Network Design and Setup Project 2

In this project, a hybrid network (passive and active) was designed and implemented for 50 computers on 3 floors of an office building. In the passive part, CAT6 structured cabling was used with 48-port patch panels on each floor to enable high-speed communication (up to 1Gbps) with minimal noise. Passive equipment included 6U wall racks, modular keystones, and standard color-coded managed cables. For inter-floor connectivity, a wireless radio link (Mikrotik Wireless Wire) with a bandwidth of 1Gbps and a frequency of 60GHz was used to eliminate the need for inter-building cabling. This link was installed with directional antennas and showed a latency of less than 5ms in operational tests.

In the active part, Layer 3 switches (Cisco SG350-52) were used on each floor along with a Mikrotik CCR1036 router on the central floor. VLANs were used to separate departments (administrative, financial, technical) and QoS was set to prioritize VoIP traffic. Network security was ensured with Sophos XG firewall and PRTG monitoring system. Test results showed that the network performed stably under maximum load conditions (80% utilization) with a speed drop of less than 10%. It is suggested that Fiber Optic be used to connect floors in the next phase.