IS589 Ch 8 Exercise 8-3 Question You have been hired by a small company to install a backbone to connect four 100base-T

Ethernet LANs (each using one 24-port hub) and to provide a connection to the Internet. Develop a simple backbone and determine the total cost (i.e., select the backbone technology and price it, select the cabling and price it, select the devices and price them, and so on). Prices are available at www.datacommwarehouse.com, but use any source that is convenient. For simplicity, assume that category 5, category 5e, category 6, and fiber-optic cable have a fixed cost per circuit to buy and install, regardless of distance, of $50, $60, $120, and $300, respectively. Answer To construct a Backbone for the network will require, at minimum, one 1000base-T switch that can support at least 400 Mbps input on the LAN ports and also support an uplink to the Internet. A true layer 2 switch will contain the broadcast domains of each 24 port hub to a single port, improving overall network performance. I will assume that each hub includes a single uplink port which is standard with most hubs. Costs Quantity Description Cost Each Total Cost 4 CAT 5 Cable Uplink Hub to Switch $50.00 1 CAT 6 Cable Uplink to the firewall $120.00 1 RJ45/Cat5 Connector 100 Pack $27.99 1 8-Port Cat5E Patch Panel $35.99 1 Cisco SFE2000 24 Port 10/100/1000 $379.99 Labor Total Cost $200.00 $120.00 $27.99 $35.99 $379.99 $200.00 $963.97

The Cisco SFE2000 24 Port appliance is a managed switch with the bandwidth to support all 4 LAN networks. The SFE2000 also supports Spanning Tree Protocol which is enabled by default to prevent network loops that can create big problems. This switch also features four 1000base-T ports, one of which can be used as the uplink path to the Internet. The 1000base-T connection will provide the necessary speed to support duplex uplink connection for all 4 LANs.

Each LAN hub will connect to the SFE2000 from the hub uplink port to one of the SFE2000 LAN port via CAT 5 UTP cable. CAT 5 UTP cable was selected due to low cost while fully supporting the hub network speed. The SFE2000 was chosen due to being a low cost solution that supports over 400 Mbps required for the four LAN networks. The 24 port SFE2000 will also support expandability for this small network. In addition the SFE2000 support gigabit uplink ports that provide the aggregate bandwidth for traffic from all four LAN networks to the Internet. A gigabit uplink on the Internet side was selected for the additional buffering necessary for best performance. I will assume that the Internet connection gateway supports an Ethernet CAT 6 connection rather than fiber. Fiber Optic would be better but also it would raise the cost about the $1000 budget mark, which for this project (assumption) the company does not want to reach.

References RJ45 Shielded Cat5 Modular Plug for Round Solid Cable, http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Cables-to-Go-RJ45-Cat5-8-x-8-Modular-Plug-for-Round-StrandedCable-networ/2264235.aspx

8-Port Cat5E Patch Panel, http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Cables-To-Go-patch-panel/2391674.aspx

Cisco SFE2000 24-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch, http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Cisco-SFE2000-24-port-10-100-Ethernet-Switch/1149974.aspx