Network Infrastructure Design

📌 Azure Networking map: Strategies for building secure, scalable, and resilient Azure network architectures Designing Azure network architectures comes with its own set of challenges: ◆ Ensuring data privacy, protection against cyber threats, and compliance with industry standards are a must. Robust security mechanisms must be integrated into network designs. ◆ Azure networks must be able to accommodate growth and high traffic loads without compromising performance. Properly scaling resources and optimizing data flow are crucial. ◆ Network designs must prioritize resilience and high availability, even in the face of failures. ◆ Azure offers a wide range of networking services and features, which can be complex to configure and integrate effectively. ◆ Hybrid environments demand seamless communication between on-premises networks and Azure resources while maintaining security and performance. We can use these Azure networking resources to overcome these challenges: ◆ Azure DNS for Name Resolution: We utilize both Public DNS Zones and Private DNS Zones. Public DNS Zones translate domain names globally, while Private DNS Zones facilitate internal resource access with custom domain names. Autoregistration simplifies Private DNS Zone management. ◆ Custom Domain Names via VNet Link: By connecting Private DNS Zones to VNets, we enable internal communication using custom domain names. ◆ To organize VNet resources, we adopt the Hub and Spoke architecture. Hub networks centralize connectivity and shared services, while spoke networks connect to hubs, fostering an organized hierarchy. This model simplifies management, standardizes security, and enhances connectivity across network segments. ◆ Optimized Resource Deployment and IP Addressing: Deploying resources to specific Azure regions optimizes performance and availability. Utilizing IPv4 and IPv6 addresses uniquely identifies devices on the network. ◆ Subnet Management and Delegation: Subnets efficiently manage IP space. Delegating subnets to Azure services streamlines network architecture. ◆ Network Virtual Appliances, Azure Firewall, and NSGs for tasks like routing, firewalling, and load balancing. ◆ Hybrid Networking Solutions to facilitate secure communication between on-premises and Azure using solutions like P2S and S2S VPNs. Elevate reliability and security through ExpressRoute's dedicated private connections. ◆ Routing and LB: Custom routes optimize network traffic. Load balancing ensures availability. Azure Traffic Manager and Azure Front Door provide DNS-based load balancing and CDN services. ◆ Private Access and Connectivity: Private Link facilitates secure access to Azure services within virtual networks. Service Endpoints enhance security and performance. ◆ VNet Peering and Azure VWAN: Foster resource sharing and direct communication by interlinking VNets through peering. Centralize connectivity and optimize branch office access with Azure Virtual WAN.

This network design features a dual-infrastructure setup using two different firewall platforms, FortiGate and Palo Alto, to provide redundancy and segmentation. The design aims to ensure high availability and robust security for a network with critical assets, likely belonging to a mid to large-sized enterprise. The network is connected to two Internet Service Providers (ISPs) labeled ISP-A and ISP-B. The connections are managed through two switches (SW-15 and SW-16) on the FortiGate side, and two other switches (SW-19 and SW-110) on the Palo Alto side. These switches act as the primary and backup points of entry for the internet traffic, ensuring that if one ISP fails, the other can still provide connectivity. This setup provides resilience and fault tolerance. On the FortiGate side, two FortiGate firewalls are deployed in a high-availability (HA) configuration. This setup means that one firewall will take over if the other fails, providing uninterrupted security services. The firewalls are connected to layer 3 switches (L3-SW7 and L3-SW13) which manage internal routing and distribution of traffic. The layer 2 switches (L2-SW13) underneath connect to end devices or servers, shown as VPCs. This segmentation allows the internal network to be divided into different VLANs (VLAN 10, 21, 22, 23), each with its IP subnet, offering isolation and traffic management according to the organization’s requirements. Similarly, on the Palo Alto side, there are two firewalls, also configured in HA. They are connected to a layer 3 switch (L3-SW8) that performs a similar role in routing and distributing traffic. VLANs (30, 31, 32, 33) are used here as well, indicating that the network is segmented based on functions or departments. This helps in controlling and securing traffic flows, as well as in implementing policies such as access control lists (ACLs) or quality of service (QoS). The purpose of this design is twofold: to provide high availability and to ensure security and segmentation across the enterprise network. By using two different firewall platforms, the design can leverage the strengths of each while maintaining a diverse security posture, which is often recommended to avoid single points of failure or uniform vulnerabilities. The VLAN segmentation helps in managing and isolating traffic, ensuring that security policies can be applied more granularly. Additionally, the HA configurations on both the FortiGate and Palo Alto sides prevent downtime during hardware failures, contributing to the network's resilience. This setup offers a scalable, secure, and resilient architecture capable of supporting a range of enterprise applications and services while maintaining strict security controls and high availability.

Designing and implementing scalable, secure, and redundant network infrastructures is one of the most essential skills for IT professionals today. This document, “Implementing Network Infrastructure using Cisco Packet Tracer”, provides a complete step-by-step guide to building an enterprise-grade topology using Cisco’s simulation environment. From VLAN segmentation and DHCP automation to OSPF routing, NAT, ACL security, and redundancy planning, it covers the full lifecycle of a realistic company scenario (WongKito Solutions). What makes it particularly valuable is the structured methodology-starting from business requirements, moving through physical/virtual design, and concluding with verification and testing. If you’re an aspiring or practicing network engineer, this resource will sharpen both your conceptual understanding and your practical configuration skills. I highly recommend giving it a read and sharing your thoughts: Which part of the process (VLANs, OSPF, ACLs, NAT) do you find the most challenging in real-world deployments? #Cisco #Networking #PacketTracer #NetworkDesign #ITInfrastructure #smenode #smenodelabs #smenodeacademy

High Availability Network Design - A Lab-Based Implementation   Maintaining seamless connection in enterprise networks is more than only strong hardware -- it is about redundancy and smart architecture. "Hardening Network Security" by Abi Adrian, an intensive lab-packed study on how to set up and verify a robust network with FortiGate, Cisco, MikroTik devices.   Among the lab’s key findings:   Static and Dynamic OSPF Routing Configurations Link Aggregation (EtherChannel) for bandwidth and redundancy requirements Realistic failure simulation (ISP, switch, firewall) and transparent failover behavior Active-passive Internet and dual-firewall architecture,Dual firewall Complete scripts for Mikrotik, FortiGate and Cisco switches/routers   The result? A reliable topology that tolerates outages and retires nodes smoothly without affecting users—this allows to make a statement that the design fulfills its defined HA goals.   This is a good book for engineers designing lab and production netoworks that require real world resiliency.   Authored by: Abi Adrian   What part of your network would get the most use out of a setup like this? Let’s discuss!   #HighAvailability #NetworkDesign #FortiGate #Cisco #MikroTik #OSPF #LinkAggregation #Redundancy #NetworkLab #smenode #smenodelabs #smenodeacademy

💡 Enterprise Network Design Project | Multi-VLAN – OSPF – Firewall – NAT – Data Center Excited to share another project I've worked on — a fully integrated enterprise network infrastructure that simulates a real-world corporate environment using industry-standard technologies and best practices. 🧠 Project Highlights: 🔹 Routing and Redundancy: OSPF dynamic routing across multiple areas Redundant core routing with fallback paths Router-on-a-stick and inter-VLAN routing 🔸 Layer 2 & VLAN Design: Multiple VLANs configured for segmentation (VLAN 20, 30, 120, 130, etc.) Traffic isolation between departments Trunk and Access port configuration for proper VLAN propagation 🔐 Firewall & NAT: Implemented firewall zones to secure data flow between internal networks and the Internet NAT (Network Address Translation) for private-to-public IP conversion Security policies applied on interfaces and DMZ zones 🖥️ Data Center Integration: DHCP server to dynamically assign IPs DNS server with forwarding to external public DNS Active Directory services Application servers (IIS, File Server) Backup server connectivity Isolated VLANs for security-sensitive servers 🧰 Tools Used: GNS3 for emulation Routers, Switches, Firewalls Windows Servers (AD, DNS, DHCP, etc.) Virtual PCs for client simulation 🔍 This project allowed me to practice and demonstrate advanced network design, routing, layer 2 segmentation, security enforcement, and data center connectivity. It reflects a realistic enterprise deployment model with resilience, scalability, and security in mind. 📌 #Networking #EnterpriseNetwork #OSPF #VLAN #Firewall #NAT #DHCP #DNS #ActiveDirectory #ITInfrastructure #NetworkSecurity #SysAdmin #CCNA #CCNP #GNS3 #NetworkDesign #CyberSecurity