Enterprise networking project

Al Maqsourah Trading — Three-Site Enterprise Network

A proposed multi-site enterprise network based on the business environment of Al Maqsourah Trading: 210 endpoint users across a head office, a branch office and a satellite office.

Project
PROJECT-01 · three sites · 210 endpoint users
Type
Reconstructed professional case study and simulated implementation
Focus
Addressing, VLAN segmentation, internetwork routing, documentation
Outcome
Design complete and internally consistent; lab verification pending

What was solved and built

Problem

A three-location trading company running on an undocumented network: no written addressing scheme, no VLAN segmentation, and no record of how anything was configured. Faults could not be reasoned about from documentation, because none existed.

Built

A proposed design for a head office, a city branch and an overseas satellite: department-level VLANs, an addressing plan with capacity reserved for infrastructure, WAN connectivity between sites, and a build sheet detailed enough to configure the head office in a lab.

Result

Design and documentation complete and internally consistent — 105 automated assertions check every published figure against the plan. Device configuration and verification in SwitchLab are the next step. Nothing here is claimed as a real deployment.

Key features

  • Three-site topology
  • VLAN and addressing plan
  • DHCP scope design
  • WAN link planning
  • Troubleshooting case studies
  • One documentation format

Business scenario

A trading company operates from three locations. The network was designed headquarters-and-branches: a head office hosting central services and the WAN hub, a second site in the same city acting as a branch, and a satellite office in another country connected over a WAN link.

Sites, roles and endpoint user counts
LocationRoleEndpoint usersProposed block
Riyadh Site 1 — Head OfficeHeadquarters · core and access switching, central services, WAN hub10010.10.0.0/16
Riyadh Site 2 — Branch OfficeBranch · router and switching, inter-site routing6010.20.0.0/16
Egypt — Satellite OfficeSatellite · remote LAN, secure WAN connectivity5010.30.0.0/16
TotalThree locations210
Three-site network overview: Riyadh head office, Riyadh branch office and Egypt satellite officeThe head office connects to a WAN cloud over a primary link. The branch office and the Egypt satellite office each connect to the same WAN cloud; the Egypt link is shown dashed because site-to-site VPN security is a design element rather than a demonstrated lab feature.WAN / ISP10.250.0.0/16 transitRiyadh Site 1 — Head OfficeCore + access switching · central services10.10.0.0/16 · 100 endpoint users11 VLANs · servers, voice, CCTV, mgmtRiyadh Site 2 — BranchBranch router + switching10.20.0.0/16 · 60 endpoint users7 VLANs · guest isolationEgypt — Satellite OfficeRemote LAN + secure WAN (design)10.30.0.0/16 · 50 endpoint users7 VLANs · local servicesprimary link · OSPFbranch link · OSPFVPN tunnel — design only
Figure 1 — Proposed three-site topology. Original diagram; the Egypt VPN path is a documented design, not a demonstrated lab feature.

Capacity note: the 210 figure counts endpoint users only. It excludes switches, routers, firewalls, wireless access points, network printers, shared peripherals, servers, IP phones, CCTV cameras and other network-connected infrastructure — all of which have their own reserved address capacity in the design. Exact historical device quantities are unknown and are not invented here.

Project objectives

  • Design a scalable three-site network architecture.
  • Develop an IPv4 addressing and subnetting plan.
  • Segment departments using VLANs.
  • Configure switching and inter-VLAN routing.
  • Establish routing between the three locations.
  • Document secure WAN and site-to-site VPN concepts.
  • Develop realistic network troubleshooting scenarios.

Technologies

  • VLANs
  • 802.1Q
  • STP
  • OSPF
  • Static routing
  • ACLs
  • DHCP
  • DNS
  • WAN
  • VPN concepts

OSPF forms part of this design. The free simulator used for the lab work on this site does not support it, so the routing element is documented as a design exercise rather than a simulated build — see the OSPF and multi-site routing entry.

Site designs

  • Riyadh Site 1 — Head Office

    In progress100 endpoint users · 10.10.0.0/16

    Core/access switching with departmental VLANs and 802.1Q trunking, inter-VLAN routing, central DHCP/DNS concepts, server and management segmentation, ACL policy, and WAN connectivity to both remote sites.

  • Riyadh Site 2 — Branch Office

    Design only60 endpoint users · 10.20.0.0/16

    Branch router and switch with departmental VLANs, matched IP addressing/subnetting, DHCP/DNS reachability, WAN connectivity to headquarters, and access restrictions where appropriate.

  • Egypt — Satellite Office

    Design only50 endpoint users · 10.30.0.0/16

    Remote-office LAN architecture with local switching and VLANs, routing between Egypt and Riyadh, secure site-to-site WAN design concepts, and access limited to approved headquarters resources.

Addressing and VLAN plan

The full subnetting plan: department VLANs, subnets, gateways, reserved infrastructure ranges and DHCP pools for all three sites, with the capacity check and the WAN transit block.

Open the addressing and VLAN plan

Project deliverables

Each item below is published only once it exists and has been verified.

  • Network topology diagrams
  • IP addressing and subnetting plan
  • VLAN allocation tables
  • Configuration examples
  • SwitchLab simulation links
  • Verification commands and outputs
  • Troubleshooting case studies
  • Security and design documentation

Interactive lab and evidence

Content pending — SwitchLab shared topology link, configurations, verification output and screenshots

The lab is being built by the owner in SwitchLab. Share links and exported configurations are added here once produced — nothing is faked in the meantime.