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Analyzing server hardware

(Skill 1). Analyzing Server and Workstation Hardware. Analyzing server hardware Check the minimum and recommended requirements of the target operating system (Table 1-1) Future planning Make sure servers can meet any additional demands you may design into the infrastructure

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Analyzing server hardware

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  1. (Skill 1) Analyzing Server and Workstation Hardware • Analyzing server hardware • Check the minimum and recommended requirements of the target operating system (Table 1-1) • Future planning • Make sure servers can meet any additional demands you may design into the infrastructure • Make sure servers will scale to meet future needs based on anticipated growth during the targeted server life cycle

  2. (Skill 1) Analyzing Server and Workstation Hardware (2) • Analyzing client workstations • Check the minimum and recommended requirements of the target operating system (Table 1-2) • Make sure client computers can support necessary operating system upgrades

  3. (Skill 1) Analyzing Server and Workstation Hardware (3) • Analyze load under which computers will be placed • Analyze performance logs over a one- to two-week interval (baseline) • Note key bottlenecks • Examine the current level of service • Interview key personnel to determine if level of service is adequate

  4. (Skill 1) Analyzing Server and Workstation Hardware (4) • Performing a pilot upgrade • Use the hardware and software you are planning to recommend • Track the performance levels over a reasonable period of time • Make sure the recommended hardware specifications meet the desired performance level

  5. (Skill 1) Figure 1-2 Calculating processor capacity

  6. (Skill 2) Examining Software Requirements Verify the operating system is compatible with existing software If business-critical or custom software is in use, you may need to contact outside vendors or programmers Make sure the minimum hardware requirements for software packages are met Verify all software licensing requirements are met When designing an end-to-end solution, licensing requirements can significantly impact project’s budget

  7. (Skill 2) Figure 1-3 Steps for examining software requirements

  8. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware • Make sure network hardware meets the demands of the new design • Standard types of hardware • Hubs • Multistation access units (MAUs) • Wireless access points (WAPs) • Layer 2 switches and bridges • Routers and Layer 3 switches

  9. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (2) • Hubs (also known as multiport repeaters) • Typically used in Ethernet networks • Provide only one collision domain • Have been rendered nearly obsolete by Layer 2 switches

  10. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (3) • Multistation access units (MAUs) • Connection devices for Token Ring networks • Function is very similar to that of a hub

  11. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (4) • Wireless access points (WAPs) • Essentially hubs for wireless LANs (WLANs) • Capabilities • Provide a connection point to a wired network • Expand the range of a wireless network • In some instances, provide security

  12. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (5) • Layer 2 switches and bridges • Filter packets based on the media access control (MAC) address and forward them out of the appropriate ports • Main difference between a Layer 2 switch and a bridge is in the number of ports • Bridges typically only have two ports • Switches have more than two • Typically provide a collision domain for each port

  13. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (6) • Layer 3 switches and routers • Divide the network into broadcast domains • Primary difference between Layer 3 switch and router is simply in classification

  14. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (8) • Performance factors • For hubs and MAUs, the primary concern is available bandwidth • For full duplex networks, make sure the bandwidth will not be exceeded in the new design • For half-duplex networks, make sure no more than 40 to 50% of total the bandwidth will be exceeded in the new design

  15. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (9) • Performance factors • Estimating bandwidth requirements • Examine current bandwidth usage • Determine the amount of “headroom” left • Examine services and features to be included in the new design • Determine how much additional bandwidth each requires • In most networks, there will be considerable load placed upon the network during peak periods

  16. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (12) • Performance factors for Layer 2 switches and bridging devices • Packets per second (PPS) limit • Typically the best indicator of a switch’s potential performance • Defines the maximum rate the entire switching fabric can support • Low-end switches typically have a PPS rating of 100,000 to 1 million • High-end switches typically have a PPS rating of 10 million or more

  17. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (13) • Performance factors for Layer 2 switches and bridging devices • Media access control (MAC) address limit • If a switch is not capable of supporting the number of MAC addresses available in the broadcast domain, flooding occurs • Low-end switches typically have a MAC address limit of 512 to 2,000 addresses • High-end switches typically have a MAC address limit of 16,000 or more addresses

  18. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (14) • Performance factors for Layer 2 switches and bridging devices • General considerations • Make sure the switch can adequately handle traffic being sent to it during peak periods • Use a third-party Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) suite if possible • Estimate a switch’s potential maximum performance by multiplying the PPS by the average packet size (in bits) on the network

  19. (Skill 3) Examining Current Network Hardware (15) • Performance factors for Layer 3 devices • Performance analysis is similar to the analysis for Layer 2 switches • Make sure the processor and RAM are adequate to meet needs of design • An increase in the number of packets that must be routed increases processor load • An increase in the number of subnets in the router’s routing table increases RAM requirements

  20. (Skill 3) Figure 1-4 Network hardware

  21. (Skill 3) Figure 1-6 Standard recommendations for increasing network security

  22. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (2) • Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) • Most common suite in use • Robust, scalable, routable, and vendor-independent • Active Directory relies on TCP/IP, which means in most cases, you will be designing for TCP/IP networks

  23. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (3) • Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange (IPX/SPX) • Used with Novell NetWare line of network operating systems • Robust, scalable, and routable • NetWare 5 and later is capable of using TCP/IP for network communications, but older versions require IPX/SPX support

  24. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (4) • Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange (IPX/SPX) • If integrating or migrating a NetWare network to Active Directory • Convert the entire network to TCP/IP if possible • If not possible, operate the two protocol suites on a single network or use a gateway service such as Gateway Services for NetWare (GSNW) to provide access to legacy Novell systems

  25. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (5) • NetBIOS Extended User Interface (NetBEUI) • Most commonly associated with older Microsoft operating systems • Rarely used in large, modern networks • Not robust, scalable, or routable • Migrate these networks to TCP/IP • If not possible, you can run both TCP/IP and NetBEUI simultaneously, but it will impact network traffic considerably

  26. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (8) • Routing topologies • Star • Ring • Hybrid mesh • Full mesh

  27. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (9) • Star topology • Also known as “hub-and-spoke” • Most common type • Advantages: reduction in complexity and cost • Disadvantages: emphasizes a single point of failure and lacks redundancy

  28. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (10) • Ring topology • Not particularly common • Advantages: no single point of failure, not particularly complex • Disadvantage: additional number of links present adds additional cost

  29. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (11) • Hybrid mesh topology • Common for large organizations and Internet service providers (ISPs) • Does not fit all requirements of the full mesh topology, but provides additional redundancy • Costs scale according to level of redundancy chosen

  30. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (12) • Full mesh topology • Also known as true mesh • Each router has an individual connection to every other router • Number of links required can be very high • Rare due to the cost and complexity involved in implementation

  31. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (13) • Routing protocols • Designed to automatically locate and utilize secondary paths when a primary path fails • Only required if a network has redundant paths; if it does not, use static routing • Routing protocols provided in Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server • Routing Information Protocol (RIP) versions 1 and 2 • Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

  32. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (14) • Routing Information Protocol (RIP) version 1 • Advertises the entire routing table at periodic intervals (30 seconds by default) to all configured interfaces • Inefficient from a bandwidth perspective • Does not provide high level of scalability • Hop count (only metric used) limited to 15 hops • Does not support • Password protection of routing updates • Variable Length Subnet Mask (VLSM) • Classless Interdomain Routing (CIDR)

  33. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (15) • Routing Information Protocol (RIP) version 2 • Improved version of RIP version 1 • Added support • Password protection of routing updates • Multicasting of updates • Variable Length Subnet Mask (VLSM) • Classless Interdomain Routing (CIDR) • Retains inefficient update mechanism and limited scalability

  34. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (16) • Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) • Highly bandwidth efficient and scalable • Advertises only when initially booted and when the state of a link changes • Creates map of network, enabling it to easily and efficiently chose best path • Uses link speed as its metric, which makes path selection more accurate • Almost always recommended over RIP version 1 or 2

  35. (Skill 4) Examining the Current Protocol Requirements and Routing Infrastructure (17) • OSPF supports • Password protection of routing updates • Multicasting of updates • Variable Length Subnet Mask (VLSM) • Classless Interdomain Routing (CIDR) • OSPF limitations • More complex than RIP and uses more processor and RAM resources on router • Cannot be used over demand-dial routing connections

  36. (Skill 4) Figure 1-8 Using a gateway to connect to NetWare systems

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