[nsp] Gigabit/Fibre LAN - Required Network Elements

[Brant Stevens]

Mark,

I have to agree with Chuck.

I would think that spending more resources ($$$$$) on the networking
infrastructure would make more sense than just throwing big-fat NICs in the
servers.  (Out of curiosity, what kind of servers are these?!?!)

Connecting your Storage system (iSCSI/NAS) via 10Gb makes the most sense to
me, as this is where the highest throughput needs are, but would it not be
more cost-effective to use multiple servers connected via copper to provide
the media?

What format is the media provided in?  Is it possible for the main servers
to multicast the traffic?  What are the distances involved? 

I hate to say it, but if there aren't a lot of clients involved, the 10GbE
will just be wasted.  Properly implementing QoS on your network will buy you
more than using 10GbE on a client.

HTH,
Brant.

-----Original Message-----
From: Church, Chuck [mailto:cchurch at wamnetgov.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 3:23 PM
To: mtinka at africaonline.co.sz; cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net
Subject: RE: [nsp] Gigabit/Fibre LAN - Required Network Elements

Mark,

	How many workstations and servers are you initially using, and how
much potential growth?  How much uptime/reliability is required?  I haven't
checked in a year or so, but last I knew, no server could come close to
saturating a gig link.  Not sure why you're using 10gb links to servers,
much less workstations.  Seems like tremendous overkill, and very costly.
If I'm reading it right, you've already purchased all these 10gb NICs, and
budget only allows for two 3725 routers and two 3550 switches???


Chuck Church
Lead Design Engineer
CCIE #8776, MCNE, MCSE
Wam!Net Government Services - Design & Implementation Team
13665 Dulles Technology Dr. Ste 250
Herndon, VA 20171
Office: 703-480-2569
Cell: 703-819-3495
cchurch at wamnetgov.com
PGP key:
http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=index&search=cchurch%40wamnetgov.
com
-----Original Message-----
From: cisco-nsp-bounces at puck.nether.net
[mailto:cisco-nsp-bounces at puck.nether.net] On Behalf Of Mark Tinka
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 11:11 AM
To: cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net
Subject: [nsp] Gigabit/Fibre LAN - Required Network Elements

Hi all.

We are planning a project that will be LAN-bandwidth intensive - there will
be a lot of file sharing, a lot of media streaming and quite a large amount
of packet transfer across the LAN.

We are thinking of running Gig-E on Cat-5 UTP and fibre.

To be more specific:


	o We plan to run the main media servers on a 10Gbps LAN backbone.
The servers already have IntelR PRO/10GbE LR Server
	  Adapter. These adapters have a dual-port interface for an MMF/SMF
fibre hookup.

	o All the LAN machines already have the IntelR PRO/1000 MT Desktop
Adapter installed, and can run from as low as 
	  10Mbps through to 100Mbps and onto 1Gbps, over Cat-5 UTP.

	o Some of the workstations that will access the the media servers
for content will need to re-serve it to both 
	  internal and external users. These workstations are equipped with
the IntelR PRO/10GbE LR Server Adapter, along
	  with the dual-port interface for an MMF fibre hookup.

	o We are also integrating IP telephony for our internal telephone
system on the same backbone, using Cisco IP Phones
	  and some Cisco switching/routing gear. We need to have sufficient
capacity on the LAN so voice quality isn't 
	  compromised.


Questions:

	o We are looking for a solution that will allow us to run our LAN
from 10Mbps all the way to 1Gbps, using both Cat-5
    	  and SMF or MMF fibre, depending on the distance/bandwidth
trade-off. More specifically, a solution in terms of
	  switching and routing.

	o What we have on budget now is 2x 3550 Cisco Catalyst Switch and 2x
3725 Cisco routers. Obviously, for us to realise
	  anything between 100Mbps and 10Gbps, we need to run said speed
right from the PC network card through to the switch
  	  and then the router. 

	o Could anyone please suggest what we could do with this Cisco gear?
We haven't yet ordered, as we may need to be 
	  specific about required network modules. I could have done all
this on my own, but I realised I may not have enough
	  time, and would really appreciate any tips/feedback from list
members that have (tried) such a scenario.

	o Essentially, we want fibre and Cat-5 to reside on the
switches/routers, in, more or less, equal amounts, to allow
	  for growth and expansion in either direction.


Please note that while this project is quite ambitious, this is a corporate
business, with just *enough* money to spare, hence the low router/switch
specs at this time. Anything higher may not be quite feasible (probably
until some time in the future), but your input is welcome, nonetheless.

Any other information anyone can provide will be much appreciated.
Thanks.

Regards,

Mark Tinka
Technical Manager, Africa Online Swaziland

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