Network Redesign: VLANs And Ports

The first video in this series about a network redesign project I’m working on covered my initial analysis. In this video, I’ve started making changes on the network. I can’t emphasize enough the care required in making any changes since this is a live network at a remote location. I wouldn’t look forward to driving two hours during a Canadian winter if something should go wrong. I also have to keep in mind that the onsite technician does not have advanced knowledge of Cisco configuration or troubleshooting.

The first thing I would like to do is simply move both router ports to ports 47 and 48. I like to start with some standards where the router ports are at the far end of the switch. It may sound trivial, but pays off in the long run.

The next change is creating a VLAN and assigning an IP address to it. I will not assign any ports to it since I’m trying to keep changes to a minimum, but I still try to get as much accomplished as possible. This VLAN will be used for the routers and any other network equipment. In the video, I cover a common VLAN status.

Last, I enable IP routing on the switch, which will be used at a later date. At the other sites, the switch routes and has multiple routes to the Internet. At this point, I am maintaining the same design as the other sites unless I see something that requires attention.

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