Your First Steps to Network Design

1. N|Design
Ahmed Sultan
Network and Security Engineer
Founder and CEO at Egypt NetRiders
Presentation_ID © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 1

2. Agenda
• Network Design
• Network Topology
• Data Network
• Converged Networks
• Network Designers
• Hierarchical Model
• Benefits of a Hierarchical Network
• Traffic Flow Analysis
• Mansoura University Traffic Flow
• Network Design Certifications
• Network Design Tools
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3. Network Design
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4. Network Topology
Network topology is the layout pattern of interconnections
of the various elements of a computer network.
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5. Data Network
Electronic communications process that allows two nodes to
send and receive data
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6. Converged Networks
Convergence is the process of combining voice and video
communications on a data network.
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7. Network Designers
Career path of the Network Designer
Enterprise
Infrastructure Architect
strategy
Performance &
Network Ops Mgr Network Designer
security strategy
LAN, WAN, and
Network engineering
Datacenter support
Network operations Router and switch
L1 – L3 support
Where network Designers spend their time
20% Performance
optimization
40% Security
design
Trouble-
25% shooting
15% Strategic
project work
Source: Forrester Research
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8. Hierarchical Model
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9. Benefits of a Hierarchical Network
 Scalability
Hierarchical networks can be expanded easily
 Redundancy
Redundancy at the core and distribution level ensure path
availability.
 Performance
Link aggregation between levels and high-performance core and
distribution perform their operations at very high speeds.
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10. Benefits of a Hierarchical Network
 Security
Port security at the access level and policies at the distribution level
make the network more secure
 Manageability
Consistency between switches at each level makes management
more simple
 Maintainability
Troubleshoot the network easily
Presentation_ID © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 10

11. Traffic flow analysis
 You need to have specifications that detail the target
traffic flows, to select the appropriate switch for a layer in
a hierarchical network,
 Traffic flow analysis is the process of measuring the
bandwidth usage on a network and analyzing the data
for the purpose of performance tuning, capacity planning,
and making hardware improvement decisions
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12. Mansoura University Traffic Flow
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13. Network Design Certifications
Expert Level Network Designer
Experience: 7+ yrs Networking experience
CCDE
Prerequisites: NONE
Requirements: (2) exams Qualification and Practical Exam
Roles: Sr. Network Designer & Architect, Network Lead for
Enterprise IT Infrastructure Team, Network Contributor for
Enterprise Architecture team
Description: Professional Level Network Designer
CCDP
Experience: 5-7 yrs Networking experience
Prerequisites: CCNA, CCDA
Requirements: (3) exams ARCH, BCMSN, BSCI
Roles: Network Design Task Leader, SMB Lead Architect, CCDE
Journeyman Contributor on Large Infrastructure Design
Description: Entry Level Network Designer
CCDP
CCDA
Experience: 3-5 yrs Networking experience
Prerequisites: CCNA
Requirements: 1 exam (DESIGN) CCDA
Roles: Network Design Individual Contributor, Network Design
Lead in SMB, Operations
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14. Network Design Tools
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15. Presentation_ID © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 15

16. @ahmedesultan
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