Campus Network Design
Workshop
Campus Network Design Best
Practices
Campus Network Rules
• Separate in layers
• Minimize number of network devices in any path
• Provision central services near the core
• Route near the core, switch at the edges
• Use standard solutions for common situations
• Use DHCP centrally
Campus Network Design
• A good network design is modular and
hierarchical, with a clear separation of
functions:
– Core: Resilient, few changes, few features,
high link and CPU capacity
– Distribution: Aggregation, redundancy
– Access: Port density, affordability, security
features, many adds, moves and changes
Layers Features
Core
Complexity
Capacity
Distribution
Access
Campus Network Design - Simple
ISP
Network Border
Core
Distribution
Access
Campus Network Design - Redundant
ISP1 ISP2
Network Border
Core
Distribution
Access
Core Layer
• Core network is the “core” of your network
– Reliability is key
• Keep it simple!
– Always route (not switch) in the core
– Reliable power and air conditioning
– As you grow:
• Add more devices for redundancy or better
performance
• Use dual power supplies fed from separate UPSs
Separate border from core
• Allows you to provision tools centrally
– Firewalls
– Traffic shaping devices
– Intrusion Detection
– Intrusion Prevention
– Network Address Translation
– Etc.
Border Router
• Connects to outside world
• RENs and peering are the reason you need
them
Internet
Exchange REN
Campus
Network
Access Layer
• Provides service to end users
• Each of these networks should be an IP
subnet
– Plan for no more than 250 Computers at
maximum
– Should be one of these for every reasonable
sized building
• Always buy switches that are managed –
no unmanaged switches!
Minimize Number of Network
Devices in the Path
• Build star networks
• Not daisy chained networks
Where to put Servers?
• Servers should be on a high speed interface off of your
core router
• Servers should be at your core location where there is
good power and air conditioning
Firewall/
Border Router Core Router
Traffic Shaper
Fiber optic links to remote buildings
Servers
in core
Use open standards
• Avoid using proprietary solutions when
possible
– Keeps your purchasing options open
– Avoids having to change later
– Open standards are better understood by
more people
Notes on IP Addressing
• Get your own public IP address space
– Get your v6 block when you get your v4 one
– Make subnets large enough for growth
• Use DHCP to assign addresses to
individual PCs
– Use static addressing only for network
equipment, printers, and servers
DHCP
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
– Used to assign IP address and provide basic IP
configuration to a host.
• Simplifies your life greatly
– Faster
– Fewer mistakes
– Easier renumbering
• Should be provisioned centrally
– Requires relaying across layer 3 networks
Central DHCP
• In order to centralize your DHCP service, you
need a DHCP relay on each subnet
– Most routers provide this feature
• Also possible on Linux routers using ISC DHCPD as
relay
– The central server knows which subnet queries
are coming from, and assigns addresses from
the right pool
• As you grow, add another server and run as
a failover pair
DNS
• DNS reliability is essential to your network
– No DNS == No services
• Server location
– On different subnets, off of different routers
– Air conditioned, dual power supplies, etc.
• Separate duties
– Authoritative and recursive on different
machines
DNS Authoritative vs. Recursive
Server Function Information Target audience
Authoritative Your domains The Internet
Recursive All other domains Your users
Questions?
• Thank you.
