Design Concepts For Using The Switch - Cisco Catalyst 2950 Software Configuration Manual

Network Configuration Examples

Design Concepts for Using the Switch

As your network users compete for network bandwidth, it takes longer to send and receive data. When
you configure your network, consider the bandwidth required by your network users and the relative
priority of the network applications they use.
Table 1-3
network to increase the bandwidth available to your network users.
Table 1-3 Increasing Network Performance
Network Demands
Too many users on a single network segment
and a growing number of users accessing the
Internet
Increased power of new PCs,
•
workstations, and servers
High demand from networked
•
applications (such as e-mail with large
attached files) and from
bandwidth-intensive applications (such
as multimedia)
Bandwidth alone is not the only consideration when designing your network. As your network traffic
profiles evolve, consider providing network services that can support applications such as voice and data
integration and security.
Table 1-4
Table 1-4 Providing Network Services
Network Demands
High demand for multimedia support
High demand for protecting mission-critical
applications
An evolving demand for IP telephony
A growing demand for using existing
infrastructure to transport data and voice from
a home or office to the Internet or an intranet at
higher speeds
Catalyst 2950 and Catalyst 2955 Switch Software Configuration Guide
1-12
describes what can cause network performance to degrade and how you can configure your
Suggested Design Methods
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 network as the users who access those
resources most.
Use full-duplex operation between the switch and its connected
•
workstations.
Connect global resources—such as servers and routers to which network
•
users require equal access—directly to the Fast Ethernet or Gigabit
Ethernet switch ports so that they have their own Fast Ethernet or Gigabit
Ethernet segment.
• Use the Fast EtherChannel or Gigabit EtherChannel feature between the
switch and its connected servers and routers.
describes some network demands and how you can meet those demands.
Suggested Design Methods
• Use IGMP and MVR to efficiently forward multicast traffic.
Use VLANs and protected ports to provide security and port isolation.
•
Use VLAN trunks, cross-stack UplinkFast, and BackboneFast for
•
traffic-load balancing on the uplink ports so that the uplink port with a
lower relative port cost is selected to carry the VLAN traffic.
Use QoS to prioritize applications such as IP telephony during
•
congestion and to help control both delay and jitter within the network.
Use switches that support at least two queues per port to prioritize voice
•
and data traffic as either high- or low-priority, based on 802.1p or
802.1Q.
Use the Catalyst 2900 LRE XL or Catalyst 2950 LRE switches to
•
provide up to 15 Mb of IP connectivity over existing infrastructure
(existing telephone lines).
Chapter 1 Overview
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