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Modern Enterprise Network Topology

Run the Network Topology MicroSim Fullscreen

About This MicroSim

A typical mid-size enterprise network: three sites (Headquarters, Branch, Manufacturing Plant), each with their own LAN and SD-WAN edge appliance, connected through a WAN cloud to the public Internet, an AWS region (via Direct Connect), and a Salesforce SaaS. A remote worker reaches HQ over a VPN tunnel.

This MicroSim lets you trace a packet from a HQ user to four very different destinations and watch how the path changes. You can also fail the HQ MPLS circuit to see SD-WAN automatically reroute to broadband.

How to Use

  1. Click any node to see its category, typical bandwidth, latency, and cost
  2. Pick a trace to animate a packet from origin to destination
  3. Fail the MPLS circuit to see SD-WAN failover in action

Embedding This MicroSim

<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/information-systems/sims/enterprise-network-topology/main.html"
        height="722px" width="100%" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives

By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

  1. Identify each network category (LAN, WAN, VPN, SD-WAN, Direct Connect) in a real-world topology
  2. Trace traffic from a user to four different destinations
  3. Explain what SD-WAN does when a primary link fails
  4. Compare bandwidth, latency, and cost across LAN, WAN, internet, and Direct Connect

Suggested Activities

  1. Category Quiz (5 min) — Click each node; quiz students on its category before revealing
  2. Trace Comparison (10 min) — Run all four traces; rank them by latency
  3. Fail-and-Recover (10 min) — Fail the MPLS link; describe what happens to user experience and to cost

Assessment

  • Match an enterprise component to its network category
  • Order four destinations by typical latency
  • Explain the role of SD-WAN in three sentences

References

  • Tanenbaum, A. (2011). Computer Networks, 5th ed.
  • Cisco. SD-WAN Architecture Reference Guide.