The sum of all human knowledge is literally at your fingertips. You can access any website with only a few taps and quickly find the data you need. The wires, connections, and servers that enable this convenience are taken for granted because of their usefulness.
Because of the rapid pace at which the years have passed, it is easy to see that modern progress has been a driving force in shaping our current environment. Companies in the IT and web development industries, such as NCS, are among those that have embraced new ways of doing business.
For this reason, the term “network architecture” was coined. It is the backbone of the modern internet, allowing for quick and effortless transfer of information between devices. It’s a pivotal idea that can affect every facet of a company’s operations if it has any Internet presence.
Read through as we begin with network architecture and the fundamentals.
What is Network Architecture?
A network’s structural and logical configuration is called network architecture. It details how the network devices are connected and the regulations controlling the data flow between them.
Designing a network architecture can be approached in various ways, depending on the network’s intended use and overall scale. Wide area networks (WANs) are an example of a collection of interconnected networks that typically cover a significant geographic distance.
Compared to a local area network (LAN) structure in a home or office branch, its network architecture will be incredibly dissimilar.
The entire system’s performance can be improved or hindered depending on how well the architecture is planned. For example, a sluggish network may result from a decision to pick a transmission medium or piece of equipment that is inappropriate for the anticipated level of server traffic.
In addition, the architecture of the network can contribute to the facilitation of security which will become increasingly important as more consumer devices connect to the network. Users need to be able to be recognised and given permissions in a fast and effective manner. The design and protocols of network architecture need to enable this capability.
Most network topologies utilise the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. This conceptual model divides the duties associated with the networking system into seven logical abstraction levels, from the lowest to the highest layer of the OSI model.
The wires and cables that make up the network are managed by the Physical Layer of the network architecture. At the topmost level, known as the Application Layer, you will find application programming interfaces (APIs), which handle application-specific tasks like chatting and file sharing.
Because it separates potential trouble spots from one another, the OSI model makes it much simpler to analyse and fix network issues.
Why are there different Network Architectures?
The requirements of the users are taken into consideration during the construction of computer networks. The following is a description of the three most frequent types of business networks:
- Access networks are constructed for campuses and branches to get users onboard, such as linking staff within an office building. These networks may also be referred to as user networks.
- Data centre networks connect the servers that store data and applications and make them accessible to users. These servers also host the data and applications.
- Wide area networks connect users to applications, sometimes across great distances. For example, WANs connect staff in hospitals to applications related to patient care.
These networks, along with all others, are subject to various security risks which need them to take precautions. Each form of the network has its specific architecture, which allows it to satisfy many different requirements.
What are the four basic Network Architectures?
Here is a list of the four fundamental network architectures:
Fault Tolerance
A fault-tolerant network reduces the number of devices that are affected when there is a problem with the network. This is necessary given that the Internet experiences outages on occasion. It is designed to recover quickly and use multiple paths between the source and the destination so that the others will take over if one of the paths fails.
Scalability
A scalable network can expand rapidly to support its new clients and applications without negatively impacting the performance of the service that is being provided to users already in existence.
Quality of Service (QoS)
In today’s multi-cloud environment, network quality of service is essential. Controls to manage congested network traffic and capacity are integral to providing dependable, measured, and sometimes guaranteed services free from the risk of diminished quality.
Security
Because it is one of the essentials, a high level of protection is an absolute necessity for a productive network architecture. This is not something that can be negotiated. Security is handled in the network’s architecture and information security, which means it is essential to physically secure a network and the information being communicated, stored, and used in cloud-native environments.
Final Thoughts
The network system should be more easily organised and managed with the help of a network architecture, which serves as a guide for doing so. In addition to providing a structure for managing the network infrastructure, the architecture should provide for the efficient and effective use of the network resources. This is one of the primary responsibilities of architecture.
The network structure is the component with the highest weight in terms of importance in a network architecture. The system ought to be arranged so that it makes provision for the productive and successful utilisation of the resources provided by the network.
