Logical and Physical Network Design

Logical and Physical Network Design

Logical and Physical Network Design

Network design is a process that begins from the first thought on how to connect to computers together in order for them to communicate and pass needed data to each other. The process may seem simple on this level and may require little consideration, but in fact, there are many areas of the network that need to be examined before the process of networking should be undertaken. For the small network, these considerations may be seemingly very quick and in fact could almost be automatic in the thought process for outlining the connection between computers and other network devices. But for larger and more complex networks, the process is much more involved and needs to be taken in a very precise and deliberate manner. Attempting to design a large or complex network with a rushed process could spell a recipe for disaster. Critical information to the project could be missed during the planning that could greatly impact the project later in the development, quite possibly at a point in which is difficult to be reverse. Problems of this manner are not all that uncommon in large scale networking projects as well as other industries. They often cost organizations very large sums of money in an attempt to rectify or find a solution to the issue. These issues could be could be avoided if the organization take the time to plan properly. A very large part of the planning process is the creation of both logical and physical network designs.

Logical Network Design

Logical Design of a network is the representation of the functional design of the network where configuration is concerned. The Logical Design in not so much concerned with the physical layout of network devices or infrastructure, but instead is more concerned with the network configuration that is required to make the network function efficiently. The logical design outlines much of the most important data that will ensure that each network device is able to communicate with the other devices on its local network, as well as those distant from the local network. The logical design gives a good representation of the computer-naming scheme for the devices on the network and identifies each computer uniquely by name. Protocols that the network will use to connect to other ends of the network as well a to the Internet are identified as part of the logical design. One of the more important pieces of information found on the logical design is the addressing for each device. The logical design should list the Internet Protocol (IP) address for each device, as well as other configuration data that will allow each computer or device to communicate beyond the local network, such as gateway IP's or subnet's.

A very important part of a creating a logical design of a network is to allow for future expansion. Indeed, many problems found in network come from a failure to visualize and plan for the future growth of an organization. During the logical network design it is important to accommodate for future expansion of the network. If a network is designed for definite number of computers, then it is a good idea to add in extra configuration data for the future growth of the network. IP addresses should be set aside to be able to accommodate growth of the network