The Hierarchical Network Model

Chapter 1
The Hierarchical Network Model:
- Your plan is more likely to be successful if a hierarchical design model is used.

- A hierarchical network is easier to manage and expand, and problems are
solved more quickly.
- The typical hierarchical design model is broken up in to three layers: access,
distribution, and core.
Access Layer:
- The access layer interfaces with end devices, such as PCs, printers, and IP
phones, to provide access to the rest of the network. The access layer can
include routers, switches, bridges, hubs, and wireless access points. The main
purpose of the access layer is to provide a means of connecting devices to
the network and controlling which devices are allowed to communicate on
the network.
Distribution Layer:
- The distribution layer aggregates the data received from the access layer
switches before it is transmitted to the core layer for routing to its final
destination. The distribution layer controls the flow of network traffic using
policies and delineates broadcast domains by performing routing functions
between virtual LANs (VLANs) defined at the access layer.
- Distribution layer switches are typically high-performance devices that have
high availability and redundancy to ensure reliability.
Core Layer:
- The core layer of the hierarchical design is the high-speed backbone of the
internetwork. The core layer is critical for interconnectivity between
distribution layer devices, so it is important for the core to be highly available
and redundant. The core area can also connect to Internet resources. The
core aggregates the traffic from all the distribution layer devices, so it must
be capable of forwarding large amounts of data quickly.
1- Explain the benefits of the hierarchical network model:
2- Hierarchical Network Design Principles:
- Network Diameter: Is the number of switches in the path of traffic between

two endpoints.
- Bandwidth Aggregation: Is normally implemented by combining several
parallel links between two switches into one logical link.
- Redundancy: Modern networks use redundant links between hierarchical
network layers in order to ensure network availability.
3- What is a Converged Network?
- Convergence is the process of combining voice and video communications on

a data network.
- Converged networks also required extensive management in relation to
Quality of Service (QoS), because voice and video data traffic needed to be
classified and prioritized on the network.
4- Switch Features
 Performance
When selecting a switch for the access, distribution, or core layers, considers
the ability of the switch to support the port density, forwarding rates, and
bandwidth aggregation requirements of your network.
- Port Density: Port density is the number of ports available on a single switch.
- Forwarding Rates: Forwarding rates define the processing capabilities of a
switch by rating how much data the switch can process per second.
- Link Aggregation: Aggregated ports for improved performance.
 Power over Ethernet

- Power over Ethernet (POE) allows the switch to deliver power to a device
over the existing Ethernet cabling.
5- Access Layer Switch Features:
6- Distribution Layer Switch Features:
7- Core Layer Switch Features:

Chapter 2
1- Ethernet Communications:
Communications in a switched LAN network occur in three ways: unicast,
broadcast, and multicast
- Unicast: Communication in which a frame is sent from one host and

addressed to one specific destination. In unicast transmission, there is just
one sender and one receiver.
- Broadcast: Communication in which a frame is sent from one address to all
other addresses. In this case, there is just one sender, but the information is
sent to all connected receivers.
- Multicast: Communication in which a frame is sent to a specific group of
devices or clients.
2- Duplex Settings:
3- Collision Domains:
- The network area where frames originate and collide is called the collision
domain.
- All shared media environments, such as those created by using hubs, are
collision domains.
- When a host is connected to a switch port, the switch creates a dedicated
connection. This connection is considered an individual collision domain,
because traffic is kept separate from all other traffic
4- Broadcast Domains:
- The broadcast domain at Layer 2 is referred to as the MAC broadcast domain.

The MAC broadcast domain consists of all devices on the LAN that receive
frame broadcasts by a host to all other machines on the LAN.
- Because routers do not forward broadcast traffic by default, they can be used
to create broadcast domains.
5- Switch Packet Forwarding Methods:
- Store-and-Forward Switching: In store-and-forward switching, when the

switch receives the frame, it stores the data in buffers until the complete
frame has been received. During the storage process, the switch analyzes the
frame for information about its destination. In this process, the switch also
performs an error check using the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) trailer
portion of the Ethernet frame.
- Cut-through Switching: In cut-through switching, the switch acts upon the
data as soon as it is received, even if the transmission is not complete. The
switch buffers just enough of the frame to read the destination MAC address
so that it can determine to which port to forward the data. The destination
MAC address is located in the first 6 bytes of the frame following the
preamble. The switch looks up the destination MAC address in its switching
table, determines the outgoing interface port, and forwards the frame onto
its destination through the designated switch port.
6- Symmetric and Asymmetric Switching:

- Asymmetric: Asymmetric switching enables more bandwidth to be dedicated
to a server switch port to prevent a bottleneck.
- Symmetric: On a symmetric switch all ports are of the same bandwidth.

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Chapter 1

The Hierarchical Network Model:

- Your plan is more likely to be successful if a hierarchical design model is used.

2- Hierarchical Network Design Principles:

- Network Diameter: Is the number of switches in the path of traffic between

3- What is a Converged Network?

- Convergence is the process of combining voice and video communications on

 Power over Ethernet

5- Access Layer Switch Features:

6- Distribution Layer Switch Features:

7- Core Layer Switch Features:

- Unicast: Communication in which a frame is sent from one host and

- The broadcast domain at Layer 2 is referred to as the MAC broadcast domain.

5- Switch Packet Forwarding Methods:

- Store-and-Forward Switching: In store-and-forward switching, when the

6- Symmetric and Asymmetric Switching:

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