Building network for MSPs

[Cian Joyce]

Hi! Are there any MSPs out here? I was wondering what the most important factors you're considering while building a network are. If someone can share any tips, I would be very grateful.

[Marco Zhang]

@Cian Joyce, hey!

We primarily take into account the optimal performance of your network, ease of maintenance, scalability options and, of course, the network building costs. I guess the best strategy is to define your priorities and then check what types of networks fit the best. 

[Official Moderator]

Hello, @Cian Joyce!

All of the network topologies have their pros and cons. First of all, you have to set your company's priorities and define what your resources are. Based on that, you can move forward and check different types of networks that can be used. In our blog, we have multiple articles that can be helpful for you.

1. This one explains the concept of network topology, the difference between physical and logical topologies, the peculiarities and use cases of the following types of topologies: point-to-point, bus, ring, star, tree and hybrid. Additionally, you will find some information on the types of cables you can use in every single case. https://www.nakivo.com/blog/msp-network-topology-for-beginners/   
2. This blog post is a perfect further-read as it is centered on more advanced and complex networks, such as traditional 3-tier hierarchical, clos and multi-tier clos. In addition, you get explained the essential aspects that affect the layout of your network, like the top of rack vs. end of row network connection schemes and layer 2 vs. layer 3 connection. https://www.nakivo.com/blog/msp-network-topology-for-beginners/    

Let me know if you require any extra information.

[heyho]

Thanks! That's one of the most detailed and useful reads I saw related to the topic.