To keep three offices separate while allowing host communication within each office, which setup is appropriate?

To keep three offices separate while allowing host communication within each office, which setup is appropriate?

• A. A router with three routing ports serving the three offices and a switch for the hosts.
• B. Three independent switches with no interconnection.
• C. A single hub connecting all devices.
• D. A wireless access point per office.

Answer: (A)

Think of each office as its own LAN. To keep the offices separate, assign a different IP subnet to every office and connect hosts in each office through a local switch. A router with one interface per office provides the needed inter-office routing, while the switch in each office handles all host-to-host communication locally. This setup keeps broadcast domains confined to each office but still lets traffic move between offices when needed, through the router. The other options don’t fit as well: independent switches with no interconnection leave offices completely unable to reach one another; a single hub would merge all devices into one shared network, destroying the separation; and a wireless access point per office by itself doesn’t establish the required routed, multi-subnet structure to maintain separate networks across offices without a router.

Think of each office as its own LAN. To keep the offices separate, assign a different IP subnet to every office and connect hosts in each office through a local switch. A router with one interface per office provides the needed inter-office routing, while the switch in each office handles all host-to-host communication locally. This setup keeps broadcast domains confined to each office but still lets traffic move between offices when needed, through the router.

The other options don’t fit as well: independent switches with no interconnection leave offices completely unable to reach one another; a single hub would merge all devices into one shared network, destroying the separation; and a wireless access point per office by itself doesn’t establish the required routed, multi-subnet structure to maintain separate networks across offices without a router.