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Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter1 Overview Network Configuration Examples
Network Configuration Examples
This section provides network configuration concepts and in clu des e xamp les of usi ng t he s wi tch i n
different network topologies.

Design Concepts

As your network users compete for network bandwidth, it take s long er to sen d a nd rec eiv e data. Wh en
you configure your network, consider the bandwidth requir ed by yo ur ne twork use rs and t he re la tiv e
priority of the network applications they use.
Table 1 -2 describes what can cause network performanc e t o degra de a nd h ow yo u can co nfigu re your
network to increase the bandwidth available to your network users.
Table1-2 Increasing Network Performance
Network Demands Suggested Design Methods
Too many users on a single network
segment and a growing number of
users accessing the Internet
•Create smaller network segments so that fewer users share the bandwidth, and use
VLANs and IP subnets to place the network resources in the same logical n etwork
as the users who access those resources most.
•Use full-duplex operation between the switch and its connected workstations.
•Increased power of new PCs,
workstations, and servers
•High bandwidth demand from
networked applications (such as
e-mail with large attached files)
and from bandwidth-intensive
applications (such as
multimedia)
•Connect global resources—such as servers and routers to which the network users
require equal access—directly to the high-speed switch ports so that they have
their own high-speed segment.
•Use the EtherChannel feature between the switch and its connected servers an d
routers.