Redundancy and Traffic Management
Redundancy In a Small Network
Redundancy is another important factor in the network design. It provides reliability in the network. In a business community, the breakdown of the network can be very costly. So, to maintain reliability in a small network, the network design requires redundancy. It also helps to eliminate single points of network failure. There are several ways to achieve redundancy in a small network.
Network redundancy can be achieved by installing standby and alternate network devices, e.g. routers and switches. However, it can also be achieved 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 ensure minimal downtime and continuity of network services.
The Small networks typically 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
Traffic management is another consideration for network administrators. There are different types of traffic management and their behaviour in the network design to consider. Real-time traffic management requires the configuration of routers and switches, such as voice and video, in a different way relative to other data traffic.
A good network design will also categorize traffic according to traffic priority; the table below shows the traffic categories. Finally, enhancing the staff’s efficiency and minimising network downtime is essential for a small network to minimize downtime. The table below illustrates the priorities for different types of network traffic.
