To illustrate three basics of highly scalable networks, this Cisco Press sample chapter "reforms" a network that is experiencing stability problems to make it stable and scalable.
This sample chapter from Cisco Press compares differences between the router CLI and the Catalyst 4000/5000/6000 family, describes the command line interface and provides an overview of the menu driven configuration for the other Catalysts.
This chapter from CCDA Exam Certification Guide reviews the topologies used in network design and covers the technologies and design approaches used when designing a local-area network (LAN).