Support for high definition IP-Cameras
To support Devry’s new high-definition IP-Cameras and to continue supporting Devry’s existing infrastructure I have put together a new network topology and design that should would sufficiently for our new system.

Topology

This topology quickly summarizes our new network structure. We are implementing a hierarchical design model with our network. Devices are shown for reference on the bottom row. The next row up is our Access layer, we can see that we are hoping to utilize eight switches for this network, all with at least one route that has logical bandwidth aggregation for backup and redundancy. In the second layer of switches we have our distribution layer, made up of 5 switches, also with physical and logical redundancies. In the very top layer we have our core layer, made up of three switches.
(Network Topology of Visio Document Attached to lab also.)

Network Segmentation

Our network segmentation will be handled via VLAN (Virtual Local Area networks) that we will manage in future design requirements. This should handle our properly segmenting our cameras from our different departments/workgroups. (Printers, Servers, Users, etc.).

Network Size and Scope

Devry is looking to setup a network that can handle 150 cameras and provide connectivity for 120 existing users, printers, and servers, with 20% expansion. With that, we took into assumption that that would mean 150 cameras would be connected immediately, with the ability to handle another 30 in the future, totaling 180 cameras. Then we would need to handle 120 existing devices with enough to handle an additional 24 for future expansion. Our Total network will need to handle 324 devices.

Our Infrastructure Support

Access Layer:
When looking at our 324 devices, we could see that we may be able to accommodate this many ports by using 7 – 48 port switches. Instead of doing this, I have opted to have 7 switches to handle this. The reason for this is that I would like to save cost by using 4 – 48 port switches just for the cameras themselves. What I’m hoping to do is purchase 4 Cisco Catalyst 3560-48PS for the Cisco 4300 Video Surveillance cameras. These switches handle PoE (Power over Ethernet) and will also allow us to fully use each switch with 35 devices, 2 ports for dual bandwidth aggregation links to one distribution layer switch and a single line to another distribution layer switch. The other four switches in our Access Layer will accommodate the existing devices, printer’s, and servers. These four switches will be Cisco Catalyst 3560-48TS switches. This switch is also a 48 port switch, but it does not have PoE. With this, we will have 36 ports devoted to our current and future devices, as well as 2 for aggregation (logical) and one for physical redundancy as a backup to another switch on our distribution layer. This does leave 9 ports on these four switches that are left un-used, this may come in handy for future use. Both these support 1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet speed, giving us the bandwidth that will help our performance and reduce bottlenecks when using the many devices and cameras in our network.

Distribution Layer:

For our distribution layer, we are looking to purchase five Catalyst 4500 series switches, specifically the Cisco 4500 X-Series Switch. With this switch, we can guarantee our 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks. This switch also supports hot-swappable power supplies for AC or DC, which will allow us to swap out power supplies in the case of a failure. This switch will also be able to support layer 3 functions so we may be able to handle VLAN routing, which will be necessary for developing our new network.

Core Layer:

The core layer will consist of three - Cisco Catalyst 6500 switches. This has hot-swappable power-supplies, for quick maintenance. This switch can support 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections, has Layer 3 support, and a very high forwarding rate. This switch should be able to handle all of the needs for our new network.

Conclusion: This setup will be a good beginning to our first phase of the networking design project for Devry University’s security camera’s addition.

References

Lewis, W. (2008). LAN Switching and Wireless CCNA Exploration Companion Guide. Indianapolis, IN: Cisco Press.
Cisco Catalyst 3560 Series Switches Data Sheet. (Retrieved on 3/13/2014). Product Overview. http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-3560-series-switches/product_data_sheet09186a00801f3d7d.html
Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E - Wired and Wireless Convergence Data Sheet. (Retrieved on 3/14/2014). Overview. http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-4500-series-switches/data_sheet_c78-728191.html
Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches. (Retrieved on 3/14/2014). Features and Capabilities. http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/catalyst-6500-series-switches/index.html