Cabletron Systems Cabletron BRIM-F6, Networking Manual

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Ethernet
6-8 Ethernet Workgroup Design
In an effort to provide some measure of differentiation between the varying levels
of expense, the design tables which list a series of possible selections in a
particular category attempt to organize the networking devices presented in
ascending order of expense. In many cases, the difference between the list prices
of some networking devices is quite small, so this arrangement of products
should be considered an estimation aid only.
Other Considerations
In some cases, there are special design issues that restrict Network Designers to
particular hardware selections. Limited available space, for example, or the
environmental conditions of the install location may play a part in the selection of
a networking device for the home office. These specialized considerations are
beyond the scope of this document, but a large amount of information can be
found in the Cabletron Systems Networking Solutions Product Guide.
Design Example
The example which follows traces the selection process of a new Network
Designer attempting to design a network for a single-room home office, shown in
Figure 6-1. The network designer has determined the needs and special situations
of the proposed network, and has decided to use a single-segment Ethernet
network. The network will need to support a small custom greeting card
operation which consists of six stations - four production stations, one accounting
station, and one administration station which acts as a server for the single office
printer. The network will not support any on-line applications, server-heavy
traffic, or email, and is intended only to make the exchange of files (currently
done through passing floppy disks) easier.
Figure 6-1. Home Office - Initial Scenario
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