Question : Problem: Setting up a vlan network

Looking for a little guidance, I inherited a network that is a mess, performance is seriously downgraded from all the network chatter. I would like to replace the existing switches with new ones and set up vlans for the phone system, printers, servers and workstations. My main question is can I get away with one Layer 3 switch as the core and use managed switches for the other switches? If that is the right way to go, what would the core set up look like? (ie ports 1-10 go to this switch because that is for the phone system vlan, etc) Or do all the switches need to be Layer 3?

Thanks for your input!

Answer : Problem: Setting up a vlan network

Basically, you're looking at a cascaded switch design.

A decent layer-3 switch to use for the core. This will handle all inter-VLAN routing. It is also good for security, restricting access between certain VLAN if necessary. For instance if you have a VLAN for financial/accounting, does everyone else need access to those resources?

Your other switches should be managed layer-2 devices, VLAN capable, of course.

Also make sure all critical devices are connected to the core, such as servers.