VPN or routed subnets?

[trevorh13]

I have been challenged with the task of sorting out a large LANs performance issues.

Essentially they are an academic facility running Novell Netware (IPX) with a number of remote locations (campus) connecting back over bridged wireless links to a main central site. It takes on average users around 10mins just to login. My initial reaction was horror at the fact that the environment is bridged given its size and its use of IPX. Further investigation has diagnosed that the bad performance is due to broadcast storms occuring on the network.

My initial proposal was to run each site as a seprate IP subnet (they are planning to migrate to a Windows environment)with a router routing back to a central site over the wireless links. The current Network Manager has suggested the possibility of using VLANS. I have never used VLANs across Wireless in this manner and have always kept VLANs with a physical site. However I don't see any reason why they could not be used in this way?

Does anyone have any thoughts \ recommendations?

 

[marsd]

Dude. I feel for you. Are they using all of the crappy
broadcast sh!t that netware entails? IPX RIP & SAP broadcasts ,etc..? If so you are going to have to capture this global
malediction head on. NLSP is one answer. It will help with
the broadcast storm issue. Netware has a rich ACL environment for a reason. You may have to explore it and I suggest it over cisco acls for the same traffic. Remember that every netware server is a router with IPX.

Vlans sound good. Don't know about tagging ipx/spx traf over
vlans. Do you? I looked into managed switched and vlans for
an academic network once in the same situation several years ago and the lack of docs was frustrating.

Good luck.

 

[trevorh13]

Cheers for the sympathy - it really is a can of worms I have no desire tangle myself up in but the powers that be have decreed that "it will be a good challenge for me"!

Fortunately the college is fairly set on moving to a Microsoft Environment and I have no plans to put them off. It certainly makes things a little easier since I know Microsoft to a much higher level than I know Novell.

My real query is wether VLANS would be more appropriate that routed subnets. My intial idea was to put each remote site as a separate site with a router connecting back over the wireless to the main site. By doing this I would be able to configure Seperate sites within Active Directory - place a domain controller (ideally two) at each site and then control the replication of AD between the sites. I don't think this would be possible with VLANS? What are peoples thoughts on this?