Member Avatar for kandan4u

Hi
Can u pls give me suggestion of how to proceed with this scenario below:


Annexe

This is a small building directly adjacent to Building A. It already has an existing direct connect with Building A and houses an additional tape backup system for the Director General mainframe system which is sited in Building A (see below for details).

Building A

This building contains 2 floors and is used as the main university administration. The upper floor houses 10 PC’s for administration purposes, together with one shared file server. There is also the ‘Director General’ mainframe system on the lower floor of this building. The mainframe system will need a backup device and is connected directly to existing Visual Display Units (VDU’s) and a line printer, which are on the upper floor. The Internet connection will also be required by the Director General mainframe system.

I would request you send reply as early as possible.

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A practical, vendor‑neutral plan that builds on ’s suggestion to break the job into smaller steps. Focus first on the physical interconnect and the interfaces of the mainframe/backup devices, then on network segmentation and power/backup. Below are concrete options, component choices, and checks to move from “where to start” to a deployable design.

For the interbuilding link choose by distance, EMI risk and required bandwidth. If the run is under 100 m and budget is tight, outdoor‑rated shielded Cat6a will carry 1–10 Gbps. For any longer run, or where EMI/ground‑loop isolation matters, use outdoor‑rated fiber (multimode OM3/OM4 for campus 1–10 Gbps; single‑mode if you want >10 Gbps or very long runs). Terminate into managed switches with SFP/SFP+ ports so you can change optics later without replacing switches. Use conduit or armored outdoor cable, proper weatherproof splice points, and surge/lightning protection on any copper runs.

On each building use at least one managed switch (stacked or linked), and place a firewall/router where the Internet enters. Segment traffic with VLANs: one for administrative PCs, one for the mainframe/terminals, and one for backups/management. If the tape device is network‑attached, put it on a dedicated backup VLAN and enable QoS so backups don’t saturate the interbuilding link during business hours. If the tape uses native SCSI/FibreChannel, either collocate the backup device or use a SAN extension/FC bridge — verify the tape interface before buying cabling or converters.

Don’t forget power and testing: put the mainframe and tape on dedicated UPS circuits, bond grounds correctly, and avoid running copper between building grounds where possible (fiber helps). Test and certify every cable (UTP cert tester; OTDR or light meter for fiber), validate VLANs/routing, and run a full backup/restore test before calling the design finished. Practical next steps: inventory device interfaces, choose interbuilding medium, buy managed switches with SFPs, design simple IP/VLAN plan, install power/UPS, then test connectivity and backups.

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Member Avatar for alc6379

This sounds like a homework problem. What are your thoughts on the situation? I can think of a general idea of how I'd set it up, but I think it'd be best to see your take on it before providing any further assistance.

Member Avatar for kandan4u

I don't know how to start with. That's the problem. Give me an idea to start with.

Member Avatar for alc6379

What exactly are you wanting to do? I'm not sure what the exact question is, even after looking the question over 2-3 times. What are you wanting to connect? It looks like you've just given me a description of the schema, but no actual description of what you need to do...

Member Avatar for kandan4u

I am asking How to interconnect Annexe building and Building A which has the above mentioned specifications.
Wat r all the components I have to use?
whether switch or hub or routers or any other components. Pls tell me

Then wat type of cable should I use?
etc..
send me reply as early as possible

Member Avatar for alc6379

Okay, I think I see now. It still sounds like an assignment, so I'm going to treat it as such:

Are the Annexe and the main building on the same subnet? If so, consider whether or not you'd need a router (hint: you wouldn't). What cables are you familiar with? The inside choice should be obvious, but you'll need something that's not susceptable to interferance and weather for the outside interconnect. How many hubs/switches would you need? If you've got a bunch of users, I'd recommend a switch, preferably one in each building.

...Are we connecting the VDUs? How do the VDUs connect? Serial? Can you use tranceivers?

Your question isn't complicated, but it is rather drawn out. It seems like a case study I did for a Cisco class a few years back. I'd concentrate on wiring the buildings first, then decide what method you'd use to maintain the interconnect between the buildings. Breaking down the problem will make things easier for you. My suggestions:

  • Determine which building will have the Internet source coming into it.
  • Determine which equipment (LAN gear, routers, switches, etc) are needed to wire that building.
  • If building A has the Internet source, consider how to connect the VDUs to the mainframe, then the mainframe to your LAN.
  • Determine how to wire up the Annexe.
  • Determine how to connect the Annexe to Building A.

Those steps should take care of things for you-- it should be your task to choose what wire is appropriate.

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