need help in redesigning a network

Hi guys , I need some help in designing a network for a buddy of mine.i would like to incorporate some cisco routers and switches
in the design. here is the topology and the issues associated with this setup.

here are the issues he is facing with this network:
1.everymornning the internet connection drops off after using it for 15 mins . at the same time there are also a lot users connecting and using the internet. frequent internet disruption occurs throughout the day.
2.transfer of file from server pc to another pc is slow as hell after 2 files are consecutively transferred when using the netgear .

setup is as below:
netgear configured as router and dhcp server so that all devices received an ip except the ip phones which have been statically assigned an ip address . no configs have been added to the netgear for connecting the ip phones
users connect to the netgear using wifi for internet access or transfer of files between servers and laptops., connection slow as hell after 1st transfer finished.
so netgear has 2 ssids which all users use for internet .
need some recommendation from you guys for incorporating cisco in this network
there are around 50 users connected max
thanks

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Comments

jamesleecoleman

Why would you like to use Cisco? Is it in the budget to buy the Cisco brand?
Do you think that it would be better to buy another name brand in order to save money?

What troubleshooting steps did you perform to try to find out what could be causing the issues?

*Not trying to be a pain. Just trying to help.

Boby

yeah they are ready to spill the money on cisco. first I would like to resolve this issue by using the current equipment and 2nd improve its performance by using cisco.
I have been troubleshooting from layer 1 and then upwards ... some cables and connectors were changed.
wifi have been disabled on isp routers.
one thing not yet done is to configure the netgear as an Access point.
what do you recommend?
please do not flame , I just want to solve this problem

Kore

If there are having major issues with the current equipment, it will be difficult to fix the current issues and might take took much time troubleshooting affecting user productivity. Deepening on what is happening, have you looked into firmware upgrades for the devices, ISP issue maybe (monitis can monitor with pings), bad switch/switch ports or loop on the network (packet capturing). I would definitely replace the netgear router as use an actual firewall (soniwall, mreaki) that can provide more security, monitoring and logs for troubleshooting purposes.

First thing I would recommend to do is to asses the requirements of the business. What business owner explanation of performance requirement is needed and compare to what is currently onsite.

- Current cabling in the building (is an upgrade needed)
- Will more than decent wireless be a thing of the future for them (doing a site survey for access point placements, heatmaps) (Ekahau heatmapper is free) (Metageek inSSIDER can help with optimization $150)
- Are there megabit switches in the environment or other outdated equipment that could/need a refresh

As for equipment:
- Cisco small business SG300 models are very good
- Access points (Ubiquitis are good for budgets)
- Cisco (all meraki if withing budget)

Just my 2 cents to help.

Mr.Robot255

posting cos i'm interested to see how this is resolved

complete guess

could it be a broadcast storm with the hub, maybe try using something like wireshark to see the broadcasts

Boby

Mr.Robot255 wrote: »

posting cos i'm interested to see how this is resolved

complete guess could it be a broadcast storm with the hub, maybe try using something like wireshark to see the broadcasts[/QUOTE

yeah I was thinking the same thing because of the hub.business requirement is simple as the wifi router should be able to handle a pool of 50 users max for internet.

ok guys here is my plan to try to solve this issue:
1.recheck the cables and connectors, will try to reconfigure the netgear as an access point instead of router and also try to try to add a static routes for voip , static route for another subnet.

thannks

dazl1212

Maybe try swapping the hub for a budget switch and see if that helps.

TheFORCE

This network doesnt seem to have been segmented. Everything is in 1 network. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but this could cause the performance issue with all the broadcasting.

Magic Johnson

I'd rather claw my eyes out that look at that diagram lol.

bigdogz

adding the switch at the least would help.

Welly_59

If your using a hub then your an idiot straight off the bat.

Guaranteed collisions, half duplex.

Boby

This design is an existing network infrastrucuture in a production environment, everybody agrees that the hub needs to be replaced with a switch and the network should be partitioned but to tell you frankly I do not know how to do this with the netgear router. if someone could shed some light on how I can subnet this network using the netgear router instead of a switch.
But what about the intermittent internet connectivity issues ?
that 's actually my 1st priority right now.

Kore

Segregating traffic on the network will not be possible with the netgear router and the current unmanaged switch on the network. Since the netgear is a consumer grade device, it will have QoS options to prioritize traffic but VLAN is not a feature which is what you need to reduce broadcast domains.

Your best options are to:
1. Implement a layer three switch that will be placed between the netgear and the end devices (removal of hob and dlink switch). (This option require less equipment but will require decent networking skills to configure properly. Bare in mind that with less equipment two routers will exist on the network, switch for internal and the netgear to route traffic beyond the internal network). The SG300 switches have the layer 3 operation mode and you will have to offload DHCP to the switch rather than the netgear etc.

2. Replace the netgear with a business grade firewall and add a layer 2 switch for tagging traffic. (Depending on equipment you have worked with you have options such as meraki, sonicwall or cisco asa). Since the environment is small, the SG300 switches are more than capable of your needs. If you need PoE, make sure to purchase the full PoE switches marked PP so all 24/48 ports will provide PoE.)

Hope this helps.

Ismaeljrp

Pretty sure issue isn't internet at all. It's just the LAN. I'd imagine if you got rid of the hub, that should provide a huge improvement.

The problems seem fairly basic honestly. Ever think about studying for the CCNA?

jamesleecoleman

I'm not gonna flame or whatever. I would rather you be able to fix the problem if possible first compared to just buying new gear. You can get cheaper stuff and still do the same thing. It sounds like you're trying to get more experience with Cisco though

Boby

you know what guys , I totally agree with you. There is only one broadcast domain , that's why it is slow and yes, we do need a switch for vlans and an AP is mandatory in this network cause a lot of guys only have wifi for internet access and sharing files internally.
One thing no one ever referenced is the voip which do not work when there is no internet and also is on a different subnet.
I have not configured anything on the netgear router for the voip.
some more point that I need to mention is that I have disabled wifi on the isp router and also whenever I try to use the lan port from the isp router,
the internet disconnects more frequently.

yeah I do want cisco gears because I do want to climb the ccie ladder in 3 years.

p@r0tuXus

Forgive me if I'm missing something...

Could you not place a router behind your Huawei, where the Netgear is now, let it handle the DHCP, DNS, etc. for your network then put that Netgear on the back of the router and tag it's port with a VLAN to separate out the wireless traffic on your domain? If so, then you could repurpose that DLink switch to replace your hub for some better management of the other devices toward the bottom of your diagram.

Ismaeljrp

Boby wrote: »

One thing no one ever referenced is the voip which do not work when there is no internet and also is on a different subnet.
I have not configured anything on the netgear router for the voip.

VoIP will never work without internet. It's Voice over Internet Protocol.

I can tell you as someone that works for a VoIP provider, that it is some of the most sensitive communication around
around. Fix the Lan.

jamesleecoleman

Boby,

Have you tried a different router to replace the one that the ISP issued or rebooted it?

I understand the whole getting Cisco experience but there are other vendors out there and some do have networking certifications. This is an opportunity to learn the basics and help with a solid foundation. It doesn't matter if it is Cisco or not, what matters is your understanding and what you gain. You can get the Cisco equipment (which is expensive in some cases) and still not know what to do.. same with Netgear or Juniper or whatever else. If you did quotes on equipment and showed that you saved the company money some how, it would look good on you as well.

A lot of us are happy to help as much as we can.

Boby

One more thing I forgot to mention is the vod that is connected from one of the lan ports from the isp Huawei router and one more thing I was thinking is perhaps there was some sort of ipconflicts where the isp internal is using 192.168.100 and the netgear is on the 192.168.10 range ?
what do you guys think of ?
I am leaning more and more towards the aruba managed switch ? any opinions and also what model of Ap would u guys recommend.
I want to break this network into 3 parts and connecting the vlans using the Huawei isp. do not know if this is a good approach or not !!!!!!!
Anyone has experience in configuring routing on this Huawei router ?

Ismaeljrp

Boby wrote: »

One more thing I forgot to mention is the vod that is connected from one of the lan ports from the isp Huawei router and one more thing I was thinking is perhaps there was some sort of ipconflicts where the isp internal is using 192.168.100 and the netgear is on the 192.168.10 range ?
what do you guys think of ?
I am leaning more and more towards the aruba managed switch ? any opinions and also what model of Ap would u guys recommend.
I want to break this network into 3 parts and connecting the vlans using the Huawei isp. do not know if this is a good approach or not !!!!!!!
Anyone has experience in configuring routing on this Huawei router ?

Honestly you've already received the type of help people should be paying for. It seems you have this job to do, don't know how to do it, and you're just using this forum like some free consulting service.

The Forum is for CCNA routing and switching candidates.

Boby

yeah if I was sure of my skills ,I would not be asking these questions and I am looking for some advice from experienced network professionals.i am not ashame to ask these questions till I got this issue solved and I will continue to ask those silly questions.