you’ll use a wired or wireless network (or both), what networking devices you need to service your network, and how you’ll connect your network to the Internet.
If you chose to use a wired network, you can choose between Cat5e and Cat6 cabling. Cat6 is a bit more expensive than Cat5e but supports faster network speeds. Beyond that basic choice, you have many additional decisions to make:
Will you use inexpensive consumer-grade network switches such as those you can buy at a consumer electronics store or an office supply store, or will you want professional-grade switches, which are more expensive but provide advanced management features?
Where will you place the switch — on a desktop somewhere within the group or in a central wiring closet?
How many client computers and other devices will you place on each switch, and how many switches will you need to support all of these computers and other devices?
If you need more than one switch, what type of cabling will you use to connect the switches to one another?
For more information about network cabling, see Chapter 7.
Drawing Diagrams
One of the most helpful techniques for creating a network plan is to draw a picture of it. The diagram can be a detailed floor plan, showing the actual location of each network component. This type of diagram is sometimes called a “physical map.” If you prefer, the diagram can be a logical map, which is more abstract and Picasso-like. Any time you change the network layout, update the diagram. Also include a detailed description of the change, the date that the change was made, and the reason for the change.
You can diagram very small networks on the back of a napkin, but if the network has more than a few computers, you’ll want to use a drawing program to help you create the diagram. You can use a professional drawing program such as Microsoft Visio, but you can also find simpler and less expensive online drawing tools to help you document your network. Figure 5-4 shows a network diagram drawn with an inexpensive online tool called Lucidchart (www.lucidchart.com).
FIGURE 5-4: Using Lucidchart to draw a network diagram.
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