Abstract Network design is a sequential process that requires a thorough analysis of the needs of the business enterprise. The physical and the logical layout structure of the network have to match the design and the business needs in that particular context (Bordetsky & Hayes-Roth, 2007). The main objective behind the design of this particular network is to enhance the sharing of resources and provide access to the internet. Having a clearly stated objective plays a significant role in determining the strategy to that is during network design. Evaluation of the business requirements, goals, and objectives forms the preliminary stage in network planning, design, and implementation. The design requirements are also important during planning and design (Meyer, 2003). Design requirements for the network for the proposed network Design requirements of a network depend on the business needs. One of the significant design requirements for the network is to have a provision for the access of multiple email addresses. It is also important for the network to have access to the internet for communication purposes. Another significant design requirement that needs to be incorporated into the network it has to host at least two workstation computers, which have been configured to share resources such as the printer and the point of sale application. Network security is not a major concern; therefore low-level security measures similar to the home networks are efficient (Deal, 2008). Network planning and design Network planning entails coming up with a logical and physical layout of the network components. In this case, there are no complex issues because the network requires hosting only two workstations. Variables such as network availability, reliability, performance, standards compatibility, and scalability play a significant role during the design phase (Hummel, 2009). The configurations of the two workstations have to facilitate the sharing of resources and have access to the internet. The physical layout of the network The most effective approach for connecting two workstations is peer-to-peer topology. However, to expand the network in the future, the use of star topology having a central switch or a hub is preferred (Meyer, 2003). An eight-port switch is suitable for this connection since the business is less likely to expand to accommodate more than eight workstations. To minimize the costs that are associated with switching and transmission, the location of the switch and the workstation will be close to eliminating the need for devices that are used to combat signal attenuation such as repeaters and interconnected switches. The Ethernet cables used will be of high-quality category, preferably CAT 6 550 MHz UTP (Untwisted Pair) cables. The physical layout diagram for the network is as shown below. Figure 1: the network architecture. The star topology is preferred because it eliminates issues associated with network failures. For instance, if a workstation breaks down, the functionality of the network is not impaired, thereby enhancing reliability (Tamara, 2005). The star topology is also easy to implement and troubleshoot compared to other network architectures, which are more complex and require complex configuration methods for their ef