturdays at 4:30 am, as this is the time there is the least
amount of usage on the network. If the wireless network is not available or is unreliable, then businesses would
stop using the hotels facilities, resulting in loss of revenue for the hotel.
Network Security
Whitewaters hotels require a safe and secure network, in regards to the complementary wireless Internet access
for guests, certain types of websites will have to be blocked such as torrent and graphic websites, by using a
firewall. In regards to the hotels Local Area Network, additional types of security such as NAT,VLAN's must
be implemented to ensure that files on the network are not compromised. Anti-Virus Protection must also be
implemented to protect the wired network from Trojan horses and viruses.
Technical Constraints
In regards to Network Performance, the Quality of Service that may be implemented on the wireless network
will have high demands on the CPU of the routers and it can cause delay on the network. The wireless network
will require additional configurations, a skilled technician will be required to configure and manage the wireless
network to ensure that the performance of the network is maintained.
In regards to the networks availability, there will be a large amount of energy consumption throughout the week,
due to the network being constantly online. This will result in increased electricity bills for whitewaters hotels.
Network Security is one of the first and foremost factors of a business's network, cost does not come into play
when considering the different types of security available. Anti-Virus software is essential in every business's
network and is required for this project. VLAN's will also have to be implemented to ensure that each group of
users only have access to their own specific resources. NAT will also have to be implemented to protect the
business's network form outbound sources, the only disadvantage of using NAT is that it has high demands on
the CPU of the routers and it can cause delay on the network.

The Physical Layer
Structured Cabling
In the past data and voice cabling systems were vendor specific, this meant that specific cables only worked
with specific vendors. This caused many problems when individuals wanted to combine multiple products from
multiple vendors. To overcome this problem, the TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association) and EIA
(Electronic Industries Alliance) designed standards that would encourage structured cabling
Structured cabling was introduced to support a one size fits all cable solution, for example devices such as VoIP
telephones, IP security cameras and wireless access points all use the same type of cable (category cables).
Twisted Pair Cable
A twisted pair cable consists of two independent copper conductors that are twisted together, each copper
conductor is wrapped in its own plastic insulation.
The two wires are twisted together to ensure that each wire is equally exposed to the interfering signal, In
balanced mode operations, the voltage's of the two wires are used to determine the difference between the two
signals.
For example if the voltage for wire one is 5 volts and the voltage for wire two is 2 volts, the difference between
the two wires is 3, making the voltage of the pair 3 volts. If the voltage of the wire changes due to interference,
the twisting will cause the interference to be equally carried onto both of the wires, therefore, both wires are
equally affected. The receiver calculates the difference between the two, which cancels out any unwanted signal.
This configuration is used for the purpose of reducing noise that can be created by Electromagnetic Interference
(EMI) from external sources such as florescent lights, air conditioners and electric motors. Pairs in the same
cable have different twist rates relative to each other, the different twist rates were implemented to minimise the
effects of crosstalk. Twisted pair cabling comes in three verities, Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), Shielded
Twisted Pair (STP) and Foiled Twisted Pair (FTP).

Solid Conductor and Stranded Conductor Cable
Copper cable conductors are available in two different forms.
These two forms are solid conductors and stranded conductors.
Solid conductor cable has one large gauge wire in each sleeve.
Stranded conductors are made of several small gauge wires in each
sleeve, the small gauge wires are twisted together to create one large
conductor.
Solid conductors are easily terminated and provide better transmission
performance, they are traditionally used for long length cable runs,
whereas stranded conductors are more flexible making it more
appropriate for short distance patch leads.
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Unshielded Twisted Pair is one of the most common network cables used to date as it is lightweight, reliable and
reasonably priced. It is widely used in Local Area Networks (LANs) and telephone connections.
Unshielded twisted pair comes in various categories, which can vary from in home telephone wiring to Ethernet
network cables, unshielded twisted pair is not surrounded by any shielding. It depends on twisting of the pairs
and differential transmission to reduce interference. The use of unshielded twisted pair cable has many
advantages, such as, it is easy to install and it is relatively cheap.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
Another type of twisted pair cable is shielded twisted pair (STP). With Shielded twisted pair, each pair of wires
are contained within a metal shield. The four pair of wires are contained in an overall metal covering. The extra
covering in shielded twisted pair wiring protects the wires from crosstalk and electromagnetic interference. The
advantage of using shielded twisted pair cable over unshielded twisted cable is that it provides greater protection
from all types of external interference, although, it is more expensive and more difficult to install than UTP.
Plenum Cable
Plenum cable is used when running cable in areas such as ventilation ducts, or drop ceilings. Plenum cable is
surrounded with flame retardant jacket. This flame retardant jacket emits low smoke in the case of a fire.
Plenum cables also have a lower bend radius than non-plenum cables, this is due to the material that is used to
manufacture the plenum cables. Plenum cables are also relatively more expensive than non-plenum cables.
Copper Based Cables
There are numerous types of category cable available, the higher the category of cable, the greater the
performance.
Category Maximum Data Transmission Speed Maximum Bandwidth
Category 3 10 Mbps 16 MHz
Category 5 10/100Mbps 100 MHz
Category 5e 1000 Mbps 100 MHz
Category 6 1000 Mbps 250 MHz
Category 6a 10,000 Mbps 500 MHz

Category 3 Cable
Category 3 cable is an unshielded twisted pair cable. It has a maximum transmission speed of 10 Mbps and has
the capability of carrying signal frequencies of up to 16 MHz’s. Category 3 cable not as popular today for wired
networks as cat 6a is considered to be the interim standard network cable at this present moment in time.
Category 5 Cable
Category 5 cable is also a type unshielded twisted pair, this cable consists of four insulated copper pairs that are
contained within a single sheath. It has the capability of carrying signal frequencies of up to 100 MHz's and
supports transmission speeds from 10 to 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet), the Fast Ethernet communications only
utilise two out of the four copper pairs.
Category 5 Enhanced is an improved version of the category 5 cable. Category 5 Enhanced was considered to be
the interim standard before category 6 was developed. It has the capability of carrying signal frequencies of up
to 100 MHz and supports Gigabit Ethernet speeds of 1000 Mbps over short distances. It is also backwards
compatible meaning it can be used in conjunction with category 5 cables.
Category 6 Cable
Category 6 cable is an advanced Ethernet cable, it provides better performance characteristics than previous
category cables. It has the capability of carrying signal frequencies of up to 250 MHz and provides transmission
speeds of 10 Gbps up to a range of 30 meters. The Gigabit Ethernet communications utilise all four of the copper
pairs. The cable contains a plastic separator which isolates each of the four pairs from one another.
The separator was introduced to reduce crosstalk and also allow for data to be transferred faster.
Category 6 cable is available in unshielded twisted pair and shielded twisted pair.
It is also backwards compatible with all lower category cables.
Category 6 Augmented is an improved version of category 6 cable. It has the capability of carrying signal
frequencies of up to 500 MHz and provides transmission speeds of 10 Gbps up to a range of 100 meters. In
comparison to the category 6 cable, category 6 augmented can provide 10 Gbps up to a range of 100 meters,
while category 6 cable can only provide 10 Gbps up to a range of 30 meters.
Category 6A cable has a lower bend radius than previous category cables as it is thicker. It is also relatively
expensive as it has a typical cost of €108 per 100 meter reel. It is also backwards compatible with all lower
category cables.

Creating a patch Cable
To create a patch cable the following tools are required an electrical scissors, a crimping tool and a cable tester.
Each tool is clearly illustrated in the section below.
When creatating a patch cable, the first objective is to determine the lenght of the required patch cable.
The second objective is to then carfully remove the outer jacket using an electrical sisscors.
Always ensure that only the outer jacket is pireced upon removalof the sheeth as deep penitration can damage
the internal pairs. The third objective is to then seperate each of the exposed copper pairs, then carfully untwist
each pair so that each wire can lay flat between your finger and your thumb.
The forth objective is to then arrange the wires based on what TIA specification is to be installed. There are
two different wiring specifications set by the TIA, which are TIA 568A and TIA 568B. After the wires are
arranged into the correct order, insert the exposed wires into an RJ-45 connector.
Always ensure that each copper wire touches the copper base on the RJ-45 connector.
The fifth objective is to then use the crimping tool to terminate the RJ-45 connector.
Repeat all the previous objectives for the other end of the patch cable.
The last objective is to then use the cable tester to test the preformance of the patch cable. It is important to note
that a pacth cable should only be created using a stranded category cable, solid category cable are not suitble for
patch cables.
1. Removal of outer
jacket.
2. Separation of pairs. 3. TIA 568A & 568B
specification.
4. Crimping tool, terminate RJ-45
connector.

Face Plates
A face plate is a connecting component that is used to mount modular plugs to surfaces such as walls, desks and
floors. Using face plates in your network is an effective way to organise where each data and voice point run
back to.
Labels can be applied to the front of a face plate to identify what patch panel port number is connected to that
particular face plate. To connect a cable to a face plate one end of the cables wires has to be terminated at the
back of the modular plug using a punch down tool.
The modular plugs on the back of the face plate can either be clipped onto the face plate or they can be attached
to the face plate. The face plates with built in modular plugs are more efficient than the faceplates with the clip
on modular plugs as over time the clip on modular plugs can break, causing the modular plug to come loose.
Example of a Face Plate with two modular plugs. Example of a Face Plate with a clip in modular plug
Patch Panels
A Patch Panel is a connecting hardware component that is used to manage and organise network cables.
The termination block on the rear side of the patch panel is used to terminate solid conductor cables to the patch
panel. A 110 Punch Down tool is used to terminate each of the cables. Each cable that is terminated on the
termination block will then correspond to a port on the front of the Patch Panel. On the front side of a Patch Panel,
each port has a label and is assigned a port number, this makes it easy to organise and manage each network cable.
Patch Panels are available in either 12, 24, 48 port configurations and can be rack mounted or vertically wall
mounted, some patch panels can also come with a rear management tray, the rear management tray is used to
neatly tie down the network cables and release each cable of stress. Using a Patch Panels without a rear
management tray is harder to work with as it does not provide a place to tie down your network cable.
Siemons HD Cat 6 UTP Patch Panel with rear management tray. Punch Down Tool used to terminate cables.

The Patch panel that has been selected for the main floor and the accommodation floors of this project is the
Siemons HD 24 port Cat 6 UTP Patch Panel. The reason why I chose this patch panel was because it can be
rack mounted and it comes with a rear management tray which allows for the network cables to be tied down
neatly. It also comes with colour coded labels which can be used to make the organisation and management of
the network cables easier. The Siemons HD cat 6 UTP Patch Panel is also backwards compatible with lower
category cables such as cat 5 and cat 5e. The total cost for one Siemons HD cat 6 UTP Patch Panel is €160.
Panduit DP246X88TGY Category-6A 24-Port Flat Punchdown Patch Panel.
The Patch Panel I have chosen for the administration floor of this project is the Panduit DP246X88TGY
Category-6A 24-Port Flat Punchdown Patch Panel. The reason why I chose this patch panel was because it
exceeds the specifications for category 6A and category 6A components. It is also PoE compatible, and comes
with labels which makes the management of the network cables easier. The total cost for one of Panduits 24 port
category 6A patch panel is €350.
Optical Fibre Cable
An optical fibre cable is made of glass and transmits signals in the form of light pulses. An optical fibre cable is
comprised of four different layers. The core is the light carrying component of the optical fibre cable.
The cladding surrounds the core, its purpose is to keep the light contained within the core. Strength members
surround the cladding and the core, its purpose is to protect the optical fibres from physical damage.
It does not affect the characteristics of the optical fibres. The outer jacket contains and protects the inner three
layers. Optical fibre cables are described in terms of their core and cladding size.
Optical fibres use reflection to transmit light signals. When a mode of light travels through the core it gets
reflected off the cladding. The cladding has a lower refractive index than the core, this is what makes the
reflection possible.

Multimode Optical Fibre
Multimode optical fibre cables have a relatively large core size that allows many modes (wavelengths) of light to
travel down the core simultaneously. The large core size allows inexpensive light sources such as LEDs to be
used.
Multimode optical fibre cables have a limited cable run of up to 2 kilometers, this is due to the multimode
operation, the signal degrades as the light travels down the core. Multimode optical fibre cables support
transmission speeds of 100Mbps for distances up to 2 kilometers, 1 Gbps up to 1000 meters and 10Gbps up to
550 meters. Multimode optical fibre cables can be identified by their orange coloured jacket.
Monomode Optical Fibre
Monomode optical fibre cables have a much smaller core size that only permits one mode (wavelength) of light
to travel down the core. Monomode optical fibre cables are relatively more expensive than multimode fibre
optic cables, this is due to the expensive materials that are required to manufacture monomode optical fibre
cables.
It uses expensive light sources such as laser beams to transmit data from one node to the other. Monomode fibre
optic cables are primarily used for long distance cable runs that can reach up to 100 kilometers. Monomode fibre
optic cables provide a greater bandwidth capacity than multimode as only a single mode of light can travel down
the core. Monomode optical fibre cables can be identified by their yellow coloured jacket.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fibre Cables
Optical Fibre Cables provide many advantages in a wired network. These advantages include:
Greater Bandwidth
Optical Fibre cables transmit data at the speed of light, providing greater bandwidth over twisted pair or coaxial
cables.
Cable Characteristics
Optical Fibre cables are lighter, thinner and more flexible than copper based cables. These characteristics make
installation easier.
Non-Flammable
Optical Fibre cables do not use electrical currents to transmit data, therefore no electricity passes through the
cable. This reduces the possibility of any sparks or flames occurring.
Longer Cable Runs
Optical Fibre cables can be ran at greater distances than copper and coaxial cables. Monomode Optical Fibre
cables can run up to distances of 100 kilometers. Multimode Optical Fibre Cables can run up to a distance of 2
kilometers. Optical Fibre Cables are not limited to a distance of 100 meters, whereas copper based cables are
limited to a distance of 100 meters.
Immune to Electromagnetic Interference
As Optical Fibre Cables transmit data in the form of light pulses, they are immune to electromagnetic noise and
interference.
Security
Optical Fibre Cables provide greater security than twister pair or coaxial cables. Optical Fibre Cables are harder
to tap than copper based cables. If the cable is tapped it will cause the cable to leak light, making it easy to
monitor. If the light leaks from the cable the performance of the network will deteriorate as data is transmitted in
the form of light. Although Optical Fibre Cables provide many advantages, there are some disadvantage of
using Optical Fibre cables.
Fragility
Optical Fibre Cables are fragile in comparison to copper based cables. This is because the core of the Optical
Fibre cable is made of glass, if the core gets damaged then the cable will not be able to transmit data.
Requires Expertise
Optical Fibre cables require expertise to install and maintain, skills such as splicing are required to join Optical
Fibre Cables together.
Cost
Optical Fibre cables and interfaces are more expensive than Copper based cables and interfaces, if there is no
need for a large amount of bandwidth then Copper Based cabling is better suited as it is not as expensive as fibre
cabling.

Physical Layer Justification
Main Floor
The twisted pair cable I have chosen for the main floor of this project was Category 6 Unshielded Twisted Pair
Cable. The reason why I chose Category 6 UTP Cable was because it can provide the users on this floor with a
bandwidth capacity of 250MHz and transmission speeds of 10Gbps up to 30 meters.
I thought that category 6 cable would be better suited for this project than category 5e as category 6 cable is
relatively cheap and provides better performance characteristics than category 5e cable. Category 6 cable is also
more resistant to crosstalk than Category 5e cable.
The reason why I didn't choose category 6A cable for this floor was because the users on this floor would not
need as high of a bandwidth capacity as they will only be using the network to perform basic tasks.
The optical fibre cable I have chosen to use to connect the switch on this floor to the networks backbone is
multimode optical fibre.
Four Siemons HD Cat 6 UTP Patch Panels are required for this floor. Two of the patch panels will be used for
data transmission and the other two will be used for voice transmission
Total cost for category 6 cable
1 box of category 6 cable = €96
11 boxes of cable are required for this floor, 96 * 11 = 1056
Therefore, the total cost for 11 boxes of cable is €1056
Total cost for Patch Panels
1 Siemons HD Cat 6 UTP Patch Panel = €160
Therefore, the total cost for 4 Patch Panels =€640

Administration Floor
The twisted pair cable I have chosen for the administration floor of this project was Category 6A Unshielded
Twisted Pair Cable. The reason why I chose Category 6A UTP Cable for this floor was because it can provide
the hotels staff members with a bandwidth capacity of 500 MHz and transmission speeds of 10 Gbps up to 100
meters. Category 6A provides better performance characteristics than category 6 cable.
The hotels staff members require reliable and fast data transmissions as they would be using the network for
video conferencing in each conference room, the security department would as require reliable and fast data
transmissions as they would be using the network to for live video for the security cameras.
The optical fibre cable I have chosen to use to connect the switch on this floor to the networks backbone is also
multimode optical fibre.
Four Panduit Category-6A UTP 24-Port Patch Panel are required for this floor. Two of the patch panels will be
used for data transmission and the other two will be used for voice transmission
Total cost for category 6A cable
1 box of category 6A cable = € 141
7 boxes of cable are required for this floor, 141* 7 = €987
Therefore, the total cost for 7 boxes of cable is €987
1 Panduit Category-6A UTP 24-Port Patch Panel = €350
4 Panduit Category-6A UTP 24-Port Patch Panels = €1400
Therefore, the total cost for 4 Cat6a Patch Panels is €1400

Accommodation Floor
The twisted pair cable I have chosen for the accommodation floors for this project was Category 6 Cable. The
reason why I chose Category 6 cable for the accommodation floors was because it can provide customers staying
in the accommodation floors with fast data transmissions and a high bandwidth capacity.
The reason why I didn't used Category 6A cable for the accommodation floors was because Category 6A cable is
too expensive to run on all four accommodation floors and because the customers would not notice the
difference between the speeds of 10Gbps and 1Gbps as the network would relatively fast anyway. The optical
fibre cable I have chosen to use to connect the switch on this floor to the networks backbone is also multimode
optical fibre.
Two Siemons HD Cat 6 UTP Patch Panels are required for this floor. One of the patch panels will be used for
data transmission and the other one will be used for voice transmission
Total cost for category 6 cable
1 box of category 6 cable = €96
9 boxes of category 6 cable are required for 1 accommodation floor, 9* 96 = 864
Total cost for four accommodation floors, 4 * 864 = €3456
Therefore, the total cost for the four floors is €3456.
2 Siemons HD Cat 6 UTP Patch Panel for each accommodation floor = €320
Total cost of patch panels for four accommodation floors, 4 * 320 = 1280
Therefore, the total cost of Patch Panels for the four accommodation floors is €1280

Hotels Main Floor
On the hotels main floor, there will be data and voice points installed across eight areas. Each cable will run to each area from the main server room. Eighty eight cables will run
across this floor. Eleven boxes in total are required to install data and voice points across this floor. Four patch panels are required for this floor, two patch panels for data and two
patch panels for voice. The cable runs for this floor is illustrated in the above diagram. The red line is used to represent data cable and the green line is used to represent voice
cable.
4.5 m x 0.8 m
Hotel Bar
Room Number 8
C1/R8/DPP2/15-21
C1/R8/VPP2/15-21
Hotel Restaurant
Room Number 6
C1/R6/DPP2/4-8
C1/R6/VPP2/4-8
Main Floor
Receptionists Office
Room Number 1
C1/R1/DPP1/1-3
C1/R1/VPP1/1-3
D1 V1 D2 V2 D3 V3 D1 D2 D3 D4
Public Internet Access/International Calls
Room Number 2
C1/R2/DPP1/4-7
C1/R2/VPP1/4-7
D1 V1 D2 V2 D3 V3 D4 V4
Receptionists Desk
Room Number 3
C1/R3/DPP1/8-11
C1/R3/VPP1/8-11
D5 V5
D7V7
V4D4
D1V1
D6 V6
D3V3
Up
D2 V2D1 V1
D5V5
D3 V3
D6V6
D4V4
D7V7
Function Room
Room Number 5
C1/R5/DPP1/21- DPP2/3
C1/R5/VPP1/21- VPP2/3
V3D3
D4V4
V2D2
V1D1
V5D5
V1V2V3V4
Restaurant Kitchen
Ballroom Suite
Room Number 7
C1/R7/DPP2/9-13
C1/R7/VPP2/9-13
D1 V1 D2 V2
D3V3
D5V5D4V4 D2V2
V4D4 V5D5 V6D6 V7D7
V9D9
V3D3
V8D8
Business Centre
Public Printing
Room Number 4
C1/R3/DPP1/12-20
C1/R3/VPP1/12-20
Male Toilets Female Toilets
Main Server Room
Cabinet 1
Data Patch Panel1
Voice Patch Panel1
D1V1D2V2
Data Patch Panel2
Voice Patch Panel2
Main Floor
= Data Point
= Voice Point
= Voice Cable
= Category 6 Cable
D1
V1

Spreadsheet Containing Naming Conventions for the Hotels Main Floor
Cabinet Number Room Number Data Patch Panel Number 1 Face Plate Label Cabinet Number Room Number Voice Patch Panel Number Patch Panel Port Number Face Plate Label Cable Lenght and Type
C1 R1 DPP1 1 C1/DPP1/1 C1 R1 VPP1 1 C1/VPP1/1 Cat6 15m
C1 R8 DPP2 19 C1/DPP2/19 C1 R8 VPP2 19 C1/VPP2/19 Cat 73m
VoiceData
Hotels Main Floor

The administration floor is made up of two main conference rooms and several small offices. Each cable will run to each office from a small communications room. Sixty cables
will run across this floor. Seven boxes in total are required for this floor. Four patch panels are also required for this floor, two for data and two for voice.
Security Department
Office Number 10
C2/ON10/DPP1/20-21
C2/ON10/VPP1/20-21
Security Department
Office Number 9
C2/ON9/DPP1/18-19
C2/ON9/VPP1/18-19
7.6 m x 0.8 m
7.6 m x 0.9 m
Accounting Department
Office Number 8
C2/ON8/DPP1/16-17
C2/ON8/VPP1/16-17
Accounting Department
Office Number 5
C2/ON5/DPP1/10-11
C2/ON5/VPP1/10-11
Conference Room
Office Number 14
C2/ON14/DPP2/1-2
C2/ON14/VPP2/1-2
Conference Room
Office Number 15
C2/ON15/DPP2/3-4
C2/ON15/VPP2/3-4
Printing Bay
Office Number 16
C2/ON16/DPP2/5-6
C2/ON16/VPP2/5-6
HR Department
Office Number 7
C2/ON7/DPP1/14-15
C2/ON7/VPP1/14-15
General Managers Office
Office Number 11
C2/ON11/DPP1/22
C2/ON11/VPP1/22
General Managers Office
Office Number 12
C2/ON12/DPP1/23
C2/ON12/VPP1/23
HR Department
Office Number 6
C2/ON6/DPP1/12-13
C2/ON6/VPP1/12-13
Sales Department
Office Number 3
C2/ON3/DPP1/5-8
C2/ON3/VPP1/5-8
Dept Manager
Office Number 13
C2/ON13/DPP1/24
C2/ON13/VPP1/24
IT Managers Office
Office Number 4
C2/ON4/DPP1/9
C2/ON4/VPP1/9
IT Technicians Office
Office Number 1
C2/ON1/DPP1/1-2
C2/ON1/VPP1/1-2
IT Technicians Office
Office Number 2
C2/ON2/DPP1/3-4
C2/ON2/VPP1/3-4
Up
33.10
14.00
33.10
14.00
Data PP1
ON = Office Number
= Category 6A Cable
= Voice Cable
PN02
V2 D2
D3V3D4V4
D1V1
Voice PP1
D1V1
V2 D2 D1V1D1V1V2 D2
D1V1
D1V1V2 D2
D1V1
D2V2D1V1D2V2
D1V1D2V2
D1V1D2V2
D1V1
D2V2 D1V1 D1V1 D1V1
D1V1
D2V2
D1V1D2V2
D1V1
D2V2
Voice PP2 Data PP2
Store Room
Staff Toilets
Cabinet 2

0Spreadsheet Containing Naming Conventions for The Hotels Administration Floor
Cabinet Number Office Number Data Patch Panel Number Patch Panel Port Number Face Plate Label Cabinet Number Office Number Voice Patch Panel Number Patch Panel Port Number Face Plate Label Cable Lenght and Type
C2 ON1 DPP1 1 C2/DPP1/1 C2 ON1 VPP1 1 C2/VPP1/1 Cat6A 14m
C2 ON14 DPP2 1 C2//DPP2/1 C2 ON14 VPP2 1 C2/VPP2/1 Cat6A 28m
Data Voice

Hotel Accommodation Floors
This hotel has four accommodation floors, each accommodation floor has twenty four rooms. The cables will run to each hotel room from a small communications room. A total
of forty eight cables will run across each accommodation floor. Nine boxes in total are required for each accommodation floor. Two patch panels are also required, one patch
panel for data and another for voice. Thirty six boxes in total number are required for the four accommodation floors.
5.55
1.71
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.71
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m 1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
Up
1.0 m x
1.0 m
2.00
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
5.55
5.25
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
5.55
1.71
1.0 m x
1.0 m1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.71
1.0 m x
1.0 m1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
1.0 m x
1.0 m
52.29
52.29
25.97
Up
1.0 m x
1.0 m
V1D1
Room Number 01
Room Number 02
Room Number 03
Room Number 04
Room Number 05
Room Number 06
Room Number 07
Room Number 08 Room Number 09
Room Number 10
Room Number 11
Room Number 12
Room Number 13 Room Number 15
Room Number 14
Room Number 16
Room Number 17 Room Number 18 Room Number 19 Room Number 20 Room Number 21 Room Number 22 Room Number 23 Room Number 24
Data Patch Panel Voice Patch Panel
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
V1D1
Accommodation Floor
RN = Room Number
= Category 6 Cable
= Voice Cable
0.57
Small Comms Room
25.89

Hotel Rooms
0.90
~

Spreadsheet Containing Naming Conventions for the Hotels Accommodation Floors
Cabinet Number Room Number Data Patch Panel Number Patch Panel Port Number Face Plate Label Cabinet Number Room Number Voice Patch Panel Number Patch Panel Port Number Face Plate Label Cable Lenght and Type
Accommodation Floor
Data Voice

The Data Link Layer
Switches
A Switch is networking device that is used to connect network segments together. Unlike a hub, a switch is an
intelligent device. A Hub is not an intelligent device as it just simply forwards data packets out to all ports.
Forwarding the data packets out on all ports consumes large amounts of bandwidth and also causes collisions to
occur. The more collisions that occur, the slower the network will become. Switches are more commonly used
today as they rectify these problems.
Switches eliminate unnecessary traffic as they only send data packets to designated devices, they also reduce
collisions from occurring on a network. They do this by separating each segment of the network into an
individual collision domain.
There are two different types of switches available. The first type is a layer two switch, a layer two switch
operates at the data link layer of the OSI reference model. The second type is a layer three switch, a layer three
switch operates at the network layer of the OSI reference model.
A layer two switch is used to filter and forward data packs across a network. When a switch boots up it learns
the MAC address of each of its directly connected devices, it then creates a table (database) based on the MAC
address of each of the connected devices. It then uses the address table to determine the destination of the
packets being forwarded. If the switch does not know the destination MAC address of the packet, it will then
forward that packet out on all of its connected ports.
A layer three switch has routing capabilities and can support the same routing protocols as layer three router.
Switches are available in two different varieties, the first being an unmanaged switch and the second being a
managed switch.

Unmanaged Switch
Unmanaged switches are plug and play, meaning no initial configuration is needed in order for the switch to
work. Unmanaged switches cannot implement VLAN's or traffic prioritisation as they have a fixed
configuration and cannot be manually configured. Unmanaged switches are not as intelligent as Managed
switches, they are less expensive than managed switches and are commonly used in a home or small business
environment.
Netgear Unmanaged Switch
Managed Switch
Managed switches are more intelligent than unmanaged switches, they can be configured for VLAN's and traffic
prioritisation. Managed switches can support frame tagging protocols such as 802.1Q. Cisco Management
switches can also VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) which is a Cisco proprietary frame tagging protocol.
Managed switches are also more redundant than unmanaged switches as they can support the Spanning-Tree
Protocol (STP). The spanning tree protocol dynamically manages each link on a network, if one link fails it then
introduces a different path for that link. This ensures that the network is efficient and redundant.
Managed switches also support the simple network management protocol (SNMP). This allows for one
managed switch to be configured to manage and maintain the state of every other switch in the network.
Managed switches also allow for the configuration of port mirroring. Port mirroring mirrors network traffic
from one port to another port, this is used when troubleshooting a network using a network analyser.
Cisco Small Business SG300-28P Gigabit PoE Managed Switch
For the purpose of this project, two different managed switches will be required. A switch with a high end
specification will be required for the networks backbone, this will be known as the main switch. Another switch
with a lower specification will be required for each wiring cabinet on each floor, this will be known as an edge
switch.

Managed Switch
The edge switch that best suits the needs of this project is the Cisco Small Business SG300-28P 28-port Gigabit
PoE Managed Switch. The reason why this switch was selected for this project was because it supports Gigabit
speeds, it has a total MAC address table capacity of 8000 MAC addresses, and it also supports PoE as twenty six
ports can be used to power PoE devices.
It offers scalability as it has a total of 28 ports, it also supports the Cisco VTP VLAN protocol and has a total
VLAN capacity of 256. It also supports Quality of Service as it uses Queue prioritisation which can be used to
give voice and video traffic a higher priority than data traffic. It also supports the Spanning Tree Protocol and
Port Mirroring.
It comes with two optical fibre uplink ports which can be used to interconnect this switch to the networks
backbone switch, it is also Rack-mountable, and therefore, it can be installed in each of the hotels wiring
cabinets.
The total cost of one Cisco Small Business SG300-28P Gigabit PoE Managed Switch comes to €555.50.
For full specification of Cisco Small Business SG300-28P Gigabit PoE Managed Switch refer to Appendix A.
Total Number of Edge Switches Required For This Project
The main switch that best suits the needs of this project is the Cisco Small Business 48 Port Gigabit PoE with 4
Port 10-Gig Stackable Managed Switch. The reason why this switch was selected for this project was because it
has four optical fibre uplink ports that can each operate at a speed of 10 Gigabit per second.
It comes equipped with 2GB of RAM, it can operate at both layer two and layer three, it supports PoE as all forty
eight ports can be used to power PoE devices.
Cisco Small Business 48 Port Gigabit PoE with 4 Port 10-Gig Stackable Managed Switch
Floor Name Edge Switches Required Total Cost
Hotels Main Floor 2 Edge Switches Required €1111
Administration Floor 2 Edge Switches Required €1111
Four Accommodation Floors 4 Edge Switches Required €2222
Total : 8 Edge Switches Required €4444

It supports VLAN Trunking protocols such as the 802.1Q protocol and Cisco’s VTP protocol. It can also
provide Quality of Service which can be used to give voice and video traffic a higher priority than data traffic. It
can also support routing protocols such as IPv4 and IPv6, it supports the simple management network protocol
which can be used to manage the configuration settings of each connected switch.
It can support transmission speeds of 1Mbps/10Mbps and 1Gbps, it is also Rack-mountable, and therefore, it can
be installed in a wiring cabinet in the main communications room on the hotels main floor. For full specification
of Cisco Small Business 48 Port Gigabit PoE with 4 Port 10-Gig Stackable Managed switch refer to Appendix B.
The total cost of one Cisco Small Business 48 Port Gigabit PoE with 4 Port 10-Gig Stackable Managed Switch comes to €2493.
Only one Cisco Small Business 48 Port Gigabit PoE will be required for this project.
Switch Hierarchy
The switch hierarchy for this project will be a two layer hierarchy, each edge switch will interconnect to the
main switch via a multimode optical fiber cable. Each of the edge switch's traffic will be transmitted to the main
switch via an uplink port.

VLAN's
VLAN's are used in a switched network to logically segment users into different workgroups or departments.
Users from one VLAN cannot communicate with other users from a different VLAN. VLAN's allow
workgroups/departments to be configured on different switches, they can then communicate through the
different switches via a Trunkport provided that they are on the same VLAN. Each VLAN has their own
individual broadcast domain. Only users on the same VLAN are able to receive broadcast messages. For
example, if a Host A on VLAN2 sends out a broadcast message, then only Host B and the FTP server on
VLAN2 will receive that broadcast message.
Advantages of Using VLAN's
There are many advantages of using VLAN's in your network, these include advantages include:
Security
VLAN's provide a network with an extra layer of security as only users in the same VLAN can communicate
with one another without the use of a router. If users from different VLAN's want to communicate with one
another, their network traffic must go through a router. Access Control Lists can then be implemented on the
router to limit what traffic can travel through the different VLAN's.
Flexibility
As VLAN's are based on a logical connection rather than a physical connection they are extremely flexible.
They allow users to change their physical location without the need of any physical rewiring. This allows users
form different workgroups/departments to be spread across different physical locations. Users within the same
workgroup/department can still communicate with each other as they are still in the same VLAN.
Reduces Broadcasting on the Network
On a large network broadcast messages can cause the overall performance of the network to deteriorate. What
VLAN's do is reduce the number of broadcast messages on the network, it does this by segmenting each VLAN
into its own individual broadcast domain. This only allows users in the same VLAN to send and receive
broadcast messages, all users on other VLAN's will not be able receive those broadcast messages. This reduces
the number of broadcast messages on the network. VLAN's can only be configured on a managed switch, each
port on a managed switch can only be assigned to one VLAN. VLAN's can be configured either statically or
dynamically, I will discuss both in the section below.

Statically Configured VLAN's
Statically configured VLAN's are manually configured by a network administrator, the network administrator
manually configures the switch to assign one VLAN to one port. Statically configured VLANS are more secure
than dynamically configured VLAN's.
Dynamically Configured VLAN's
Dynamically configured VLAN's offer greater flexibility than statically configured VLAN's, this is because
dynamically configured VLAN's use a network management software to dynamically assign ports to specific
MAC addresses.
The network management software contains a table/database which contains each devices MAC address and its
associated VLAN. When a device connects to the switched network, the switch then checks the management
software's database to check what MAC address and VLAN is associated with that device.
In the dynamic configuration only one VLAN can be assigned to one port at a given time.
Statically configured VLAN's are more commonly used than dynamically configured VLAN's as they are easier
to manage and are more secure.
VLAN Design
For the purpose of this project VLAN's will be required to separate the network into segments.
Six VLAN's in total will be required for this project. VLAN 1, the default VLAN, will be used for network
management. VLAN 10 will be used for the hotels Sales tills which are located in the hotels bar and restaurant.
VLAN 20 will be used for the hotels wireless network. VLAN 30 will be used for the hotels staff members.
VLAN 40 will be used for the hotels Business Center/Printing Bay. VLAN 50 will be used for Guests staying
who wish to use a wired Internet connection.
VLAN Name VLAN Number
Network Management VLAN Number 1
POS - Point of Sales VLAN Number 10
Wireless VLAN Number 20
Staff VLAN Number 30
Business Center VLAN Number 40
Guests VLAN Number 50

Trunking
Trunking is used when one or more VLAN's are configured across multiple switches. In order for VLAN's to
communicate with one another over multiple switches, they must forward all there traffic through an uplink port.
An uplink port is used to interconnect switches to other switches or to a router. Frame tagging protocols are used
on the uplink port to tag each exiting data frame with an identification number, the identification number is used
to specify what VLAN that data frame belongs to.
There are two different types of frame tagging protocols, which are VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol) and
802.1Q.
VLAN Trunking Protocol
VTP is a Cisco proprietary protocol which can only be used on Cisco devices. VTP offers greater manageability
than the 802.1Q protocol as VLAN configurations do not have to be manually set across each individual switch
in the network.
With VTP, VLAN configurations are set on a VTP server, the configurations are then copied from the VTP
server to each connected VTP client, the VTP clients then synchronise with each other to ensure that they all
have the same configuration settings.
This minimises the chances of any configuration errors and is also less time consuming than having to manually
configure each individual switch. One of the disadvantages of using VTP is that if the VTP server fails then the
whole network could go down. Another disadvantage of using VTP is that it uses auto configuration, if new
configurations are set on the VTP server then previous settings could be overwritten.
802.1Q Trunking Protocol
802.1Q is a non-proprietary frame tagging protocol, therefore, it can be used on any device from any vendor.
Unlike VTP, configuration settings have to be manually set on each individual switch, this can be very time
consuming if the network is quite large. 802.1Q is more difficult to manage than VTP, when configuring
802.1Q over multiple switches, Network administrators can commonly make configuration errors if there
configuration setting are inconsistent.

Wireless Access Points
A Wireless Access Point (WAP) is used to connect wireless devices to a wired LAN. Wireless access points use
radio frequency waves to communicate with other wireless devices. They do this by sending out Beacon
messages to advertise their Service Set Identifier (SSID), the SSID allows wireless clients to identify which
wireless networks are available in their area.
Wireless access points use security features such as Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected
Access (WPA) to permit or deny wireless clients access to the wireless network. They can operate at either the
2.4GHz frequency band or the 5GHz frequency band.
In Ireland Wireless access points must have a transmit power not greater 20 dB, as above 20 dB is out of the
range of the legal limitations. A Wireless access points must not be mistaken for a router, a Wireless Access
Point connects users to a LAN, it does not supply users with an IP address the connected router assigns the IP
address.
One Wireless Access Point can provide multiple wireless clients with a connection to the wired LAN, although if
there are too many wireless clients, the Wireless Access Point may not be able to withstand the large capacity of
users, additional Access Points are required on busy Wireless networks to provide each wireless client with an
efficient connection.
The use of Wireless access points can be a better alternative in some cases where running extra network cable is
too difficult or somewhat impossible. Obstacles such as such as solid concrete walls can obstruct the propagation
of the wireless frequency waves.
Cisco Aironet 1602E Controller-based - Radio access point
For the purpose of this project, wireless access points will be required to facilitate guest staying in the hotel with
a wireless internet connection.
The Wireless Access Point that I have chosen for this project is the Cisco Aironet 1602E Controller-based -
Radio access point. The reason why I chose this Wireless Access Point was because it is reasonably priced as
the total cost of one Cisco Aironet 1602E Controller-based - Radio access point comes to €492.
It is also a controller based access point, which means that a wireless controller will manage and maintain the
state of each access point.
It is PoE compatible, therefore, it can be easily be installed on the hotels walls or ceilings. It also uses Queue
prioritisation which can be used to give voice and video traffic a higher priority than data traffic.

As it is an indoor wireless access point it also has a sleek design that is nice on the eye. It is dual band meaning
that it can operate on either the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band or the 5GHz frequency band.
It also has a data transfer rate of 300Mbps. For full specification refer to appendix C
Total Number of Wireless Access Points Required For This Project
Floor Name Access Points Required Total Cost
Hotels Main Floor 13 Access Points Required €6396
Administration Floor 6 Access Points Required €2952
Four Accommodation Floors 48 Access Points Required €23,616
Total : 67 Access Points Required €32,964

Wireless Controller
A wireless controller is used in conjunction with a large number of wireless access points. It is used to manage
the configuration settings of each wireless access point on the wireless network. Wireless controllers assign each
individual wireless access point with an appropriate channel to ensure that interference from overlapping
channels does not occur, they also assign each wireless access point with an appropriate transmit power to
decrease the range of access points that could interfere with other access points.
Cisco 2500 Series Wireless Controller
For the purpose of this project, a wireless controller system will be required to manage and maintain the
configurations settings for each wireless access point. The wireless controller that best suites the needs of this
project is the Cisco 2500 Series Wireless Controller.
The total cost of this product comes to €4023. The reason why I chose this wireless controller was because it
can support up to 75 wireless access points. The total number of access points being used in this project is 67.
This wireless controller is PoE compatible and it provides Quality of Service as it uses Queue prioritisation
which can be used to give voice and video traffic a higher priority than data traffic.
It also supports the Bonjour protocol which is a protocol designed by Apple. For full specification refer to
Appendix D.

Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet (PoE) is used to provide connected network devices with a power supply through the use of
Ethernet network cable. A single Ethernet network cable can be used to simultaneously transmit data and power
to the connected device.
The voltage used to power the connected devices can be either transmitted on unused copper pairs or on all four
of the copper pairs. One of the main benefits of using PoE is that it allows network devices such as Access
Points and IP security cameras to be installed on hard to reach areas, such as wall spaces or ceilings.
The use of PoE also reduces cost as additional electrical sockets are not required.
To use PoE in a network, devices such as switches, wireless access points and routers must all be PoE
compatible.
When using PoE the switches maximum Wattage output must also be taken into consideration, for example, if a
48 port switch has a maximum wattage output of 130 Watts, and each PoE device requires 13 watts, then only
ten ports will be available for the use of PoE.

Obstacles that could affect the radio waves propagation
This project is based on a newly built hotel. As the hotel is a new build, the interior walls are solid concrete.
The interior concrete walls will surely obstruct the propagation of the radio frequency waves. To overcome this
obstacle additional access points will be required.
Other obstacles such as thin doors would only slightly obstruct the propagation of the radio frequency waves.
Figure.1 below illustrates that the interior walls on the accommodation floor would be the only obstacles that
would obstruct the propagation of the radio frequency waves.
Figure.1 Illustrates that the interior concrete walls are represented by the red lines on the floor plan.

Specifying the band for the wireless network
The wireless access point I chose for this wireless network was the Cisco Aironet 1602E Controller-based -
Radio access point. As this wireless access point is dual radio, it can support both 2.4 GHz and the 5GHz band.
The wireless network for this project will use the 2.4 GHz frequency band. I chose the 2.4 GHz frequency band
because it provides a greater signal strength than the 5 GHz frequency band. I will compare the 2.4 GHz
frequency band to the 5 GHz frequency band using the diagrams below.
Figure.2 Illustrates the RSSI of each access point operating on the 2.4GHz frequency band on the accommodation floor.
Figure.3 Illustrates the RSSI of each access point operating on the 5GHz frequency band on the accommodation floor.
From comparing the 2.4GHz to the 5GHz band, I have come to the conclusion that the 2.4GHz band is better
suited for this wireless network as access points using the 2.4GHz provide stronger signals. The 2.4GHz
frequency band is used across each of the hotels six floors. The RSSI is at its best state on the 2.4GHz frequency
band as it between - 35 dBm and - 52 dBm. In figure.2 the areas in brown represent the areas covered by the -35
dBm frequency. The areas in yellow represent the areas covered by the -52 dBm.

Specifying the power for the wireless network
Main Floor
On the main floor of the hotel, the RSSI varies -35 dBm to -60 dBm. In figure.4 below, the areas in brown
represent the areas covered by the -35 dBm frequency, the areas in yellow represent the areas covered by -50
dBm and the areas in green represent the areas covered by -60 dBm. The wireless control system will assign
each access point with an appropriate transmit power. There are a total of three access points in the hotels bar,
ballroom suite and function room. This is to lower the load on each of the access points when the network has a
high usage.
Figure.5 Illustrates the transmit power and RSSI for each of the access points
On the administration floor of the hotel, the wireless Internet connection is required for the two conference
rooms and for the printing bay. Wireless Internet Access is also supplied for each staff member for their own
general pleasure. The wireless control system will assign each access point with an appropriate transmit power.
Figure.6 Illustrates the transmit power of each access point on the administration floor.

Specifying the different channels on the wireless network
Main Floor
On the main floor of the hotel, the wireless controller will assign each access point with an appropriate channel
to avoid interference from overlapping channels. The channel assignment should look like figure. 7 below.
Figure.7 Illustrates the different channels each access point should operates on the main floor.
On the Administration floor, the wireless controller will assign each access point with an appropriate channel to
avoid interference from overlapping channels. The channel assignment should look like figure. 8 below.
Figure.8 Illustrates the different channels each access point should operates on the administration floor.

Accommodation Floor
On the accommodation floor, the wireless controller will assign each access point with an appropriate channel to
avoid interference from overlapping channels.
Figure.9 Illustrates the different channels each access point operates on the accommodation floor.
Specifying the signal to noise ratio of the wireless network in dBm
Main Floor
On the main floor, the signal to noise ratio is between 50 to 30 dBm. The areas in gold represent areas that have
high SNR (50 dBm). The areas in light blue represent areas that have low SNR (30 dBm). The SNR on the three
access points in the hotels bar indicates that there may be interference between the three access points.
Figure.10 Illustrates the SNR for each access point on the main floor.

On the administration there is some interference between each of the access points. The wireless controller will
reduce the SNR on each access point.
Figure.11 Illustrates the SNR for each access point on the administration floor.
Accommodation Floor
On the accommodation floor, there are some signs of interference between neighboring access points. The SNR
value in the corridor is 50 dBm. The wireless controller will reduce the SNR on each access point.
Figure.12 Illustrates the SNR for each access point on the accommodation floor.

Specifying the data rate of the wireless network in Mbps
Main Floor
On the Main floor the data rate is relatively high as each access point is can transmit data at 130 Mbps. The
main floor of the hotel has an excellent data rate in the receptionist’s area and the general lobby. The areas in the
brown can transmit data at the speed of 130 Mbps, areas in orange can still transmit data at a high speed but it
would not be as fast as the areas in brown, areas in orange can transmit data at the speed of 117 Mbps. Areas in
yellow have a lower transmit speed of 104 Mbps and the areas in green have the lowest transmit speed of 78
Mbps.
Figure.13 Illustrates the data rates for each access point on the main floor.
On the administration floor, the wireless clients in each offices will be able transmit data at speeds of 130 Mbps
apart from the wireless client in the Dept managers office.
Figure.14 Illustrates the data rates for each access point on the administration floor.

Accommodation Floor
On the accommodation floor, the data rate speed across the floor is typically 130 Mbps. There are some parts in
some rooms where the data rate vary between 130 to 78 Mbps. Overall the data rate speed is excellent.
Figure.15 Illustrates the data rates for each access point on the accommodation floor.

The Networking Layer
Routers
A Router is a layer three networking device that is used to route/send data packets. It routes data packets based
on IP addresses. Routers operate at layer three of the OSI reference model. They support routing protocols such
as RIPv1, RIPv2 and OSPF. They also support networking protocols such as IPv4, IPv6 and NAT. NAT can be
implemented on a router to add additional security onto a network. NAT provides additional security by
translation internal private addresses into external public addresses and vice versa.
Routers can learn routes either statically or dynamically, statically configured routes are manually configured by
a network administration, they are commonly implemented on point to point links.
Dynamically configured routes use routing protocols such as RIP to learn the address of the connected route,
Note that RIP has to be configured on each connected device in order for the connection the be successful.
CISCO Router/Cisco891 GigaE Sec
For the purpose of this project, a router will be required to connect the Whitewater hotel in Dublin to another
Whitewater hotel situated in Dundalk. There will be two routers in each of the Whitewater hotels. The router
that best suits the needs of this project is the CISCO Router/Cisco891 GigaE Se. The toal cost of this product
comes to €802.
The reason why I chose this router was because it supports features such as NAT which can be used to add
additional security to the network, In addition it can support Access control lists, it also supports VPN which can
be used to connect this router to the router in the Dundalk hotel.
It supports routing protocols such as RIP and RIPv2. It supports VLAN trunking protocols such as the 802.1Q
protocol, it also supports Quality of Service which can be used to give voice and real time traffic a high priority
than data traffic. It can transfer data packets at 10Mbps/100Mbps and 1Gbps. For full specification refer to
Appendix E

IP Addressing Scheme
As Whitewater hotel offers complimentary wireless Internet access for the customers staying in their hotel, they
must be able to provide each wireless client with an IP Address. As one single person can have multiple wireless
devices, Whitewater hotel's network must have a large amount of available IP addresses.
For this IP addressing scheme, Whitewater hotel will be using Class C Private/Classless addresses, although
many IP addresses can be wasted, it is irrelevant as they are only Private addresses.
Each VLAN will be provided with its own individual subnet. The IP addressing scheme for Whitewaters hotel is
illustrated in the table below. For the full calculations of this IP addressing scheme refer to Appendix F.
WAN Connectivity
A WAN connection is required to connect the Whitewater hotel situated in Dublin to the Whitewater hotel in
Dundalk. Whitewater hotel will use a Virtual Private Network(VPN) to connect the two sites. VPN allows data
to be sent from one host to another over the Internet in a secure manner. It uses tunnelling to prevent other users
on the Internet from accessing the data being sent. VPN encrypts each data frame that is sent over the Internet so
other global users cannot identify the source and destination address of the data packet. For VPN to be
successfully established on the Whitewater chain, a static route will have to be configured between the two
hotels. VPN is a cheaper alternative than using leased lines, although the networks data is transferred over the
Internet it is still secure as each data packet is encrypted. A firewall must be implemented onto the VPN
network to ensure that no unauthorised user on the Internet access the Whitewater hotel network.
VLAN Name VLAN Number VLAN's Subnet Subnet's Range
Network Management VLAN Number 1 172.16.32.0 /19 172.16.32.1 - 172.16.63.254
POS - Point of Sales VLAN Number 10 172.16.64.0 /19 172.16.64.1 - 172.16.95.254
Wireless VLAN Number 20 172.16.96.0 /19 172.16.96.1 - 172.16.127.254
Staff VLAN Number 30 172.16.128.0 /19 172.16.128.1 - 172.16.159.254
Business Center VLAN Number 40 172.16.160.0 /19 172.16.160.1 - 172.16.191.254
Guests VLAN Number 50 172.16.192.0 /19 172.16.192.1 - 172.16.223.254

Project Description
Project two is a continuation on the working development and implementation of project one.
This project is based on an establishment called The Whitewater Hotels.
The Whitewater hotels are a chain of businesscommercial hotels which are situated across Ireland. Each of The
Whitewater hotels consist of six floors, four of which are for business and general accommodation. One
administration floor is used to accommodate office space for the staff of The Whitewater hotel.
The ground floor consists of the hotels hospitality services such as the hotel's restaurant, bar, ballroom suite and
functionconference room. The Whitewater hotels cater for many events such as, business conferences,
weddings, social gatherings and private functions.
User Specification
A top down methodology was implemented to this project to ensure that the customer requirements were
properly analysed. The user requirements for Whitewater hotels are each outlined below.
The Whitewater hotels aims to meet the technical needs for each of their customers as they wish to offer
complementary wireless Internet access throughout each of their hotels.
In addition to the complementary wireless Internet access, The Whitewater hotels wishes to install a small
business centre located on the ground floor of each of their hotels. This business centre is an alternative solution
for customers travelling without mobile devices as it provides guests with wired Internet access and printing
facilities.
The Whitewater hotel requires a safe and secure network, in regards to the hotels Local Area Network, additional
types of security must be implemented.
 NAT will have to be implemented to protect the business's network from outbound sources.
 VLAN's will have to be implemented to ensure that each group of users only have access to their own
specific resources.
 Access Control Lists will also have to be implemented to filter certain types of network traffic.
For example, restricting all users from accessing the networks management VLAN.
 All unused switch ports will have to be manually shut down in order to prevent unauthorized users from
physically connecting to the network and gaining access to resources.

The Whitewater hotel also requires for the following services to be implemented on the hotels servers:
 The DHCP service to allow for the distribution of internal private IP Addresses.
 The Active Directory service for the configuration and management of user and computer accounts and
NTFS settings.
 The DNS service for the translation of domain names to IP Addresses.
 The Web service to allow for the hosting and management of the hotels website.
 The Mail service to provide staff members with their own staff webmail account.
 The File service for the configuration and management of file storage on the network.
Packet Tracer Implementation
Packet Tracer Description
Cisco Packet Tracer is a network simulation program developed by the Cisco Networking Academy. Packet
tracer provides simulation and can be used as an alternative when one does not have the physical networking
equipment. Packet tracer supports protocols such as RIP, RIPv2, OSPF, IGRP, BGP, IPv4, IPv6, ICMP,
ICMPv6, NAT, HDLC, Frame Relay, PPP, STP, VTP, 802.1Q, 802.11, HTTP, DNS, DHCP, TFTP, SNMP,
IPSec VPN, Multilayer Switching and Static Routing. Although packet tracer supports a large number of
protocols, the application itself does come with certain limitations, this is due to the fact that packet tracer only
supports a number of basic features.

Internal Network Design
Figure 1 illustrates the internal network design of The Whitewater Hotels Network. The internal network of the
Dublin site will be comprised of one layer three router, one layer two backbone switch, and five layer two edge
switches. Four wireless access points will also be implemented to provide guests and staff wireless Internet
access. The internal network of the Dundalk site will be almost identical, the only difference being that a layer
three switch will be used on the networks backbone.
It is important to note that the use of a layer three backbone switch may not always be necessary in some
networks, but for the demonstrational purposes of this project, one will be included in The Whitewater Hotels
network.
Figure 1 Internal Network Design

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