Lesson 4

Characterizing the Existing Internetwork

Lesson objectives

 Characterizing the network infrastructure

 Checking the health of the existing internetwork
Characterizing the Existing
Internetwork
 This concerns examining a customer’s existing
network to better judge how to meet
expectations for network goals (scalability,
performance, and availability.)
 Examining the existing network includes
learning about the topology and physical
structure, and assessing the network’s
performance.
 Characterizing the infrastructure of a network
means developing a network map and learning
the location of major internetworking devices
and network segments.
Developing a Network Map
 Create a set of network maps that show the locations of all major
network components, segments, and their names and addresses.
 compare the maps you make with data on network usage and
performance to see where the network is stressed, and where it is
working well.
 Start mapping by creating maps of each location in a large network
 Create an expanding map that supports the top-down concept.
 start at a high level, i.e creating a map that shows a general
schematic of sites and WAN links.
 Each location in the high level map is then represented with its own
map, with the next logical level of detail, perhaps at the level of
Metropolitan Area Networks
 If the second level of detail was about MANs, then the
next level of detail should show the LANs in each MAN.

 If we have just shown the LANs, go ahead and break

down each LAN, showing its components and structure.
 In sufficiently large or complex LANs, you may want
maps of each floor of each building. This would be
helpful for staff who are installing or moving devices.
What Should a Network Map Include?
1. Geographical information, such as countries, states or provinces,
cities, and campuses
2. WAN connections between countries, states, and cities
3. Buildings and floors, and possibly rooms or cubicles
4. WAN and LAN connections between buildings and between
campuses
5. An indication of the data-link layer technology for WANs (eg
Frame Relay, Serial Line Interface Protocol (SLIP), ISDN) and LANs
(E.G 100-Mbps Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10-Gbps Ethernet
6. , and so on)
7. The name of the service provider for WANs eg KDN (Kenya data
Networks)
8. The location of routers and switches, though not necessarily hubs
9. The location and reach of any Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
that connect corporate sites via a service provider’s WAN
10. The location of major servers or server farms
10. The location of major network-management
stations
11. The location and reach of any virtual LANs (VLANs).
(If the drawing is in color, you can draw all devices
and segments within a particular VLAN in a specific
color.)
12. The topology of any firewall security systems
13. The location of any dial-in and dial-out systems
14. Some indication of where workstations reside,
though not necessarily the explicit location of each
workstation
Tools for Developing Network Maps
 Not all customers can provide a detailed and up-to-
date map of the existing network. In many cases,
you need to develop the map yourself.
 Visio Corporation’s Visio Professional is one of the
tools for diagramming networks. The ability to draw
WANs on top of a geographical map and LANs on top
of a building or floor plan.
 If a customer has equipment documented in a
spreadsheet or database, you can use the Visio
Network Diagram Wizard to draw a diagram based
on the network-equipment spreadsheet or database.
 FREE Network Diagram Software. CADE is ideal for
network engineers and network designers who need
to draw detailed network documentation
Tools for Developing Network Maps
 Some companies offer diagramming and
network documentation tools that
automatically discover the existing network.
Pinpoint Software’s ClickNet Professional is
one such tool. ClickNet Professional uses
various network-management protocols and
other mechanisms to automatically learn and
document the infrastructure of a customer’s
network.
 NetSuite Development is another company
that specializes in network-discovery and
design tools. NetSuite Advanced Professional
Design helps you design complex multi-layer
networks.
Characterize Naming and Addressing
 Characterizing the logical infrastructure of a network involves
documenting any strategies your customer has for network addressing
and naming.
 When drawing detailed network maps include the names of major
sites, routers, network segments, and servers. Also document any
standard strategies your customer uses for naming network elements.
Characterize Naming and Addressing
 IP addressing is almost universal, so a logical
addressing scheme and method should be
chosen that will allow scaling and
subdividing as needed.
 You should investigate the network-layer
addresses your customer uses.
Examples
 IP addresses might need to be changed or
translated before connecting to the Internet.

 IPsubnet masking might limit the number of

nodes in a LAN or VLAN.
Characterizing Wiring and network media 
 To help you meet scalability and availability goals for your new
network design, it is important to understand the cabling design and
wiring of the existing network. If possible, you should document the
types of cabling in use as well as cable distances.
Wiring and network media -
 The type and grade of cable used inside and between buildings should
be documented.
 Terms:
 vertical wiring runs from one floor to another
 horizontal wiring runs from a wiring closet to a wallplate (which may be
in the floor, or under it)
 work-area wiring runs from a wall plate to a host you are connecting
to a network. 
Characterizing Wiring and Media
 Probably the wiring (or wireless technology)
between buildings is one of the following:
1. Single-mode fiber
2. Multi-mode fiber
3. Shielded twisted pair (STP) copper
4. Category-5e/6 unshielded-twisted-pair (UTP) copper
5. Coaxial cable???
6. Microwave
7. Laser
8. Radio
9. Infra-red
Characterizing Wiring and Media
 Within buildings, try to locate telecommunications wiring closets,
cross-connect rooms, and any laboratories or computer rooms.
 If you have any indication that the cabling might be longer than 100
meters, you should use a time-domain reflectometer (TDR) to verify
your suspicions.

Note:
 Unshielded Twisted Pair wiring doesn't work if
the total run from a host to a network
connectivity device is over 100 meters long.
Checking Architectural and Environmental Constraints

 It may not be possible to run network cable through

an area that your customer does not own. It is also
possible that you cannot run a cable if the site is
protected by local laws, such as being a historical
site.
 These issues may lead to considering wireless
solutions for part of your network.
 Wireless concerns - A wireless network solves some
problems but adds concerns that a wired network
does not have.
 Note that a wireless signal will fade over distance,
as will a signal in a wire, but at a much faster rate.
If the signal encounters anything, the signal can be
affected in several different ways.
Architectural Constraints
 Within building, pay attention to architectural issues
that could affect the feasibility of implementing
your network design. Make sure the following
architectural elements are sufficient to support your
design:
 Make sure the following are sufficient
 Air conditioning
 Heating

 Ventilation

 Power

 Protection from electromagnetic interference

 Doors that can lock
Architectural Constraints
Make sure there’s space for:
Cabling conduits
Patch panels
Equipment racks
Work areas for technicians
installing and troubleshooting
equipment
CHECKING THE HEALTH OF THE EXISTING INTERNETWORK
 Take baseline measurements of the existing network, so that you can
tell whether your changes to the network introduce improvements or
problems.
 The performance of existing network segments will affect overall
performance.
 If an internetwork is too large to study all segments, pay particular
attention to backbone networks and networks that connect old and
new areas.
Issues for Wireless Installations
 Reflection. causes the signal to bounce back on itself. The signal can interfere with itself
in the air and affect the receiver’s capability to discriminate between the signal and noise
in the environment.

 Absorption. Some materials cause absorption of electromagnetic waves, preventing it from

reaching the receiver.

 Refraction. When an RF signal passes from a medium with one density into a medium with
another density, the signal can be bent.

 Diffraction. results when a region through which the RF signal can pass easily is adjacent
to a region in which reflective obstructions exist.
Check the Health of the
Existing
 PerformanceInternetwork
 Availability
 Bandwidth utilization
 Accuracy
 Efficiency
 Response time
 Status of major routers, switches, and firewalls
Analyzing network traffic
 Volume of network traffic
 The current and future demand requirements can be used to predict
the volume of network traffic. Various elements will contribute to the
amount of traffic on the network.
 To provide some insight into the amount of traffic to expect, ask the
following questions:
 How many users will be accessing the network?
 What is the expected volume and type of data/files users will create?
In medium to large networks users typically store data/files on
central servers. Accessing and working with this data will generate
network traffic.
 Will users be accessing other data stores such as databases, intranets,
streaming content, email, instant messaging, VoIP etc. If so, how
many users will be using these services and what will be the degree of
activity?
 How much will multimedia rich content will be used within the
network? Data such as audio and video a very network intensive and
can cause serious network degradation if overused or not controlled.
 Which applications will be run from the server and which will be
locally installed on client computers? Some applications, such as
databases and content management systems may require intensive
server and network utilization. Users typically access these resources
through a web-based front end.
 What network services are hosted onsite? In larger networks services
and protocols such as domain controllers, directory services, DNS,
DHCP, SNMP, SMTP, NAT, SPI etc may be used. These all generate
more network traffic.
 Areclient standard operating environments
(SOEs) installed via remote installation or
network imaging systems? These systems can
generate very large volumes of traffic.
 When are server and client maintenance task
performed? Tasks such as backups, virus
scans, file searches etc may not necessarily
produce any extra network traffic but they
can consume a large proportion of system
resources. This can result in there not being
enough resources remaining to service
network requests.
Characteristics of network traffic
 In addition to the volume, the characteristics of the traffic also
need to be predicted. This requires a prediction of the type of
traffic that is expected.
 Some questions you should ask include:
 Is the traffic constant or intermittent?
 Is the traffic being generated by a critical business system or a
peripheral system?
 Does the source of the traffic require high speed, uninterrupted
transmission or can it be throttled back or postponed?
 What parts of the network are being affected by the traffic and
can it be isolated?
 Once you have predicted the traffic expected on the network, you
can tailor your network design to ensure optimal performance.
Future traffic
 It is important to take into account the expected future traffic.
 Is the network expected to grow rapidly, or do you know of additional
capabilities that will be implemented at a later date?

 For example, you may be planning to become part of a wide area

network or to implement VoIP telephony in the future.
 Planning for future growth requires including significant extra
capacity to cope with spikes in network growth. However, attempting
to plan too far ahead can be futile as IT is a field of rapid growth and
change that can be difficult to predict.
 The major groups of tools that
cable
are testers
available are:
network monitors and protocol
analysers
built-in network management
tools supplied within operating
systems
third party vendor tools.
TOOLS FOR CHARACTERIZING THE EXISTING INTERNETWORK

Cable testers allow network

analysis to be performed at the
lowest level of network
infrastructure, ie the
interconnecting network
cables. Cable testers are vital
to providing troubleshooting
and benchmarking of the
physical network.
Network monitors and protocol
analysers allow network analysis
beyond the physical network and
provide higher level functions.
This group of software allows
network data packets to be
captured, measured, viewed,
broken apart, as well as many
other analysis tasks.
 All modern operating systems have
built-in network analysis tools. Many
of these tools are based on the built-
in features of the TCP/IP network
protocol suite. Windows, for example,
has built-in tools including the
‘Network connections’ tool within
‘Control panel’, and a wide range of
commands to troubleshoot and
manage networks such as ‘ping’ and
‘tracert’.
 In more complex networks or when specific network benchmarks are
required the built-in network analysis tools may not be adequate.

 If this is the case, then third party tools may need to be acquired. It
is important to thoroughly test these tools before use.
 Through the smart use of network analysis tools, simulations,
benchmarks and vendor supplied data an accurate estimate of
network performance can be established. This can prove invaluable in
detecting and preventing poor network performance before a network
design is implemented.