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Enterprise Network Architecture & Automation (Cisco/SDN)

Networking Technologies // Routing + SDN // Enterprise_Core

Cisco IOSOSPF / HSRPWi-Fi 6SDN / REST APIsPythonWireshark

Overview

Multi-year Networking Technologies coursework spanning routing & switching, software-defined networking, and enterprise design. The work ranges from architecting a hierarchical Cisco enterprise network with OSPF/HSRP high availability and Wi-Fi 6 WLANs, to building a Python/REST SDN automation pipeline, and executing deep packet troubleshooting through a simulated NOC console.

Major Projects

  1. 01

    National Enterprise Network Architecture & RFP Development

    Cisco CatalystSingle-Area OSPFHSRPWi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)SMF OS2Packet Tracer

    Overview // Architected an end-to-end, hierarchical physical and logical network topology for a major Canadian enterprise (Walmart Canada), culminating in a professional Request for Proposal (RFP) prioritizing high availability (99.999% uptime) and high-density capacity.

    • Hierarchical Network Design: Engineered a robust 3-tier architecture (Core, Distribution, and Access layers) across a simulated multi-site deployment, ensuring scalable traffic flow and fault isolation.
    • High Availability & Routing: Deployed Single-Area OSPF for dynamic routing across the WAN, and engineered First Hop Redundancy using HSRP at the distribution layer for seamless gateway failover and zero-downtime connectivity.
    • High-Density Wireless LAN (WLAN): Architected the wireless infrastructure utilizing Cisco Catalyst 9136AXI access points. Optimized for Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), factoring in OFDMA, 8x8 MU-MIMO, and strict RSSI thresholds (-67 dBm) to support 75+ concurrent users per WAP without channel interference.
    • Enterprise Capacity Planning: Modeled wide-area network (WAN) links utilizing Single-Mode Fiber (SMF OS2) to interconnect headquarters and regional data centers.
    • Professional RFP Authorship: Authored a comprehensive Request for Proposal detailing hardware specifications, Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) calculations, and complex dependent uptime metrics.
  2. 02

    Software-Defined Network (SDN) Automation Pipeline

    PythonREST APIsJSONCisco Network ControllersCisco IOS

    Overview // Transitioned infrastructure management from manual, device-by-device CLI configuration to a centralized, programmable “Infrastructure as Code” (IaC) approach using Software-Defined Networking principles.

    • Controller-Based Architecture: Utilized centralized network controllers (simulating APIC-EM concepts) to logically decouple the control plane from the data plane across a multi-node Cisco topology.
    • RESTful API Integration: Engineered Pythonscripts to interface directly with the controller's Northbound REST APIs.
    • Automated Telemetry Extraction: Programmatically queried network state data, formatting the responses in JSON to extract real-time interface statuses, routing tables, and device health metrics without logging into individual routers.
    • Dynamic Provisioning: Deployed automation pipelines to push configurations programmatically, drastically reducing provisioning time and eliminating human error associated with manual VLAN, interface, and routing protocol setups.
  3. 03

    AI-Assisted NOC Console & Deep Packet Troubleshooting

    WiresharkOSI Layer AnalysisAI / Prompt EngineeringTCP/IP

    Overview // Consolidated a massive enterprise topology into a centralized testing platform, simulated a custom Network Operations Center (NOC) dashboard, and executed protocol-level troubleshooting.

    • NOC Dashboard Engineering: Leveraged AI tools to design and simulate a comprehensive NOC console interface — visually monitoring core/distribution layer health, firewall states, and cross-site WAN telemetry in real-time.
    • Deep Packet Inspection: Utilized Wireshark to capture and dissect live traffic. Reverse-engineered Layer 2 encapsulation (Ethernet II, Preamble, MAC) and Layer 3 IP headers to validate the TCP/IP stack configuration.
    • Latency Diagnostics: Filtered and analyzed high-volume traffic to diagnose application-layer bottlenecks — specifically investigating DNS latency and HTTPS TLS handshake issues, identifying exact points of failure within packet payloads.
    • Micro-segmentation & VLANs: Validated logical segmentation using 802.1Q VLAN tagging, ensuring broadcast domains were strictly contained and inter-VLAN routing policies were functioning securely.

Skills Gained

Enterprise Network Architecture

  • Designed hierarchical enterprise networks (Core, Distribution, Access layers) supporting high availability and fault tolerance.
  • Calculated complex dependent uptime metrics (targeting 99.999% availability) and drafted comprehensive RFPs for large-scale deployments (e.g. Walmart Canada).

Advanced Routing & Switching (L2/L3)

  • Configured Cisco Catalyst switches and ISR routers using Cisco IOS; engineered dynamic routing with Single-Area OSPF and RIPv2.
  • Implemented First Hop Redundancy (HSRP), deployed DHCPv4 services (ip helper-address), and segmented traffic via VLANs and 802.1Q trunking.

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) & Automation

  • Transitioned from manual CLI configuration to programmatic network management using Centralized Controllers (Cisco APIC-EM concepts), decoupling control and data planes.
  • Extracted network telemetry using REST APIs and JSON, and wrote Python scripts to automate infrastructure provisioning.

Deep Packet Inspection & Troubleshooting

  • Utilized Wireshark for advanced packet analysis to diagnose network bottlenecks and application-layer issues (e.g. DNS latency).
  • Analyzed OSI Layer 2/3 encapsulation (Ethernet II, IPv4/IPv6).

Enterprise Wireless (Wi-Fi 6)

  • Engineered high-density WLANs utilizing Cisco Catalyst 9136AXI access points, optimized for Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax).
  • Managed OFDMA, 8x8 MU-MIMO, and tracked QoS, RSSI thresholds (-67 dBm), and signal interference.
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