advise on network configuration and infrastructure

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advise on network configuration and infrastructure

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advise on network configuration and infrastructure
advise on network configuration and infrastructure
2014-01-24 13:34:34
Region : Others

Model : TL-SG2424

Hardware Version : V1

Firmware Version :

ISP :


Dear all,

I'm writing here asking for advice before buying several TP-Link equipment. We need to set up an office network and I am trying to figure out the best approach. Our budget is limited and also we need to set up something easy to maintain, as we rely on very few IT dedicated staff and preferable they should be able to manage the switch from a web interface.

We have around 80 computers (mostly desktops) plus a few network printers located in 4 separate office buildings (right next to each other). Average around 20 computers per office. All should be on the same network, but it is possible that each office gets a subnet. There is also a small central server and net storage for file services, storage and applications to be used locally by everyone. The network traffic load will be low, as we do not deal with media nor massive files transfers, mostly documents and email. Internet browsing is also restricted. The offices are provisional, so we do not want to invest that much until moving to a definite location at some point in the future. But we need to set up something to keep things running on a daily basis.I thought of the following configuration using the TP-LINK SG2424 smart switch plus 3 unmanaged ones like the TL-SG1024, and I would like to ask you your advice:

Central office 1 (TP-LINK SG2424 smart switch / file & app. server)
|
|___ Office 2 - subnet 2 (TL-SG1024 unmanaged switch <---- lan sockets + wifi AP)
|
|___ Office 3 - subnet 3 (TL-SG1024 unmanaged switch <---- lan sockets + wifi AP)
|
!___ Office 4 - subnet 4 (TL-SG1024 unmanaged switch <---- lan sockets + wifi AP)

My questions are:

- Could this basic configuration be enough to support our whole network?
- By having just one TP-LINK SG2424 smart switch, is it possible to control the whole range of IP's from the network, including those computers from the other offices connected to the central office. I mean to control things such as bandwidth limit, QoS, etc.

Thank you very much for your suggestions.
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Re:advise on network configuration and infrastructure
2014-01-31 15:48:08
Hi, ibagur

ibagur wrote


All should be on the same network, but it is possible that each office gets a subnet.
- Could this basic configuration be enough to support our whole network?


If you want to split your network by subnets you need an router or L3-routing-switch to routing the traffic between subnets.


- By having just one TP-LINK SG2424 smart switch, is it possible to control the whole range of IP's from the network, including those computers from the other offices connected to the central office.


You can use ACL on SG2424.

See TP-Link TL-SG2424 User Guide (Page 121): ACL Config
http://tplink-manuals.org/tplink-tl-sg2216-sg2424-sg2424p-sg2452-user-guide/121/


I mean to control things such as bandwidth limit

TL-SG2424 allows to control the traffic rate per port basis (not IP).

See TP-Link TL-SG2424 User Guide (Page 113): Bandwidth Control / Rate Limit
http://tplink-manuals.org/tplink-tl-sg2216-sg2424-sg2424p-sg2452-user-guide/113/

So if you want to limit bandwidth of your hosts - replace unmanaged switch TL-SG1024 by managed TL-SG2424 / TL-SL3428 / TL-SL5428E.
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Re:advise on network configuration and infrastructure
2014-03-24 12:57:28
With a network as you describe with less than 100 devices I would put everything on the same network. This will save a lot of money as routing switches or Gigabit routers cost a lot of money and I don't think you will see much performance improvement. I think for everything else your design looks pretty good. I ran a network of 100 clients on all unmanaged switches for a while and it worked fine. The one thing you may want to consider is putting managed switches at the other offices so you could aggregate 2 links between buildings for 2gb total and also have a little redundancy if something happens to one of the lines. I guess it depends on your budget and if you have 2 lines pulled between buildings already.
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