🖧 Software House Network Design & Implementation

A fully functional enterprise-grade Local Area Network (LAN) designed and simulated using Cisco Packet Tracer for a software house environment with 5 departments, VLAN segmentation, inter-VLAN routing, and a centralized server room.

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📌 Project Overview

This project simulates a real-world software house network serving 5 departments. Each department is logically separated using VLANs for security and traffic isolation, while a central Cisco 2811 Router handles inter-department communication using the Router-on-a-Stick technique.

Feature	Details
Simulation Tool	Cisco Packet Tracer
Network Type	LAN with VLAN Segmentation
Routing Method	Inter-VLAN Routing (Router-on-a-Stick)
Departments	5 (Sales, HR, Q/A, Management, Server Room)
Devices	1 Router, 6 Switches, 20+ End Devices, 3 Servers
Course	CS-512 Computer Networks — University of layyah

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🏗️ Network Architecture

Three-Tier Hierarchical Design

┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│          CORE LAYER                │
│    Cisco 2811 Router (Router0)     │
│  Inter-VLAN Routing | Gig0/0-0/1   │
└──────────────┬─────────────────────┘
               │
┌──────────────▼─────────────────────┐
│       DISTRIBUTION LAYER           │
│   Cisco 2960 Switch14 (Central)    │
│   Trunk links to all departments   │
└──┬────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──┘
   │        │          │          │
┌──▼──┐  ┌──▼──┐   ┌──▼──┐   ┌──▼──┐
│SW9  │  │SW12 │   │SW11 │   │SW0  │
│Sales│  │ HR  │   │ Q/A │   │Mgmt │
│VLAN │  │VLAN │   │VLAN │   │VLAN │
│ 10  │  │ 20  │   │ 30  │   │ 40  │
└─────┘  └─────┘   └─────┘   └─────┘

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🔀 VLAN Configuration

VLAN ID	Name	Department	Switch	Subnet
10	Sales	Sales Department	Switch9	192.168.1.0/24
20	HR	Human Resources	Switch12	192.168.4.0/24
30	Q/A	Q/A Testing	Switch11	192.168.3.0/24
40	Management	Switch0	Management	192.168.2.0/24
—	Server Room	HTTP/SMTP/FTP	Switch13	192.168.5.0/24

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🌐 IP Addressing Scheme

All devices are statically configured with IP addresses and default gateways pointing to the router subinterface for their VLAN.

Default Gateways

• Sales → 192.168.1.1 (Gig0/0.10)
• HR → 192.168.4.1 (Gig0/0.20)
• Q/A → 192.168.3.1 (Gig0/0.30)
• Management → 192.168.2.1 (Gig0/0.40)
• Server Room → 192.168.5.1 (Gig0/1)

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🖥️ Server Room

Server	IP Address	Protocol	Port
HTTP Server	192.168.5.2	HTTP	80
SMTP Server	192.168.5.3	SMTP	25
FTP Server	192.168.5.4	FTP	21

All servers are accessible from every department through the central router.

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⚙️ Key Router Configuration (IOS Commands)

interface GigabitEthernet0/0.10
 encapsulation dot1Q 10
 ip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0

interface GigabitEthernet0/0.20
 encapsulation dot1Q 20
 ip address 192.168.4.1 255.255.255.0

interface GigabitEthernet0/0.30
 encapsulation dot1Q 30
 ip address 192.168.3.1 255.255.255.0

interface GigabitEthernet0/0.40
 encapsulation dot1Q 40
 ip address 192.168.2.1 255.255.255.0

interface GigabitEthernet0/1
 ip address 192.168.5.1 255.255.255.0
 no shutdown

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🧪 Project Development Progress

1️⃣ Initial Network Structure Setup

Only switches were placed to design the basic hierarchical network topology.

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2️⃣ Adding End Devices

PCs, laptops, printers, and servers were added to each department.

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3️⃣ IP Addressing & Cabling

Static IP addresses were assigned and all network devices were connected using proper cables.

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4️⃣ Router Configuration & Server Room Setup

Router-on-a-Stick configuration was implemented and the server room was connected.

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5️⃣ Simulation Mode Testing

ICMP packets were tested in simulation mode. Dashed lines represent packets moving through the network.

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6️⃣ VLAN Verification & Troubleshooting

Final VLAN labels were verified. One failed ping is also visible during troubleshooting and testing.

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✅ Final Successful Output

Successful inter-VLAN communication achieved between devices across departments.

Example:

• PC5 → PC10 Successful Ping

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✅ Testing & Verification

Test	Method	Result
Intra-VLAN Connectivity	Ping within same department	✅ Successful
Inter-VLAN Connectivity	Ping across departments	✅ Successful
Server Reachability	Ping to all servers from every VLAN	✅ Successful
Trunk Verification	show interfaces trunk	✅ VLANs active

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🧠 Concepts Demonstrated

• VLAN Segmentation
• 802.1Q Trunking
• Inter-VLAN Routing
• Router-on-a-Stick
• Hierarchical Network Design
• Static IP Addressing
• HTTP / SMTP / FTP Services
• ICMP Connectivity Testing
• Network Troubleshooting

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📁 Project Files

📦 software-house-network/
 ┣ 📄 my project.pkt
 ┣ 📄 Project_Report.docx
 ┣ 📄 README.md
 ┣ 🖼️ 1.png
 ┣ 🖼️ 2.png
 ┣ 🖼️ 3.png
 ┣ 🖼️ 4.png
 ┣ 🖼️ 5.png
 ┣ 🖼️ 6.png
 ┗ 🖼️ final.png

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👩‍💻 Author

Sara Amanzoor BS Computer Science — University of Layyah Course: CS-512 Computer Networks Instructor: Sir Umer Daraz May 2026

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Simulated using Cisco Packet Tracer | Enterprise Networking Concepts