Running head: Zephyr Hosting Solution’s Network Upgrade Project 1 Zephyr Hosting Solution Network Upgrade Project
Zachary Farmer
Western Governors University Running head: Zephyr Hosting Solution’s Network Upgrade Project 2 Table of Contents
A. Summary................................................................................................................................................. 3
B. Review of Other Work ............................................................................................................................ 4
C. Changes to the Project Environment ....................................................................................................... 6
D. Methodology........................................................................................................................................... 7
E. Project Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................................... 8 Objective 1.a.: Objective 1.a. ZRF LLC inspected and documented the existing Zephyr Hosting Solution network. ZRF LLC’s investigation into Zephyr Hosting Solution network allowed the documentation of the current layer 2 physical connections. Also, Zephyr Hosting Solution’s logical network traffic flow was determined and documented for later reference. Objective 1.a. Was important because it allowed both ZRF LLC and Zephyr Hosting Solution’s IT staff to understand and visualize the logical/physical layout of the current network. This allowed easier progression as the project matured.................................................................................................................................................. 12
............................................................................................................................................................... 12
F. Project Timeline.................................................................................................................................... 13
G. Unanticipated Requirements ................................................................................................................. 15
H. Conclusions.......................................................................................................................................... 16
I. Project Deliverables ............................................................................................................................... 16
J. Appendix A........................................................................................................................................... 18
K. Appendix B........................................................................................................................................... 19
L. Appendix C........................................................................................................................................... 20
References................................................................................................................................................. 21 Running head: Zephyr Hosting Solution’s Network Upgrade Project 3 A.Summary
Zephyr Hosting Solution is a small to medium size datacenter whose main source of income is hosting web servers for clients. Zephyr Hosting Solution emphasizes their customer service, and as such, they have been experiencing a strong, steady growth. Over the last year alone, Zephyr Hosting Solution has added nearly 200 new web servers increasing their workload by almost 30%. Zephyr Hosting Solution’s network, when it was originally stood up, was never designed to handle this amount of web traffic. The uptick in customers has put a traffic load stress on the layer 2 infrastructure and Zephyr Hosting Solution had requested a solution be found. To solve this growing problem, Zephyr Hosting Solution reached out to ZRF LLC to request they find a solution. Zephyr Hosting Solution was relying on Catalyst switches for their layer 2 traffic forwarding. These Catalyst switches were running Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to prevent layer 2 broadcast loops. While this worked well when Zephyr Hosting Solution’s network was originally designed, it is was hindering their growth as they were becoming more successful. Zephyr Hosting Solution’s management requested the layer 2 STP be replaced in order to address its inefficiencies. Such inefficiencies included a network bandwidth bottle neck due to STP’s root bridge design, well documented security vulnerabilities,
a non-redundant layout which did not account for possible hardware failure, and an environment made extremely difficult to maintain due to STP’s functionality. These requirements prompted Zephyr Hosting Solution’s management to reach out to ZRF LLC to find a solution. ZRF LLC is a market leading network consulting company who specializes in network transitions. Upon further inquiry, ZRF LLC created a proposal to address Zephyr Hosting Solution’s issues.
ZRF LLC’s solution was to remove all the current STP switches and replace them with Nexus devices running Virtual Port Channels (VPC). ZRF began their work by mapping out the current network.
They traced physical switch connections and tracked logical traffic flow patterns. Once they were identified, the entire network’s information was diagrammed and documented for reference later in the
Zachary Farmer
Western Governors University Running head: Zephyr Hosting Solution’s Network Upgrade Project 2 Table of Contents
A. Summary................................................................................................................................................. 3
B. Review of Other Work ............................................................................................................................ 4
C. Changes to the Project Environment ....................................................................................................... 6
D. Methodology........................................................................................................................................... 7
E. Project Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................................... 8 Objective 1.a.: Objective 1.a. ZRF LLC inspected and documented the existing Zephyr Hosting Solution network. ZRF LLC’s investigation into Zephyr Hosting Solution network allowed the documentation of the current layer 2 physical connections. Also, Zephyr Hosting Solution’s logical network traffic flow was determined and documented for later reference. Objective 1.a. Was important because it allowed both ZRF LLC and Zephyr Hosting Solution’s IT staff to understand and visualize the logical/physical layout of the current network. This allowed easier progression as the project matured.................................................................................................................................................. 12
............................................................................................................................................................... 12
F. Project Timeline.................................................................................................................................... 13
G. Unanticipated Requirements ................................................................................................................. 15
H. Conclusions.......................................................................................................................................... 16
I. Project Deliverables ............................................................................................................................... 16
J. Appendix A........................................................................................................................................... 18
K. Appendix B........................................................................................................................................... 19
L. Appendix C........................................................................................................................................... 20
References................................................................................................................................................. 21 Running head: Zephyr Hosting Solution’s Network Upgrade Project 3 A.Summary
Zephyr Hosting Solution is a small to medium size datacenter whose main source of income is hosting web servers for clients. Zephyr Hosting Solution emphasizes their customer service, and as such, they have been experiencing a strong, steady growth. Over the last year alone, Zephyr Hosting Solution has added nearly 200 new web servers increasing their workload by almost 30%. Zephyr Hosting Solution’s network, when it was originally stood up, was never designed to handle this amount of web traffic. The uptick in customers has put a traffic load stress on the layer 2 infrastructure and Zephyr Hosting Solution had requested a solution be found. To solve this growing problem, Zephyr Hosting Solution reached out to ZRF LLC to request they find a solution. Zephyr Hosting Solution was relying on Catalyst switches for their layer 2 traffic forwarding. These Catalyst switches were running Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to prevent layer 2 broadcast loops. While this worked well when Zephyr Hosting Solution’s network was originally designed, it is was hindering their growth as they were becoming more successful. Zephyr Hosting Solution’s management requested the layer 2 STP be replaced in order to address its inefficiencies. Such inefficiencies included a network bandwidth bottle neck due to STP’s root bridge design, well documented security vulnerabilities,
a non-redundant layout which did not account for possible hardware failure, and an environment made extremely difficult to maintain due to STP’s functionality. These requirements prompted Zephyr Hosting Solution’s management to reach out to ZRF LLC to find a solution. ZRF LLC is a market leading network consulting company who specializes in network transitions. Upon further inquiry, ZRF LLC created a proposal to address Zephyr Hosting Solution’s issues.
ZRF LLC’s solution was to remove all the current STP switches and replace them with Nexus devices running Virtual Port Channels (VPC). ZRF began their work by mapping out the current network.
They traced physical switch connections and tracked logical traffic flow patterns. Once they were identified, the entire network’s information was diagrammed and documented for reference later in the
