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CCNA3 Chap 1 Study Answers
CCNA3 Chap 1 Study Answers
Answers
1.1
What are the three layers of the hierarchical network design model?
Access, distribution and core.
What are the advantages of designing LANs using the hierarchical model?
The hierarchical model separates out different functions of a network, giving a
modular design. This should make the network easier to manage and
troubleshoot. It should be easier to expand the network (scalability), and it
should be easier to maximise performance.
What is the purpose of the access layer?
It allows end devices to connect to the network and controls which devices
may connect.
What sort of devices are found at the access layer?
End devices, such as PCs, printers, and IP phones. Network devices such as
routers, switches, bridges, hubs, and wireless access points.
What is the purpose of the distribution layer?
It controls the flow of network traffic. In particular, it controls traffic between
different broadcast domains (subnetworks, VLANs). It aggregates traffic from
the access layer that needs to be passed to the core layer for longer distance
transmission.
What sort of devices are found at the distribution layer?
High-performance switches. They should have high availability and
redundancy to ensure reliability
What is the purpose of the core layer?
It is the high speed backbone of the network. Its main task is to forward large
amounts of data quickly.
What is a collapsed core model and where might it be used?
The distribution layer and the core layer are combined. It is used for smaller
networks.
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4/24/2015
267754244.doc
SW
4/24/2015
267754244.doc
SW
4/24/2015
267754244.doc
1.2
What is traffic flow analysis, and why might you want to do it?
Traffic flow analysis is the measurement of bandwidth usage. It can show
what demands different sources of traffic are making on the network. You
might do it to get the information you need to improve network performance,
plan network changes, decide if you need to upgrade, and decide what type
of new equipment is needed.
How can measurements be made in order to carry out a traffic flow analysis?
It can be done manually by monitoring switch ports, but this is time consuming
and not feasible for large networks. There are software analysis tools that
take the measurements and perform the analysis, giving a visual display
How can a User Communities Analysis help with network design?
Users are normally grouped by job function because they have similar
requirements for bandwidth, applications, access to servers etc. The User
Communities Analysis shows what demands the different groups of users
make on the network. Some design implications are:
The number of switch ports needed for each group of users, including
possible growth.
The location of servers that the users access.
The bandwidth requirements of the users.
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Which two types of traffic need to be considered when planning data storage
facilities?
Client-server traffic and server-server traffic.
How can server-server traffic be optimised?
Servers and data stores should be kept physically close to each other and
should be connected by high performance switches. Businesses often keep
their servers and data stores in a secure data centre.
How might you deal with a bottleneck where there is insufficient bandwidth?
Use link aggregation (multiple links between switches) or install higher
performance switches.
Why is it important to produce a topology diagram as part of the network
design process?
It is difficult to produce a topology diagram later by examining the network
itself, and the diagram is necessary for the efficient management of the
network. It shows all the switches and how they are connected, including
aggregated links and redundant links, and the ports used. It shows how
servers, storage devices and end user devices such as workstations are
connected.
How is the thickness of a switch (top to bottom) measured?
In rack units (U).
What is the difference between a fixed configuration switch and a modular
switch?
A fixed configuration switch has a fixed number of ports and these cannot be
changed. A modular switch has a chassis that can take line cards. The line
cards contain the ports. A modular switch can therefore have different
numbers or types of ports, depending on the choice of line cards.
What are stackable switches?
Stackable switches are designed to be connected together and act as a single
switch. The connection between the switches is through a special high speed
port and not through the normal switch ports.
What is the port density of a switch?
The number of available access ports.
SW
4/24/2015
267754244.doc
SW
4/24/2015
267754244.doc
SW
4/24/2015
267754244.doc