Defining VLANs

Implementing Best Practices for VLAN Topologies

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-1

Issues in a Poorly Designed Network

Unbounded failure domains Large broadcast domains Large amount of unknown MAC unicast traffic Unbounded multicast traffic Management and support challenges Possible security vulnerabilities

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-2

Scalable Network Addressing

IT, Human Resources

Sales, Marketing

Finance, Accounting

Allocate IP address spaces in contiguous blocks.

Allocate one IP subnet per VLAN.

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-3

Interconnection Technologies

Technology

Use

Fast Ethernet

Gigabit Ethernet
10-Gigabit Ethernet EtherChannel

Connects end-user devices to the access layer switch Access to distribution switch, high-use servers
High-speed switch to switch links, backbones High-speed switch to switch links, backbones with redundancy

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-4

Determining Equipment and Cabling Needs

Each link provides adequate bandwidth for traffic aggregating over that link.

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-5

VLANs and the Logical Network

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-6

Network Traffic Types

Traffic types to consider:
Network management
IP telephony Multicast Normal data Scavenger class

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-7

Traffic Path for IP Telephony

Consider complete traffic path when placing equipment and configuring VLANs.
2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BCMSN v3.02-8

Traffic Path for IP Multicast

Consider complete traffic path when placing equipment and configuring VLANs.
2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BCMSN v3.02-9

Summary
Poorly designed networks can lead to large broadcast domains. A hierarchical IP addressing scheme scales well in the Campus Infrastructure module. The interconnection technology used depends on the amount of traffic the link must carry. Select the best equipment, cabling, and interconnection technologies to connect devices. VLANs should map to the IP hierarchy for the Campus Infrastructure module.

Separate voice and data VLANs are recommended.

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-10

 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

BCMSN v3.02-11