— The story of one student, one Cisco Packet Tracer file, two firewalls, and a dream.
🧙♂️ INTRO: From “Bro How to Configure Router?” to “Architect of a Secure Company Network”
Every hacker starts somewhere.
Some start with Kali Linux.
Some start with Nmap.
I started with… a 3-hour Cisco Packet Tracer video that demanded my soul.
What began as a small “college project” turned into me architecting something that looks like it belongs inside Google’s data center. I’m talking:
- Dual ISPs
- Dual Cisco Firewalls
- Multi-Floor Enterprise Switching
- Wireless LAN Controllers
- Lightweight Access Points
- Voice Gateways
- Active Directory
- DMZ with Web/FTP/Email servers
- HSRP high availability
- OSPF dynamic routing
- DHCP pools
- VLAN segmentation
- EtherChannel
- Blackhole VLAN
- Cloud Simulation
- Remote Clients in USA + China
You know… just normal student-level things. 😭
By the time I finished building this network, even NSA analysts would be like:
“Ight bro chill.”
🏢 THE LORE BEHIND THE NETWORK
(Yes, this project came with lore like it’s a Marvel movie.)
A fictional cloud company called Saton Innovation Limited is moving to a new 3-floor building. They have 600 employees and want:
- MONSTER-LEVEL SECURITY
- Cloud connectivity
- Scalable infrastructure
- High availability
- DMZ isolation
- Proper VLAN segmentation
- WiFi + VoIP integration
Basically — “Build us a fortress, young padawan.”
My brain:
“Say no more.”
🛠️ THE DESIGN: What I Built Like a Mad Engineer
Here are the highlights of my absolutely overkill Packet Tracer creation:
🧱 1. Dual ISP Backbone
Two ISPs (YES, TWO):
- Seacom
- Safaricom
Because if one goes down…
the CEO must still watch LinkedIn.
🔥 2. Cisco ASA Firewalls (Outside / Inside / DMZ Zones)
These firewalls control:
- Outside Zone → The Internet
- Inside Zone → Staff + IT
- DMZ → Web, Email, App, FTP servers
DMZ = “If it gets hacked, at least the building doesn’t burn.”
🏢 3. 3 Floors, 6 Departments, 6 Switches
Every floor had departments like:
- Sales & Marketing
- HR & Logistics
- Finance & Accounts
- Admin & PR
- IT Department
- Server Room
Each with dedicated VLANs, printers, APs, IP phones, PCs — the works.
📡 4. Wireless Infrastructure
- Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC)
- Lightweight APs everywhere
- WiFi VLAN
- Smartphone, laptop, tablet testing
Basically: even the office toaster might get an IP.
☎️ 5. Complete VoIP Setup
Using a Cisco 2811 Voice Gateway with:
- VLAN 70
- Dial numbers
- IP phone provisioning
Yes… I even got the phones to ring.
My Packet Tracer felt alive.
🗄️ 6. Server Room (Inside Zone)
- Active Directory
- DNS
- DHCP
- RADIUS
These weren’t just “servers.”
They were the brain of the organization.
🛡️ 7. DMZ Server Farm
- Web Server
- Email Server
- FTP Server
- App Server
- File Storage Server
Think of this as the “sacrificial goats” of cybersecurity.
👑 8. HSRP High Availability
Both core switches act as:
- Active
- Standby
- IP Forwarders
If one switch dies, the other says:
“I got you, fam.”
🕸️ 9. OSPF Dynamic Routing
Because static routes are for noobs.
🧬 10. Cloud Simulation with Remote Users
I added a “cloud cluster” with users from:
- USA
- China
Because of course the fictional company is global.
😂 WHAT I LEARNED IN THIS JOURNEY
✔ VLANs are not optional — they are religion
✔ EtherChannel is the key to peace
✔ Firewalls will humble you
✔ WLC configuration will show you pain
✔ HSRP is magic
✔ Seeing all green links is the happiest moment in life
✔ This project is NOT “degree level”…
It’s FULL MASTERS LEVEL 💀
Even my laptop fan sounded like a helicopter taking off.
⚡ THE HACKER VIBES TAKEAWAY
This wasn’t just a Packet Tracer lab.
This was:
🧠 A network architect simulator
🔥 A cybersecurity fortress
📡 A WiFi battlefield
📞 A VoIP playground
🎮 A hacker’s theme park
If you build this setup once…
Congratulations.
You’re no longer a student.
You’re a Network Wizard of the highest order