Cabletron Systems switches, bridges manual Other Considerations, Design Example

Ethernet

In an effort to provide some measure of differentiation between the varying levels of expense, the design tables which list a series of possible selections in a particular category attempt to organize the networking devices presented in ascending order of expense. In many cases, the difference between the list prices of some networking devices is quite small, so this arrangement of products should be considered an estimation aid only.

Other Considerations

In some cases, there are special design issues that restrict Network Designers to particular hardware selections. Limited available space, for example, or the environmental conditions of the install location may play a part in the selection of a networking device for the home office. These specialized considerations are beyond the scope of this document, but a large amount of information can be found in the Cabletron Systems Networking Solutions Product Guide.

Design Example

The example which follows traces the selection process of a new Network Designer attempting to design a network for a single-room home office, shown in Figure 6-1.The network designer has determined the needs and special situations of the proposed network, and has decided to use a single-segment Ethernet network. The network will need to support a small custom greeting card operation which consists of six stations - four production stations, one accounting station, and one administration station which acts as a server for the single office printer. The network will not support any on-line applications, server-heavy traffic, or email, and is intended only to make the exchange of files (currently done through passing floppy disks) easier.

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Figure 6-1. Home Office - Initial Scenario

6-8 Ethernet Workgroup Design