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1-36
Chapter 1
Planning a Network Topology
On internetworks, the location of a server can also depend on the locations
of the
users who need to access it. Departmental servers can be preferable in
situations
where the users in the department are the only people accessing that server.
This keeps
all the server traffic local to the departmental LAN. For servers that users
all over the
enterprise must access, such as mail and database servers, it is preferable
to place the
servers where you can connect them directly to the backbone network. This
practice
minimizes the amount of internetwork traffic. If you were to connect a
company mail
server to a horizontal LAN, mail traffic from the entire enterprise would be
shunted to
that individual LAN, possibly flooding it. By connecting the server directly
to the back-
bone, the mail traffic from all the horizontal LANs travels no farther than
the backbone
network, which is designed to support those traffic levels.
Practice: Blueprinting a Network Infrastructure
For each of the following pieces of information, give a reason why a network
infra-
structure blueprint would contain that information. You can find answers to
the ques-
tions in the “Questions and Answers” section at the end of this chapter.
1. Locations of fluorescent light fixtures
2. Cable color
3. Ceiling height
4. Size of cable conduits running between floors
5. Locations of locked rooms and closets
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