Logical and physical network designs are critical components in the successful development and implementation of today 's networks and allow for the proper planning and structuring bettering enhancing the concept associated with networks. In order to better understand how the two concepts of a logical design and physical design work hand-in-hand, let 's first look at what the concepts entail. A logical design is a concept, thought or theory as to how you wish your network topology to function, inclusive with Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. It is more of an intangible concept that is used normally when initially in the developmental stages of designing the network. Within these developmental stages, one wants to consider the makeup or design for which one wishes to take in the developmental structure and design.
The logical network is associated by logical connections. Logical networks are necessary because of the connectivity traffic jam in all-optical networks and the boundary on the distance of optical path. The features of logical networks consist of end systems communicate via virtual paths, alternative logical paths between end systems, and the topology of the logical network independent to the physical topology. There are many types of designs associated with logical or even physical designs and they are mesh, bus, ring, star, tree and hybrid as described by Wikipedia, 2006.
Before one can begin to design a logical network there are several questions that needs to be answered. In other words, you must gather data to ensure that you know all of the requirements of the logical network. You need to know who will be using the network and exactly what they need. This information can be provided from a current help-desk. The help-desk can provide a list with all issues that clients have experienced. Based on that list, if the list is reliable, you will have a better understanding on what the clients need. You
References: Johnson, Joel (2002). Expert Knowledgebase. Retrieved May 11, 2006 from http://expertanswercenter.techtarget.com/eac/knowledgebaseAnswer/0,295199,sid63_gci975233,00.html Mueller, Scott and Ogletree, Terry (2003). Network Design Strategies. Retrieved May 12, 2006 from http://www.quepublishing.com/articles/article.asp?p=101762&seqNum=1 Wikipedia (2006). Network Topology. Retrieved May 13, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_topology