Cisco Networking Simplified, Second Edition

Part III. Network Design

Parts I and II looked at how computers communicate, with the OSI model as well as switching and routing protocols. The good news is that pretty much anything you put on a network is covered by these principles, so all a designer has to do is apply them. The bad news is that the networks can get big—make that very big, as in tens of thousands of routers and switches connecting hundreds of thousands of devices.

To ensure that the network can continue to operate on a massive scale, some good design practices must be put into place. Part III covers some of these principles, which almost always apply to enterprise-scale networks. ...