Designing Large-Scale LANs

This book offers a vendor-neutral approach for designing
large local area networks according to business or
organizational needs, rather than from a product perspective.
Author and independent network design consultant Kevin Dooley
outlines "top-down network design" for building a technological
infrastructure to fit your organization's requirements, a process
far more effective and cost-efficient than fitting the
organization to the parameters of a shrink-wrapped proprietary
solution. Dooley argues that the design of a
network is largely independent of the products used.
Whether you use a Cisco or Juniper router,
the same security issues and protocols apply. The
questions he addresses in this book are need-specific:
Do I use a router or a switch?
Should I route between switched areas or switch
between routed areas? This book covers everything from
security, bandwidth and scalability to network reliability, which
includes backup, redundancy, and points of failure. Specific
technologies are analyzed in detail: network topologies, routing
and switching strategies, wireless, virtual LANs, firewalls and
gateways, security, Internet protocols, bandwidth, and multicast services.
The book also discusses proprietary technologies that are
ubiquitous, such as Cisco's IOS and Novell's IPX.