Enterprise Network Design

Course: INT301: Computer Networking

Project: Network Design Proposal for Anthony's Potato Chip Company

Project Type: Enterprise Network Architecture & Infrastructure Design

Final Project Grade: 100%

Project Overview

The Enterprise Network Design project focused on developing a complete network infrastructure proposal for Anthony's Potato Chip Company, a mid-sized organization with approximately 500 employees operating across three Southern California locations.

The company required a modern network capable of connecting its San Diego headquarters, Alpine production and warehouse facility, and Escondido sales office while improving reliability, communication, security, scalability, and centralized network management.

For my solution, I designed a multi-site enterprise architecture incorporating LAN and WAN infrastructure, departmental VLAN segmentation, Layer 3 switching, wireless connectivity, VoIP support, centralized servers, fiber backbone connections, and secure VPN communication between locations.

I also developed detailed network diagrams, individual facility floor plans, an equipment and cost analysis, and a companion infrastructure presentation to visually communicate the proposed solution.

Network Requirements

The network was designed to accommodate several forms of organizational traffic and communication, including:

• Business documents and email
• VoIP and PBX communications
• Video conferencing
• Wireless communications
• Manufacturing system data
• Cloud-based applications
• Centralized file and application services
• Employee workstations and printers
• Network management systems
  

The design targeted 99.9% availability while supporting high-speed communication, centralized administration, network segmentation, secure remote-site connectivity, and future organizational growth.

Gigabit Ethernet was selected for LAN connectivity, while fiber and trunk backbone connections were incorporated to support higher-bandwidth communication between network layers and facilities.

Enterprise Network Architecture

I designed the network around a hierarchical enterprise architecture consisting of three primary layers:

Core Layer

A Layer 3 core switch at the San Diego headquarters serves as the central backbone of the network. It supports enterprise-wide routing, VLAN management, and inter-VLAN communication.

Distribution Layer

Distribution switches connect floors and departmental access networks to the core infrastructure. High-speed fiber and trunk connections carry VLAN traffic between the distribution and core layers.

Access Layer

The access layer connects employee workstations, VoIP phones, printers, wireless access points, and other endpoint devices throughout each facility.

This hierarchical structure was selected to improve scalability, network organization, centralized management, and overall performance.

Multi-Site Network Design

The proposed infrastructure connects three primary company locations.

San Diego Headquarters

The headquarters functions as the primary network hub and contains the centralized server infrastructure, Layer 3 core switch, VLAN management systems, and WAN routing infrastructure.

Separate LAN designs were created for both floors of the headquarters.

The first floor supports Sales and Marketing operations, while the second floor supports departments including HR, Accounting and Finance, IT, Security, Systems Administration, and executive operations.

Alpine Production & Warehouse Facility

The Alpine network supports manufacturing and warehouse operations.

The facility includes wired network connections, VoIP communications, centralized switching, and wireless access points positioned to provide connectivity across production, warehouse, reception, and shared work areas.

Escondido Sales Office

The Escondido location was designed as a smaller single-story sales environment with wired workstations, VoIP support, centralized switching, and wireless connectivity.

The facility securely connects to headquarters through the enterprise WAN.

VLAN Segmentation

Departmental VLANs were implemented to logically separate network traffic while allowing departments to share the same physical infrastructure.

The design included:

• VLAN 10: Sales
• VLAN 20: Finance
• VLAN 30: HR
• VLAN 40: IT
• VLAN 50: Voice Communications
• VLAN 60: Management
• VLAN 70: Manufacturing
  

VLAN segmentation was selected to improve traffic management, reduce unnecessary broadcast traffic, strengthen departmental separation, and make the network easier to administer.

Inter-VLAN routing is handled by the Layer 3 core switch, allowing authorized communication between departments while maintaining centralized control.

WAN & VPN Connectivity

The WAN infrastructure connects the Alpine manufacturing facility and Escondido sales office to the San Diego headquarters.

I selected secure VPN tunnels across the Internet to provide encrypted communication between locations.

This architecture allows employees at remote facilities to securely access centralized servers, shared resources, cloud applications, and communication systems at headquarters.

VPN connectivity was selected instead of private leased lines because it offered an appropriate balance between security, functionality, and cost for the company's multi-site environment.

Equipment & Cost Analysis

I developed an equipment analysis to estimate the hardware required to implement the proposed network.

The design included:

• Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series switches
• Cisco Aironet 1832i wireless access points
• Cisco ISR 4331 WAN/VPN routers
• Cat6 Ethernet cabling
• Dell PowerEdge T40 servers

Cisco networking equipment was selected to maintain compatibility and consistent management throughout the LAN, VLAN, backbone, and WAN infrastructure.

The proposed hardware investment was approximately:

Estimated Total Network Equipment Cost: $19,900

The equipment was selected based on reliability, scalability, secure connectivity, wireless coverage, centralized management, and the organization's future growth requirements.

Communication & Network Management

The proposal also considered software and services that could support collaboration and network administration across the organization.

Potential solutions included Microsoft Teams or Zoom for meetings and communication, Microsoft Outlook for email and scheduling, cloud-based collaboration through OneDrive or Google Drive, and network monitoring through SolarWinds.

These technologies were considered supporting components of a broader infrastructure designed to connect employees and systems across geographically separated facilities.

Network Models

The proposed infrastructure can be understood through both the 5-layer Internet model and the OSI 7-layer model.

I determined that the 5-layer Internet model most directly represents the practical infrastructure because its layers correspond closely with the physical devices, Ethernet connectivity, IP routing, transport services, and business applications incorporated into the network.

The OSI model also provides useful additional detail for understanding communication sessions, data formatting, encryption, and application services.

As a result, I described the network as being primarily represented by the 5-layer Internet model while also being explainable through the OSI 7-layer model.

Skills Demonstrated

Enterprise network architecture

LAN and WAN design

VLAN segmentation

Inter-VLAN routing

Layer 3 switching

Hierarchical network design

VPN connectivity

Wireless network planning

VoIP infrastructure

Network topology design

Fiber and Ethernet backbone planning

Network security concepts

Network equipment selection

Infrastructure cost analysis

Scalability planning

Technical diagramming

Technical documentation

Infrastructure presentation

Project Results

The completed project produced a comprehensive enterprise network proposal consisting of a requirement analysis, high-level topology, individual facility LAN designs, VLAN-based backbone design, WAN/VPN architecture, equipment analysis, software recommendations, technical reflection, and supporting presentation.

The final design transformed the original network concept into a structured hierarchical architecture capable of supporting communication across all three company locations while providing room for future devices, departments, VLANs, and remote sites.

View Project

Final Project Grade: 100.00%

Instructor Feedback

Instructor Amine Dehmani provided exceptionally positive feedback on the final network design.

"This network design is robust and well-structured, showcasing a clear grasp of enterprise networking principles, particularly in VLAN segmentation, hierarchical design, and WAN/VPN connectivity."

 Instructor Amine Dehmani

He also recognized the requirement analysis and detailed design as comprehensive and technically solid, with well-justified equipment selections.

Most notably, he described the final submission as "one of the best I've seen" and highlighted its technical depth, effective communication, and overall quality.

Reflection

This project significantly strengthened my understanding of how individual networking concepts come together within a complete enterprise infrastructure.

Rather than treating LANs, VLANs, switches, routers, wireless access points, VPNs, and servers as independent technologies, I had to determine how each component would support the organization's actual business operations.

One of the most important improvements I made during the project was transitioning the design from a relatively basic network layout into a hierarchical enterprise architecture using core, distribution, and access layers. I also expanded the design with departmental VLAN segmentation, Layer 3 switching, secure VPN connectivity, and centralized backbone management.

Developing the individual facility diagrams helped me think about network design from both logical and physical perspectives. The infrastructure needed to make sense on a topology diagram, but it also needed to account for where employees, departments, wireless access points, switches, servers, and operational systems would physically exist.

The project ultimately reinforced that enterprise network design is not simply about connecting devices. A strong network architecture must consider business requirements, security, performance, reliability, communication patterns, physical infrastructure, cost, and future organizational growth.