Q.ABC Consultants are setting up a secure network for their office campus at Noida for their day-to-day office and web-based activities. They are planning to have connectivity between three buildings and the head office situated in Bengaluru. As a network consultant, give solutions to the questions

Server Placement: Building 3 should host the server because it has the maximum number of computers (150). Placing the server at the location with the highest concentration of users minimizes network traffic over longer distances, reduces latency, and ensures faster access for the majority of employees who will be making the most frequent requests.

Cable Layout: The most economical layout connects Building 1 to Building 2 (50 m), then Building 2 to Building 3 (65 m). This star-bus hybrid topology covers all three buildings with a total cable length of 115 m, which is shorter and cheaper than directly connecting Building 1 to Building 3 (120 m) and then to Building 2.

Device Placement:

• Switch: Install switches in each building (Building 1, 2, and 3) to connect all computers within that building to the local network and manage data traffic efficiently between devices.
• Repeater: Place a repeater on the cable segment between Building 1 and Building 2 or between Building 2 and Building 3 if the distance approaches the maximum limit for the chosen cable type, to regenerate and amplify the signal and prevent data loss. …

Network design begins with understanding traffic patterns and resource placement. ABC Consultants face a classic scenario: a local campus network (LAN) spanning three buildings in Noida, plus a long-haul connection (WAN) to a head office 1500 km away in Bengaluru. The goal is efficiency, security, and cost-effectiveness. Each decision—where to put the server, how to lay cables, which devices to deploy—flows from the physical layout, the number of users, and the distances involved.

(i) Server Placement

The server should be installed in Building 3. This is not arbitrary. Building 3 houses 150 computers, far more than Building 1 (25) or Building 2 (51). In a client-server architecture, most network traffic flows between clients and the server—file requests, database queries, application access. Placing the server where the majority of users sit minimizes the distance data must travel, reduces congestion on inter-building links, and cuts latency. If the server were in Building 1, every request from Building 3's 150 machines would have to cross 120 m of cable, creating a bottleneck. Centrality in terms of user density, not geographic midpoint, is what matters.

(ii) Cable Layout

The most economical and efficient layout connects the buildings in a logical chain, avoiding redundant cable runs. Given the distances:

• Building 1 to Building 2: 50 m
• Building 2 to Building 3: 65 m
• Building 1 to Building 3: 120 m

The optimal layout is Building 1 → Building 2 → Building 3. This uses only two cable segments (50 m + 65 m = 115 m total) instead of three. Connecting Building 1 directly to Building 3 (120 m) and then to Building 2 would add unnecessary length and cost. The linear topology (also called a bus or daisy-chain for inter-building links) is standard practice when buildings are not equidistant: you connect them in sequence, minimizing total cable length while ensuring all buildings reach the server in Building 3.

(iii) Device Placement

Switch: A switch should be installed in each building. Switches operate at the data link layer, intelligently forwarding frames only to the destination port, which reduces collisions and broadcasts within each building's local segment. Building 3, with 150 computers, especially needs a high-capacity switch (or multiple switches in a stack) to handle internal traffic. Switches in Building 1 and Building 2 serve their local users and connect to the backbone leading to Building 3. This segmentation improves performance and security—each building becomes its own collision domain.

Repeater: Repeaters (or more commonly today, repeater functionality within switches) are needed on any cable run approaching or exceeding 100 m. Ethernet over Cat 5e/Cat 6 has a maximum segment length of 100 m before signal attenuation degrades data. The Building 1 to Building 3 distance is 120 m; if a direct link were used, a repeater would be essential at the midpoint to regenerate the signal. However, with the proposed layout (Building 1 → Building 2 → Building 3), each segment is under 100 m, so repeaters are not strictly necessary unless the internal cabling within a building (from switch to farthest workstation) pushes the limit. In practice, the switch in Building 2 acts as a repeater for traffic passing from Building 1 to Building 3.

(iv) High-Speed Wired Medium to Bengaluru …