How to Design a Computer Network for a Small Business
So you're starting a new business? Maybe from your home or from a store location, and now you need to figure out how to set up a network for you and your employees. You'll have to consider how many employees you have, how many applications you run, and possibly if you'll do business accounting and record-keeping on the network. Here, I'm going to give you a mid-level sample network to show what can be done.
Cost Overview
The cost caps associated with this proposal are less than $5000 in initial procurement costs, and no more than $200 in recurring cost per month. Based on funds available and resources desired, this network solution can be purchased and installed in two weeks.
Proposed Procurement List
- Proposed Equipment List: OptiPlex 380 Mini Tower x 2 ($517)=$1025, Dell 1355cn Multifunction Color LED Printer=$300, Cisco WRVS4400N Wireless N Security Router=$175, 1 15ft Coaxial Cable=$25, 3 CAT5 Ethernet Patch Cables=$50
- Proposed Software List: Microsoft Office Professional 2010 License x 2($150)=$300 •Total: $300
- Proposed Internet Service: Business Internet w/VoIP phone service=$80/month
Overall Cost
The total cost for this solution is $1955 in initial costs, with $80 in recurring monthly cost
Network Design:
The network architecture (Figure 1) will use private IP addresses inside of the network, with the only public address being assigned to the cable modem equipment assigned by the Internet Service Provider (ISP). Wireless Isolation Mode (WMI) will be enabled to ensure wireless clients of visiting customers or associates do not interfere with the business network. Each business client machine, as well as the multifunction printer, will be wired to the WRVS4400N to take full advantage of its QOS capabilities.
Suggested Network Addressing:
- Public IP Address: Assigned by ISP.
- Private IP Schema: Router: 192.168.1.1/255.255.255.252/Assigned by ISP
- Workstation 1: 192.168.1.2/255.255.255.252/192.168.1.1
- Workstation 2: 192.168.1.3/255.255.255.252/192.168.1.1
- Multifunction Printer: 192.168.1.4/255.255.255.252/192.168.1.1
(Note: Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) (IETF, 1997) will be enabled to allow authenticated wireless clients to be assigned an IP address automatically.)
Daisy Mariposa 2 months ago
Dave,
Thanks for publishing this very useful article. You've made what to some is very complicated sound easy to do .