1 Planning a Network

Topology

Exam Objectives in this Chapter:

■

Plan and modify a network topology.

■

Plan the physical placement of network resources.

■

Identify network protocols to be used.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter introduces some of the most basic decisions you must make when

designing a network for a particular organization at a particular site. As a network

designer, you are responsible for determining the requirements of the network’s

users, administrators, and owners, and then for creating a network plan that

attempts to fulfill them all. This chapter is by no means a complete survey of the

network design process, but it does demonstrate how certain design decisions have

profound repercussions for network planning, implementation, and maintenance.

For example, understanding the properties of the various network media in use

today, as summarized in this chapter, helps you understand which medium is best

suited to a particular network installation. The choice of medium can be based on

the physical nature of the site where the network will be installed, or on the

requirements of the network users, or more likely both.

When creating a network design, comprehensive documentation is vital, both for

the benefit of the people who will install the network and for those who will

maintain it later. This chapter specifies some of the most important information

you should include in a network blueprint and indicates how the networking

components you choose affect what information you should provide.

Lessons in this Chapter:

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Lesson 1: Windows Server 2003 and the Network Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . .1-5

■

Lesson 2: Selecting Data-Link Layer Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-12

■

Lesson 3: Selecting Network/Transport Layer Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-25

■

Lesson 4: Locating Network Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-31

1-3