Discuss your approach to designing the network for Hands on #3. (1) How does the topology of this network compare with the topology of the network you designed for Hands on #1? (2) What is the difference between an equipment room and a telecomm closet? (3) How does meeting the Cat6a specification affect which rooms you choose for the equipment room and the telecomm closets?

Approach: My approach for designing my network for Hands-On #3 focuses on equally spacing my telecom closets around my equipment room to allow for the necessary cabling to cover the building. I have my equipment room in the center on one side between the central presentation rooms and have telecom closets spaced equally in numberless and windowless rooms for the needed requirements.

1. Other than being more complex and larger in its design, Hands-On Exercises #3 and #1 for me utilized the extended star topology. For my Exercise #1, I had the routers connect and then to the computers, printer, and server. With Exercise #3, it requires having the equipment rooms, to then connect to telecom closets, and then spreading out the cabling across the building utilizing routers, outlets, and patch panels.
2. The most significant difference between an equipment room and a telecom closet is their scale. Equipment rooms are larger and are meant to house a majority of the technology used for a building or location. Telecommunication closets are much smaller, taking up a single small room, and are meant to be a connecting bridge between an equipment room and connecting all technology throughout a building. They are also meant to work and connect singular floors as opposed to the entire building.
3. Meeting the Cat 6a specifications may not have a significant effect on the equipment room and telecom closets due to the cable limit being 90 meters or 295 feet. While the cabling will have to be angled within the building, it clears the width of Constant Hall which is 215 feet. This allows for the flexibility between the equipment room and the telecom closets to be spaced far apart evenly. There are also the factors of having the optimal rooms, but still, there shouldn’t be a significant issue with the layout from the cabling specifications.