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Network Topology

Physical Topology Diagram

Section titled “Physical Topology Diagram”
Hybrid Lab Network Topology Hybrid Lab Network Topology

Figure 1: Physical network architecture with collapsed core design.

Architecture Overview

Section titled “Architecture Overview”

The lab follows a hierarchical design separating edge routing, core switching, and compute resources.

  • Edge Gateway (GL.iNet): Upstream ISP connectivity, external NAT/DHCP for the lab.
  • Core Switch (Catalyst 3560-CX): High-speed backbone; inter-VLAN routing and aggregation — see Hardware Specs.
  • Compute Node (HP t740): Proxmox hypervisor and EVE-NG, bridged to physical ports via multiple NICs.
  • Access Switch (Catalyst 2960): Layer 2 access for downstream devices.
  • Management Console: Out-of-band and in-band configuration workstation.

VLAN Design

Section titled “VLAN Design”

VLANs separate traffic by function: management, lab workloads, and emulated networks. The Catalyst 3560-CX acts as the Layer 3 gateway using Switch Virtual Interfaces (SVIs) for inter-VLAN routing.

Design Principles

Section titled “Design Principles”
  • Management VLAN: Dedicated subnet for switch management, Proxmox, and out-of-band access.
  • Lab VLANs: Isolated segments for EVE-NG bridges, LXC containers, and physical test endpoints.
  • 802.1Q trunking: Uplinks between the 3560-CX (core) and 2960 (access) carry tagged VLANs.

Current Status

Section titled “Current Status”

VLAN databases and SVIs are provisioned on the Catalyst 3560-CX. Access VLAN assignments on the 2960 are in the backlog.

A detailed multi-switch VLAN lab with Proxmox LXCs is documented in the Learning Log: Lab VLANs.

Section titled “Related Sections”