Redundancy and Traffic Management
Redundancy In a Small Network
Redundancy is another important factor of the network design. Its provide reliability in the network. In a business community, the breakdown of the network can be very costly. So, to maintain reliability in the small network, the network design required redundancy. It also helps to get rid of single points of network failure. There are several ways to achieve redundancy in a small network.
The network redundancy can be taken by installing standby and alternate network devices e.g router and switches. But, it can also be taken by installing duplicate network links for important areas within the network. In the case of a redundant network, When the primary path is not available, the redundant path can immediately start to make sure minimal downtime and continuity of network services.
The Small networks normally give a single route in the direction of the Internet using one or more default gateways. If the gateway fails, the whole network loses connectivity to the Internet. So, in this case, it may be suitable for a small business network to pay for a second service provider as a backup. The figure below illustrates a redundant network.
Traffic Management
The traffic management is another consideration for network administrators. There are different types of traffic management and their behaviour in the network design to consider. The real-time traffic management required configuration of router and switches, such as voice and video in a different way relative to other data traffic.
The good network design will also categorize traffic according to the priority of traffic; the table below shows the categories of traffic. Finally, enhance the efficiency of the staff and minimize network downtime is important for a small network to minimize downtime. The table below illustrates the priorities for different types of network traffic.
